Rs 9 CRORES INSURANCE COVER FOR SUNDAY'S ODI CRICKET

DEAR VIEWERS,

Unseasonal showers and the July 13 serial blasts in Mumbai have forced the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to buy an insurance cover of Rs 9 crore for the India-England one-day international at Wankhede stadium on Sunday 23rd OCT,2011.

Sources said MCA will shell out a premium of Rs 5 lakh for a special contingency policy for event cancellation from Oriental Insurance Company (OIC). The policy will protect MCA against financial losses owing to cancellation of matches due to bad weather, natural disasters, terrorism-related incidents or abandonment due to death of a prime minister or president. The cricket association cannot claim compensation if a ball is bowled before the match is called off.

"The cover for the India-England ODI is higher by Rs 1 crore compared to the policy for the India-Australia bilateral series match at D Y Patil Stadium on November 11, 2009," he added.

The India-Australia match was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to incessant rain. A source said, "There has been an increase in premium of the reinsurance market by at least 40% in the past six months. The local insurance company that offers the cover for such events has to peg the premium rates with those prevailing in the reinsurance market."

India is bracketed under the 'extreme risk category' in the terror index of the reinsurance market. The country's record in the terror index got further sullied following the July blasts in Mumbai in July and the bomb blast outside the Delhi high court last month.

Last week, the Anti-Terrorism Squad received an alert of plans to target the Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport on the eve of Diwali. Leander Dias, OIC administrative officer, said, "We cannot disclose financial figures to the media as these are confidential matters."

Apart from terror, rain is a major concern for cricket administrators. The earliest the monsoon withdrew from Mumbai in the last few years was October 7 in 2005. It withdrew as late as October 24 last year.

An insurance official said, "MCA is wary about the weather as the rain refuses to go away. They don't want to take chances as the India-Australia match had met a similar fate."

...... EDITOR

INSURANCE SCHEME TO HELP "STUDENTS GET UNINTERRRUPTED EDUCATION"

DEAR VIEWERS,

Students face a big challenge in completing their education in case of death of the head of the family or their financial provider. To ensure that such students complete their education without any interruption, the Maharasthra Government is working on an insurance scheme for students pursuing higher and technical education courses.

Commenting on this, Rajesh Tope, Higher and Technical Education Minister said that the scheme will be applicable to all professional degree and diploma courses like MBA, hotel management, engineering, pharmacy, that fall under the purview of his ministry.

Giving details of this insurance scheme, he added, "In case of death of a student's guardian or the head of the family, Rs 4.5 lakh will be given, whereas, in case of the death of a student, the family will get Rs 1 lakh."

Once the scheme is introduced, a nominal insurance premium will have to be paid by the students or the college itself can pay for it from their 'Students Welfare Fund' to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

 

..... EDITOR

New rules for insurance companies to appoint actuaries

DEAR VIEWERS,

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has sent the proposed norms to insurance companies, with the intent to tighten norms for appointment of actuaries.

Actuaries are experts who assess the financial impact enabling companies to take financial decisions. They provide their expert services for pricing the products based on a complete analysis and balance their role in business management with responsibility for safeguarding the financial interests of the public.

According to the draft of the proposed norms which has been sent to the insurers, an actuary should be an employee of the insurance company and must be below the age of 65 years.

Most insurers obtain services from actuaries who work as part time consultants. Only about 5 or 6 general insurance companies have employed full-time actuaries. Moreover, most of them who work as consultants are over 65 years of age.

The regulator said that until October 2012, qualified actuary should not be more than 70 years; and from 2013, in order to be eligible for appointment by an insurance company, an actuary will have to be below 65 years

.... EDITOR

Agent relationship with employee of insurance company redefined by IRDA

DEAR VIEWERS,

In February this year, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had come up with stringent guidelines, disallowing relatives of any employee of an insurance company to work as an agent for the same insurer. Previous draft of IRDA defined the term ‘relative’ to include spouse, parents, sisters, daughters, brothers, sons, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law.

On Wednesday, IRDA released a new circular modifying the term ‘relative’ and narrowing it down to include only spouse, dependent children or dependent step children, whether residing with the employee of an insurance company or not. The clause however, is applicable only to those insurance agents who are licensed or whose agency is transferred to another insurer on or after July 1st 2011.

This new circular should come as a relief to several insurance agents, as the earlier classification implied less scope for distant relatives to work for an insurance company

Life insurance companies, non-life insurance companies and IRDA realize the importance of agents for the growth of the insurance industry as a whole. At a recent Insurance Summit 2011, organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan made this clear by stating, “We do need agents and we need to do something about the agency channel.”

“One of the things is to require renewal of agent licenses on certain level of persistency. We need to have a regulatory call on this as insurance industry depends on agent persistency. IRDA has made some changes, we have tied up with some institutions for books to help agents learn,” he said.

The IRDA Chairman also said, “We should have two levels of insurance agents; one is we have a regular agents, then we are looking at senior agents.” Senior agents will be those who are more experienced and have served in the role for a good number of years. This will help fulfill their aspirational goals and to help keep them motivated.

........ EDITOR

"JOB LOSS COVER " could be the next innovative insurance product

Dear Viewers,

Recession or no recession; the fear of losing a job is prevalent across different classes of salaried individuals. In such a scenario, an insurance policy that would cover the policyholder in case of a job loss may well be the next innovative and ground-breaking idea.

The thought of losing a job itself is a discomforting factor, knowing that the unemployment rate in 2010 hovered around 10% in India. Unlike in western countries, an average salaried individual in India would have a higher number of dependents. If the breadwinner of the family loses his or her job, then the entire family falls into a financial crisis. An insurance policy that would compensate an individual in case of a job loss will be a boon not only to him but also to the entire family. Such a policy, if launched, should most probably fly off the shelf.

 

Insurance companies are closely watching the latest trends and demand for such a standalone insurance policy. According to a senior official of a private general insurance company, they have been considering a job loss cover for quite some time now.

 

T A Ramalingam, Head - Underwriting, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said that over the last 6 months, queries regarding comprehensive job loss cover has increased. “Depending on the customer requirements and the product feasibility, we may consider offering this cover as part of a package policy for other customer segments that have financial relationships with financial institutions. It can cover a certain percentage of the gross monthly salary of the insured person, in case of a covered contingency,” he added.

 

If a job-loss cover is introduced in the Indian markets, it would come with a lot of conditions and exclusions attached. Insurance companies, underwriting teams, appointed actuaries will have to study the markets, changing trends, risks involved and various other factors in detail, before they can launch such a product.

....EDITOR

PAN is must for payment of premium above Rs 50,000 in Cash: I.R.D.A.

DEAR VIEWERS & MEMBERS,

Insurance regulator Irda on Thursday 06th October, 2011 said that quoting PAN number would be mandatory for making cash payments of more than Rs 50,000 in insurance premium, a move which would help the authority track sources of funds.

"With a view to ensuring that premiums are paid out of clearly identifiable sources of funds, it has been decided to permit premium/proposal deposits remittances in cash beyond Rs.50,000 per transaction subject to the customer quoting PAN," Irda said in a circular.

The guidelines, which aim at curbing money laundering and dealing with the menace of terror financing in the insurance sector, would take effect from November 1.

IRDA said it would be the responsibility of the insurers to verify the details of Permanent Account Number (PAN), which is issued to tax payers.

In view of increasing threat of terror financing, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) said, "It becomes imperative to obtain the details of the person or entity funding the premium."

It further said that any cash transaction above Rs 10 lakh, and integrally connected cash transactions above Rs 10 lakh per month, should be reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) by 15th of the every succeeding month.

Insurers, it added, should also lay down proper mechanisms to check any kind of attempts to avoid disclosure of PAN details.

....EDITOR

Cautious IRDA delays Bancassurance norms to mend hitches

Dear Viewers,

The insurance industry will have to wait a while longer for IRDA's guidelines on bancassurance because the insurance regulator is yet to iron out a few challenges and problems, reports CNBC-TV18's Mitra Joshi and Gopika Gopakumar.

Bancassurance, also known as Bank Insurance Model (BIM), is a move that will allow banks to tie-up with two insurance companies to increase distribution — one focussed on life insurance, and one on the non-life part of the business. However, the industry itself is split over whether the new bancassurance norms should be released.

The industry is divided into two different groups on the new bancassurance norms. "There are people who already have strong bancassurance tie-ups and hence, don't want to loose those tie-ups or dilute them by ensuring that the bank has an option. And, there are those who don't have strong tie-ups, and it will mean extra distribution to them. It will also enhance their reach by many folds," said Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Capital

For IRDA, however, the question goes beyond this. It forsees challenges to on-ground implementation, and has delayed releasing the guidelines.

The key areas of concern pointed out by the IRDA include issues pertaining to training, licensing and certification of the employees selling these insurance products. There is also the fear that mis-selling can also rise. Also, since banks will become virtual brokers, there is potential for a conflict of interest over the products sold.

These concerns aside, the IRDA agrees that bancassurance will bring much-needed business to the insurance industry as it deepens the market and ensures better quality of sales. And, it is these positive aspects that have the Life Insurance Council pushing for quick release of bancassurance norms.

“We would certainly want this to come out quickly. We are losing time, especially in a market which is depressed, economic sentiment is low, people are getting investor averse, saving averse. Institutions like banks wherein customers have implicit faith could be an ideal distribution partner with insuring proper cheques and balances,” said SB Mathur, the secretary general of Life Insurance Council.

However, IRDA is adamant that it will release the guidelines only when it is sure the customer's interests remain protected.

.....EDITOR

I.R.D.A. may allow Insurers to invest in Derivatives & Commodity futures in Gold and Silver

DEAR VIEWERS,

In order to hedge risk in the falling interest rate and equity market scenario, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is planning to allow insurance companies to invest in derivatives such as equity futures and options, credit default swaps, stock indexed options, commodity futures in gold and silver and interest rate swaps.

The regulator said the investment committee formed to look into the Insurance Amendment Bill had proposed that insurers be allowed to invest in these derivatives. Derivatives are a category of financial instruments and their value is derived partly from one or more underlying asset and help companies to hedge against fluctuations in equity, foreign exchange and interest rates.

Industry experts said insurers would be permitted to use equity derivatives for hedging risks only. "Irda may only allow us to hedge and not to speculate. We need to see to what extent we can take exposure. So the regulation may not be of big help," said a senior executive of a large life insurance company.

The move will help insurers to hedge their risk and protect returns of policyholders. It will also open up other avenues of investment for their investment portfolio.

At present, insurers can invest 50% of their funds in government securities, 15% in infrastructure projects and the rest 35% in other approved securities. From ULIP funds, insurers can invest a large part of the investment in equity, depending upon the policyholder's choice.

- - - - EDITOR

'TPAs Acting as Insurance Firms'

Dear Viewers,

Third party administrators (TPAs) are functioning as de facto insurance companies and settling mediclaims that they are not authorized to do, the Bombay high court was told on Tuesday 29th Sept, 2011.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi was hearing a petition filed by social activist Gaurang Damani highlighting the plight of more than 7 crore consumers of medical insurance, especially after TPAs stopped offering cashless benefits. The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority, the regulatory body, has filed an affidavit stating that it was not a silent spectator to the dispute that arose between insurers and hospitals and the row had been settled; the hospitals have now agreed to negotiate treatment rates, IRDA advocate Paritosh Jaiswal has submitted in court, adding that approximately 170 hospitals in Mumbai are now offering cashless benefits.

However, Damani cited 1,500 nursing homes and hospitals in the city that have stopped offering the cashless facility. "Cashless was the best option for mediclaim policy holders. Suddenly, in July 2010, the offer was withdrawn," said Damani, adding that every year, premiums of Rs 11,000 crore were paid as medical insurance.

According to him, medical insurance was not classified as life or general insurance policies and there is no specific guideline to process the claims. "Settling claims is the core activity of insurance companies and not that of TPAs, who are mere intermediaries," said Damani. "TPAs are acting as de facto insurance companies and even writing cheques to consumers." Damani says TPAs are offered financial incentives to reduce claim ratio and given discretionary powers that they abuse to settle the same claims at different rates.

He cited instances where TPAs had settled for different rates when they claimed reimbursement for the same illness at the same hospital. TPAs have also reportedly held on to cheques, delaying payments to consumers. "The TPAs operate arbitrarily," added Damani.

The judges have now directed Damani to prepare a note, suggesting some ways to resolve the problem amicably, and submit it in 10 days.

.....EDITOR

IRDA, PENSION REGULATOR " PFRDA " TO LOCK HORNS....

DEAR VIEWERS,

Two years after tensions rose between the pension and insurance regulator over commissions, a fresh round of friction between the two is in the offing.

The latest cause for friction is Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority's move to list life insurers to provide annuities to subscribers of the National Pension System (NPS). The NPS, which is administered and regulated by PFRDA, accumulates savings for a regular monthly annuity payment after retirement for government employees and those in the unorganized sector. However, the conversion of the accumulated savings into a monthly income stream can only be done by a life insurance company as per law.

PFRDA has invited expressions of interest (EoI) from life companies. In its invitation for EoI, it has said that annuities will be bought directly by the annuitants from the list of Annuity Service Providers (ASPs) approved by PFRDA from among the schemes accepted by PFRDA. PFRDA has also outlined seven options which life insurers can provide.

According to a senior official from the life industry, if PFRDA is going to allow only select companies to provide annuities, pricing might be an issue for selection. However, insurers can quote a price for an annuity plan only after their product is approved by the regulator.

Recently, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had expressed reservations over a proposal to allow agents of life insurance companies to distribute pension products. IRDA chairman J Harinarayan , at a recent insurance summit, had said that life insurance companies were not mandated to act as intermediaries for third-parties.

In 2009, a committee headed by former pension regulator D Swarup had proposed that commission for insurance agents be scrapped completely and all agents should be converted into independent financial advisers who would be regulated by a Financial Well-Being Board of India (FINWEB).

The planners were expected to advise on all products, including those administered by PFRDA. The proposals were, however, never implemented by the government.

Earlier too there was an issue of who would regulate pension plans after the formation of PFRDA. Although the PFRDA's mandate was to manage pension plans in the government and unorganized sector, the insurance regulator made it clear that any pension plan floated by an insurance company would be its sole jurisdiction.

COLLISION COURSE

The NPS-regulated by PFRDA-accumulates savings for a regular monthly annuity payment after retirement. But the conversion of the accumulated savings into a monthly income stream can only be done by insurers as per law. PFRDA has invited expressions of interest from life companies and has also outlined seven options which life insurers can provide.

......EDITOR

IRDA tells insurers to honour the spirit of contract, reject claims only on 'valid grounds'

Dear Viewers,

You land up in a hospital on a medical emergency. The treatment costs a bomb. Your only solace is your medical insurance policy, which you have kept alive for 10 years - that too, without even making a claim - by paying annual premiums without fail. You file a claim to get the reimbursement of the hospitalisation expenses. However, to your horror, the insurance company rejects the claim, citing technical reason. You feel you are watching Michael Moor's Sicko all over again, this time as a victim of an evil health insurance company.

Such Kafkaesque scenario is not unheard of in the health insurance sector. Consumer activist Jehangir Gai narrates such an incident where a policyholder's hospitalisation claim was rejected because the insurer was intimated after the stipulated deadline. The fact that the policyholder was not in a position to intimate within the timeframe as he was hospitalised on an emergency and remained indisposed for a while failed to convince the insurance firm.

Explains Gai: "Sometimes, a person is admitted to hospital in an emergency (such as in the case of sudden appendicitis or heart attack) and his priority then is not to trace the policy document and intimate the insurance company. If a person forgets to inform the insurance company within the prescribed period (maximum seven days), then the claim is rejected even if it is submitted in time, within 30 days of discharge."

Then, there are cases where the claim-settlement process is stalled on the grounds that the original documents like discharge card, pathological test reports, X-rays, etc, were not submitted. "The original bills have to be submitted but not the documents, as these are required for subsequent follow-up treatment. There is no condition in a policy that requires the original reports to be handed over; just the copies would suffice. Yet, claims are rejected for non-submission of the original reports," he says.

Regulator steps in ::

In fact, so commonplace are cases of policyholders being dissatisfied with the insurers' claim-approval record that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has had to issue a circular to life as well as health insurance companies asking them to refrain from repudiating genuine claims on the grounds that they are time-barred.

"Insurers' decision to reject a claim shall be based on sound logic and valid grounds. It may be noted that such limitation clause does not work in isolation and is not absolute. One needs to see the merits and good spirit of the clause, without compromising on bad claims. Rejection of claims purely on technical grounds in a mechanical fashion will result in policyholders losing confidence in the insurance industry, giving rise to excessive litigation," the note warns.

----- EDITOR

DASARA GREETINGS - 2011

DEAR VIEWERS,

WITH WARM GREETINGS,

Yours-in-Service,

M. HANUMANTHA RAO       T. GOPALA KRISHNA

                           PRESIDENT              GENERAL SECRETARY  

GIC EMP. UNION - EASTERN ZONE, KOLKATTA - 10TH BRC MEETING PHOTOS

Finally an easy solution for all your insurance complaints

Dear Viewers,

Happy customers are the key ingredient for a successful recipe for all companies; the same holds true for the insurance industry. If a policyholder is unhappy either with the service that he gets from the insurance company, or with the product itself, or for any other reason; then his grievances must be tended to with utmost priority. This is the idea behind implementing an Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS).

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is the monitoring body of all insurance companies in India and for this reason, it is often referred to as the watchdog. In short, what the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to banks, IRDA is to Insurance Companies. It governs both Non-Life, which includes health insurance, travel insurance, motor insurance, home insurance etc, and Life Insurance Companies; and looks after the interest of the insurance industry as a whole.

Keeping policyholders’ interests in mind, the regulator has devised IGMS, which is a gateway for aggrieved customers to register complaints with insurance companies first and if need be escalate them to the IRDA Grievance Cells.

A comprehensive solution, IGMS provides online and centralized access to policyholders; while at the same time providing complete access and control to IRDA for monitoring market conduct issues of which policyholder grievances are the main indicators. This system will enable real time access to all users at all times and from any location.

The data capturing mechanism works in such a way that it can record all complaints received via email form, physical form or voice calls. IRDA has a dedicated toll free number 155255 for policyholders to register complaints. Customers can also send a written complaint to:

Consumer affairs Department,
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority,
9th Floor, United Towers, Basheer bagh,
Hyderabad -500 029
Fax 91 – 40 - 66789768

Alternatively, policyholders can write an email on complaints@irda.gov.in

How does the grievance mechanism work?
. A policyholder needs to login in to www.igms.irda.gov.in and create a profile for registering a complaint.

. Policyholders can register one or more complaints.
. Details of the complaint are passed on to respective insurance company or companies.
. While registering the complaint, the policyholder will get a list of branch offices of the insurance company.
. A confirmation email along with IRDA token no is sent to the customer, which will be used by IRDA and Insurance Company for tracking of the complaint through IGMS.
. If the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution provided by Insurer, he can escalate the complaint for a review by IRDA for a potential violation of Regulations.
. All the transactions between the Insurer, Insured and Remarks by IRDA are visible to the complainant.

The entire process will have specified turnaround times as mandated by the regulator and hence customers will get a response with the stipulated time frame. IGMS will help address the needs of thousands of dissatisfied or aggrieved customers, while at the same time ensure that insurance companies provide an appropriate solution.
....EDITOR

""IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL L.I.C. POLICY HOLDERS ""

DEAR VIEWERS,

LIC of India has made an important announcement for all its policyholders and beneficiaries in newspapers and on its website.
To increase security and privacy of the policy money, and to speed up the credit process, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will be crediting all payments directly to the policyholder’s bank account. Payments include Maturity Benefit, Survival Benefit, Surrender Benefit, Pensions; Money on Group Schemes, Loans etc. LIC has requested all its Policyholders / Master Policy holders / Annuitants / Claimants to submit their bank account details.  LIC customers can give their bank details for electronic payments by filling a NEFT mandate form or Pension and Group Schemes(P&GS) mandate form. Please click here for NEFT Form or P&GS Form Electronic Mode of Payment is a nationwide system operated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and is used to transfer funds from one bank account to another.
Advantages of Electronic Mode of Payment for LIC Customers: . No extra charge to the policyholder . Money credited to bank account on the same day of the due date irrespective of the    location . Alert via SMS or email by the bank on transfer of funds . Every payment will have a Unique Identity No (UID) to track the transaction
. If there is any problem in transfer process, policyholder can confirm with their bank using the UID no After filling the form, customers must submit it at any branch office servicing at least one of the policy / policies listed in the mandate.
Pension and Group Scheme master policyholders/ beneficiaries/ annuitants are requested to complete the mandate form and hand them over to the servicing P&GS Unit.
Please also note LIC office address:
Life Insurance Corporation of India,
Central Office, Yogakshema, Jeevan Bima Marg,
P.O. Box No. 19953,
Mumbai - 400021 Email id: co_crm@licindia.com

This new payment process will be effective from October 1st, 2011 and is in accordance with the transparency drive of Government of India.

......EDITOR

General Insurance market to reach Rs 90000 crore by 2015

Dear Viewers,

Driven by an increase in demand, by the year 2015, non-life insurance or general insurance market is estimated to grow at over 18% to Rs 90,000 crore from the current level of Rs 47,000 crore, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said in its press release.

India will be one of the fastest growing markets in Asia and globally – next only to China among major markets.

Motor insurance will continue to remain the largest category, contributing over 40 per cent of industry premiums. India will become the third largest car market globally by 2020 with over 70 lakh cars sold annually, driving growth in motor insurance.

On the other hand, total expenditure on healthcare will be Rs 20 lakh crore, creating significant opportunities for coverage through health insurance.

D S Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM said, “The health insurance segment will grow the fastest and account for close to 30 per cent of total industry premiums by 2015.”

Within health insurance, government sponsored health schemes will grow the fastest while retail will emerge as the largest opportunity, he added.

India’s infrastructure expenditure over the next five years is likely to be Rs 47 lakh crore, creating opportunities for insuring these projects. Engineering insurance coverage for new projects will be an important area of growth, leading to opportunities in segments like commercial lines.

With small and medium enterprises growing at 20 to 22 per cent, the non-life insurance market will be particularly attractive for players who can bring in skills and more innovative practices to capture the opportunities.

An increase in penetration rate from 30 per cent to some 50 per cent in 2014-15 across large (about 10,000 customers with premiums in the range of Rs 10 lakh to 25 lakh), medium (80,000 customers with Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakh premiums) and small (102 lakh customers with less than Rs 1 lakh premiums) bases in the SME segment will drive a 2.5 times increase in premiums.

There is already evidence of increasing competition with the number of companies increasing from 16 in 2007 to 24 this year and further four to five in the pipeline, said ASSOCHAM.
....EDITOR

‘Retirement Age 62’ Kerala Government considers raising retirement age

Dear Viwers,

Cabinet Sub-Committee on raising of Retirement age and Right to Service Act

Government have constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee to discuss with the Service Organisations and others on raising of Retirement age and on the implementation of Right to Service Act.

FOR More information to know, download the Notification – GO(Ms) No.347/2011 /Fin Dated 17/08/2011

.......EDITOR

SBI Life Insurance fined Rs 70 lakh for violation of IRDA rules

Dear Viewers,

SBI Life Insurance Company, the country’s largest private insurer has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 70 lakh by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for gross violations of Guidelines on Group Insurance Policies.

According to the insurance regulator, SBI Life made unauthorized payments up to Rs 204 crore to six master policyholders and eight corporate agents. The six master policyholders are The Federal Bank - Rs 3.34 crore, United Bank of India - Rs 3.04 crore, Union Bank of India - Rs 6.13 crore, Sundaram Home Finance - Rs 1.56 crore, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation - Rs 4.26 crore and Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation- Rs 316,029.
Out of the total sum of Rs 204 crore, Rs 186 crore was paid to 8 different State Banks - State Bank of India - Rs 127 crore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur - Rs 8.44 crore, State Bank of Hyderabad - Rs 13.25 crore, State Bank of Indore - Rs 3.69 crore, State Bank of Saurashtra - Rs 3.31 crore, State Bank of Tranvancore - Rs 16.12 crore, State Bank of Mysore - Rs 8.28 crore and State Bank of Patiala - Rs 5.56 crore.

As per IRDA guidelines, insurance companies are barred from making payments in excess of the approved commission to any corporate agents. The payments made by SBI Life Insurance are in contravention of these rules.

In its defence, SBI Life Insurance said that these rules were issued in July 2005 and they took some time to redesign their policies. This revised policy was approved by IRDA in November 2007. IRDA has given SBI Life the benefit of doubt for the payments that were made by the insurer prior to November 2007, but the insurer has made several payments even after this date. The IRDA has thus ordered SBI life to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh for each of the 14 offences, totaling to Rs 70 lakh.

....... EDITOR

PSUs ordered to provide customers with list of hospitals not covered under cashless mediclaim

Dear Viewrs,

Many a times policyholders get medical treatment from a hospital of their choice or convenience. Public sector insurance companies (PSUs) have a tie-up with certain hospitals that feature in their Preferred Provider Network (PPN). These hospitals offer cashless mediclaim facility to policyholders however, there are many hospitals which are not under the PPN and the expenses on treatment have to be borne by the policyholder.

Under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the Central Information Commision (CIC) has directed the four PSUs - New India Assurance Company, United India Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, and National Insurance Company, to provide names of all hospitals that are not in their PPN list. Along with the names, these insurers will also have to specify the reasons for taking these hospitals off their list.

The order was passed after an RTI activist Chetan Kothari filed an application with Public Information Office (PIO) of New India Assurance Company, last year. On receiving the application, instead of giving a reply, after a delay of 30 days, the PIO transferred his query to the first appellate authority. The appellate authority directed the PIO to provide Chetan Kothari with the information, which was not acted upon. Following this, Mr Kothari filed a second appeal before CIC, against New India for not providing the names of hospitals.

On July 27, 2011, CIC Information Commissioner Deepak Sandhu said, this information needs to be disclosed as the person may have taken a mediclaim policy on the assumption that, the cashless facility will be made available to him or her in all hospitals that feature on the list provided by the company. He also added that the insurance company's obligation is not reduced in anyway in terms of the amount of premium required to be collected from the policy holder. Whereas, the insurance company, in a non-transparent fashion, reduced the facility that was available to the appellant (policy holder) at the point of taking the mediclaim policy by taking off some of the hospitals from their list of hospitals providing cashless facility.

....... EDITOR

New Insurance Scheme launched for NRI Customers

Dear Viewers,

Oriental Insurance Company has teamed up with Federal Bank to extend a new insurance scheme ‘Fed Oriental Pravasi Insurance’ to its Non-resident Indian or NRI customers.

Kerala-based Federal Bank will now offer this unique insurance scheme to new NRI customers

 which will cover their hospitalisation expenses. Under Fed Oriental Pravasi Insurance scheme, the insured person can avail cashless treatment in over 3000 hospitals across the country. Overseas treatment of up to Rs 75,000, in recognized hospitals, is also one of the benefits offered under this scheme.

The plan will be available to all NRI customers who maintain a minimum bank balance of Rs 5,000 or more. It will ensure that the medical expenses are taken care of in case the insured person meets with an accident. Oriental Insurance Company would also pay economy class airfare for a dependent or a bystander along with that of the patient, in case of an accident.

Moreover it will also take care of repatriation costs. Medical floater cover for the family members is available in the event of death or disability of the insured for Rs 10 lakhs.
.... EDITOR

Insurance scheme to help students get uninterrupted education

Dear Members & Viewers,

Students face a big challenge in completing their education in case of death of the head of the family or their financial provider. To ensure that such students complete their education without any interruption, the Maharasthra Government is working on an insurance scheme for students pursuing higher and technical education courses.

Commenting on this, Rajesh Tope, Higher and Technical Education Minister said that the scheme will be applicable to all professional degree and diploma courses like MBA, hotel management, engineering, pharmacy, that fall under the purview of his ministry.

Giving details of this insurance scheme, he added, "In case of death of a student's guardian or the head of the family, Rs 4.5 lakh will be given, whereas, in case of the death of a student, the family will get Rs 1 lakh."

Once the scheme is introduced, a nominal insurance premium will have to be paid by the students or the college itself can pay for it from their 'Students Welfare Fund' to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

......EDITOR

AIIEA opposing the LIC Amendment Bill and Insurance Laws Bill

Dear Viwers & Members,

All-India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) is clearly not in favour of the proposed LIC Amendment Bill (2009) and Insurance Laws Ammendment Bill (2008), as they have asked the government to withdraw the same.

According to AIIEA General Secretary K Venugopal, the amendment foresees permits raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector. Speaking to reporters, he said that every year, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) mobilizes premiums of Rs 2.5 lakh crore which was the savings of the people and it was going to be placed in the hands of foreign capital, where even the government would have less control.

Currently the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is capped at 26%. The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 has been long pending in the parliament. The Insurance Bill has been awaiting approval from the Parliament and proposes to raise the cap on FDI from 26% to 49%.

They have asked the Centre to withdraw the proposed bill, failing which LIC employees will organise a series of agitations. The national convention of the employees will be held in Delhi on September 7, where a decision about the future course of action to campaign and struggle against neo-liberal policies of the government will be taken, K Venugopal told reporters.

Commenting on the proposed Lokpal Bill, he added that corporates should also be included under it and that trade unions must also be given a chance to express their views on the same

........EDITOR

"" SRI GANESH CHATURDHI"" GREETINGS

CDear Members, Viewers, Welwishes,

Wish you all a Sukh Karta, Dukh Harta Our dear Sri Ganesha will soon come to our place With tons of goodies on this Ganesh Chaturthi! Are you ready?

G- Get

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N- New

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Wish U Happy Ganesh Chaturti

With Warm Greetings

M. HANUMANTHA RAO      T. GOPALA KRISHNA

                             PRESIDENT                GENERAL SECRETARY