23.06.2015

To

The Chairman cum Managing Director

The New India Assurance Co.Ltd.

The New India Assurance Building

87,M.G.Road, Fort

Mumbai - 400001

 Dear Sir,

You may be aware, under the stewardship of former Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Company, the management of the New India Assurance Co. Ltd under the garb of the Company’s CDA Rules terminated 7 leaders of NFGIE from services of the Company and imposed heavy penalty by way of reduction in pay-scale on 7 other leaders in 2009 for an unfortunate and untoward incident, which took place on 9^th October 2007. It may be stated that CDA Rules was specifically amended to initiate the Inquiry Proceedings against the NFGIE leadership. Ultimately, after passing through the ordeal of Appeal and Memorial as provided in the CDA Rules of the Company 6 leaders of NFGIE including its General Secretary, Mr. M. Karthikeyan were terminated. However, out of those terminated only one was reinstated with heavy penalty. It may further be stated that some marginal relief also was granted to others who were previously reinstated in the service with reduction in pay scale.

Sir, you will surely agree that since 2009 said NFGIE officials are going through a harrowing phase of life. Financially and mentally they are totally devastated and their present state of things is beyond description. An eminent personality of your stature can easily imagine the magnitude of sufferings of those victims who have been maintaining their livelihood under severe pecuniary hardship. In the past, the leaders have expressed in clear terms that they were victim of the situation and in fact our the then General Secretary, Mr.M. Karthikeyan also tried his best to prevent the unfortunate incident.

Interestingly, the charges framed, by the Disciplinary Authority in respect of the incident in question as also the police( case No.82/PN/2008-criminal Writ Petition No 4878of 2014- High Court Bombay) are very much identical - set of facts and evidences are similar too. As we learnt, after due process of criminal trial, Hon’ble High court has been pleased to acquit the petitioners of all charges leveled vide its Order dt.18.3.2015.

Upon critical analysis of the criminal case, it is amply established that the alleged guilt against the petitioners remains to be proved beyond reasonable doubt, which led to their acquittal after regular trial with Hon’ble High Court findings that the charges are not proved.  In this backdrop, it would be totally unjust and improper to stand rigidly by the penal action imposed by the Disciplinary Authority.

  

We, therefore, urge upon you to be prudent enough to set aside the order passed by the Disciplinary Authority removing the concerned functionary/ employee, namely Mr. V. R. JADHAV from service of the Company and at the same time effect his reinstatement in service and also provide appropriate relief to the other petitioners of the said criminal Writ Petition No. 4878 of 2014 - Bombay High Court   who are reinstated in the service but with heavy dose of varied degree of reduction in pay scale.

This is a humble appeal to your benevolence to sympathize with fellow brethren who are virtually passing their days under severe financial crunch and untold misery.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Sd/- xxx xx  xx,

Sujit Baghchi

GENERAL SECRETARY

NFGIE

FORMATION OF RECRUITMENT CELL IN "NEW INDIA"

23.06.2015

To

The GENERAL MANAGER(HRM)

The New India Assurance Co.Ltd.

The New India Assurance Building

87,M.G.Road, Fort

Mumbai - 400001

Dear Sir,

 It is   highly appreciable for the endeavour on the part of New India Management to initiate the process of recruitment for the past few years. Needless to add that during all these years HRM Deptt. of HO: HRM has done a yeomen service  in carrying out the entire operation in a desirable manner. Similarly HRM Deptts. of all RO deserve thanks on the same account.

It may not be out of context to suggest  keeping in mind the need to carry on this process of recruitment in the coming years also, a ‘ Recruitment  Cell’    solely dedicated to undertake all jobs related to the recruitment in all classes be formed at the earliest at HO level to start with. It is expected that this will lessen the burden on the HRM who are very hard-pressed now-a- days for carrying out the jobs related with recruitment in addition to normal functioning of HRM.  I trust you are well aware of functioning of such Recruitment Cell in all premier Institutions in public sector companies.

I hope management of the New India at the highest level will deliberate upon this suggestion and do the needful.

 Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Sd/- xx xx xx,

SUJIT BAGCHI

General Secretary

NFGIE

IRDAI plans massive changes in health insurance

IRDAI has said there could be higher solvency requirement for group health segment.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is planning massive changes in health insurance policies, according to a media report. Among the changes include offering more incentives for healthy policy holders and a level playing field for life and non-life insurers, the report added. In its draft norms on health insurance, IRDAI has said there could be higher solvency requirement for group health segment. The insurance regulator has already shared these draft norms on health insurance with companies. Insurers will also be able to reward customers who maintain a good level of fitness with better insurance rates. Although these norms are at a draft stage, IRDAI will finalise it in the next few months after which it will be implemented, the report further said.

...source iins

Service tax hike to hit your insurance policy

In the case of a term insurance plan, the new tax rate will be 14% compared with the old rate of 12.36%, which would means a substantial outgo. 

Your insurer may not have told you, but your insurance premium has just gone up following the the recent hike in service tax. With effect from June 1, the service tax rate has gone up to 3.50% against the old rate of 3% in case of traditional plan in the first year, which will then fall to 1.75% in the subsequent years compared with the old rate 1.50%.   In the case of a term insurance plan, the new tax rate will be 14% compared with the old rate of 12.36%, which would means a substantial outgo.   The service tax rates have gone up across several services from June 1 as per the announcement in the Union budget. The service tax rate, which was 12.36% earlier, has now risen to 14%, making several key services costlier for us.    Accordingly if your mobile phone bill is Rs 1,000 which used to balloon to Rs 1,124 earlier after service tax will now go up to Rs 1,140 after the revision.   In the insurance sector, the service tax hike will directly impact the premium amount you pay for an insurance policy. So, it is better you do the math and work out the revised premium amount much ahead so that you can plan better and set aside or save for the premium accordingly.   The increase in service tax will also reduce the overall return in case of traditional insurance plans, which are a combination of insurance cover and savings. Some estimates show the annual returns of a traditional plan will now come down to below 6% per annum.    Insurance plans came under service tax some four years back, but back then it was only 1%, which has since gone up to reach 3.50%.   The service tax has been expanded to cover a whole host of charges, including insurance policy administration and allocation charges, mortality charge and fund management charges on ULIPs by some private insurers.   Some insurers say the service tax hike will not impact the annual premium in the case of ULIPs or unit-linked insurance plans, but it will result in lower units for ULIPs as the tax will be adjusted by deducting the equivalent units from the account or by levying the same on the investment fund held on your behalf.
......source iins

New India Assurance settles 4,443 claims after J&K floods

MUMBAI: India's largest non-life insurer New India Assurance received 4,505 claims after J&K floods, of which it has already settled 4,443 claims, which amounted to Rs 212.34 crore, a senior official said here today. "After Jammu & Kashmir floods in September 2014, we at New India Assurance received 4,505 claims, out of which settled 4,443 claims amounting to Rs 212.34 crore. Still, 62 J&K flood claims are pending with us whose value stands at Rs 212.34 crore. Still, 62 J&K flood claims are pending with us whose value stands at Rs 6.19 crore.       Most of these claims are either under dispute or without proper documentation," New India Assurance General Manager Rafi Ahmad told. 
In the case of Cyclone Hudhud which had devastated Visakhapatnam and its surrounding areas in October 2014, 1,264 claims had been reported, with total claim amount valued at Rs 739.21 crore. Out of these, 882 claims have been fully settled with payment of Rs 70 crore, while 110 claims have been partly settled with payment of Rs 220 crore, he said.  "We are yet to settle 46 claims in the case of Cyclone Hudhud, with a claim amount at Rs 449 crore. A total of 226 'no claims' were reported in Cyclone Hudhud," he said.
 "No claims" are those claims which have already been settled and have been reported repeatedly. While Vizag Steel Plant claimed Rs 400 crore, the claim by Coromandel Cement after Cyclone Hudhud was Rs 140 crore.             "We have partly settled these claims in the cases of both Vizag Steel Plant and Coromandel Cement," he said. 

General insurance premium collections up by 12.3% until May

 India's general insurance sector reported a 12.3 per cent growth in gross premium collection at Rs 16,326 crore for the first two months of the fiscal, as per released by the General Insurance Council (GIC) today.    Four state-run general insurers recorded a 11 per cent growth in premium to Rs 8,567 crore in the first two months of the fiscal till May 31, it said. These companies also expanded their market share to 54 per cent, it said.  Seventeen private sector general insurers, excluding the five specialized health insurers, have grown their top line by 11.7 per cent to Rs 6,948 crore, it said.    "The May figures for the industry, showing 12 per cent growth is looking good. First two months are promising. June is also likely to be positive driven by the revival of industrial growth. We are likely to witness a positive growth for the month of June too," GIC Secretary General R Chandrasekaran told PTI.    Five specialized health insurers have maintained their high pace of growth at Rs 500 crore, up by 47.5 per cent until May.  With premium collection of Rs 3,340 crore, private sector companies in the motor insurance space beat public sector companies, which collected Rs 3,096 crore. The private sector has been the preferred option for motor cover under the damage segment, while the public sector insurers have become the preferred choice for third party cover, which has been made mandatory by the regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.   In marine cargo too, private sector general insurers have mobilized higher premium at Rs 315 crore than their peers in the public sector which collected a premium of Rs 233 crore until May, the data showed. 

WAGE REVISION : JOINT FRONT - AGITATIONAL PROGRAMME IN L.I.C.

A joint call has been given by unions to observe following programmes of agitation to press the (LIC) management for early settlement of a reasonable wage-revision and allied matters:

17^th & 24^th June 2015 : Lunch-hour demonstrations before all offices

1^st July 2015 : Badge wearing and Lunch-hour demonstrations

7^th July 2015 : Lunch-hour demonstrations

8^th July 2015 : One day strike

Vide their joint appeal dated June 10, 2015; the unions have requested all classes of employees to participate in above programmes of agitation very actively and make the programmes very successful so that a decent wage-revision (etc.) and another pension option can be achieved.

NON-AVAILABILITY OF RESIDENTIAL ACCOMMODATION IN MUMBAI FOR NEWLY RECRUITED AOs SPECIALLY FEMALE ONES

19.06.2015

MR. P.NAYAK

GENERAL MANAGER(HRM)

THE NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO.LTD

MUMBAI

Dear Sir,

It is really painful for us to highlight the mental  agony  and sufferings of the newly recruited AOs  specially  female ones for  non-availability of residential accommodation  mainly in Mumbai. It has come to our knowledge that just after completion of  1st  phase of  training at NIA ,  Pune these new AOs  have  been asked to  report  to their respective place of posting for 2^nd phase of training  and to arrange accommodation on their own.  These officers, scheduled to report at various offices in Metro cities like in Mumbai, have been facing a herculean task of searching out a suitable accommodation.   Most of them are new comers to the City of Mumbai and this task of finding out an accommodation cause serious problems.  Especially for women officers   this problem is more critical who may not be in a position to concentrate fully towards on-job portfolio.  After  completion of the  2^nd phase of  on – job training the newly recruited AOs are supposed to go to Pune  again for next phase of training.  At least during this 2^nd phase of training, it would have been proper,  that an Organization of our stature  shall  arrange requisite  accommodation  instead of leaving it on the  shoulder of respective  AOs.   Even it has not been clearly spelt out by the CORP: HRM that these newly recruited  AOs   are eligible  for 30 days halting allowances as per Circular No.CORP.HRM/TRG/2014 dated 23.06.2014

It is also requested to enhance the limit of lease agreement from existing  Rs. 12000/- p. m. for Mumbai and Delhi as it is not possible to  get  an accommodation in these cities within  this  limit Alternatively, in the required cases  , relaxation may be allowed  for sharing by more than two officers .

It is further requested that a separate Transit Camp for outside lady officers  be established  in Mumbai to provide safety and security  and mitigate  hardship.

Hope, you will give due diligence to the issue and do the needful.

With regards,

Sd/- xx xx xx,

SUJIT BAGCHI

GENERAL SECRETARY

NFGIE