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

A- Always

N- New

E- Energy

S- Spirit

H- Happiness

Wish U Happy Ganesh Chaturti

With Warm Greetings

M. HANUMANTHA RAO      T. GOPALA KRISHNA

                             PRESIDENT                GENERAL SECRETARY

Ultra low-cost cars to wait as Tata, Hyundai, Maruti, Ford, GM focus on small car segment

Dear Members & Viewers,

The Tatas swear by it, the Detroit giants have for now given up on it, and the top 2 in the Indian car bazaar see a future beyond it. Don't look now, but blueprints for an ultra low-cost car (ULCC) under Rs 2 lakh - championed by the Tatas with the much-touted Nano - are under various stages of modification at the research centres of various manufacturers.

Even as it attempts to push up sales of the Nano, Tata Motors is working on Plan B: it is close to showcasing a car positioned a step above the Nano and below compact bestseller, the Indica. No 2 in India Hyundai is working on a model that will be priced below its cheapest car in the country, the Santro, but above the Nano.

And leader Maruti Suzuki has two irons in the fire -a revamped Maruti 800 that will be pitted directly against the Tatas' ULCC; and another - the first indigenous car Maruti will develop fully in India -that will occupy the space between the Nano and the Alto.

Meantime, Ford and General Motors have taken the ULCC off their drawing boards; and Renault India, which had plans to build an affordable car with Bajaj Auto and Nissan, is in no hurry to launch anything soon. The foreign majors feel they're better off concentrating on what they know better - premium compacts. For, this is a segment first-time customers are aspiring for and, in the process, bypassing the no-frills space.

There's clearly plenty of activity and jostling for space at the lower half of the auto pyramid. Manufacturers are spending sleepless nights figuring out price points, features and positioning tactics in the low-cost segment.

Their biggest dilemma: Should one attempt to make ultra low-cost cars, or should the focus be on affordable but snazzy cars that will be driven out by consumers with higher disposable incomes and burgeoning purchasing power?

"The aspirations of car buyers are moving the Indian car market upwards to bigger hatchbacks, but there will always be demand for ultra low-cost cars," says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India. Sorabjee adds that cost targets in building an ULCC are extremely challenging which makes this segment the most difficult to enter.

HOLY GRAIL FOR CAR MAKERS

"But the bottom of the pyramid has huge volumes and very few players, which is why it's still the holy grail for carmakers," he explains. Carmakers like Maurti are taking no chances, preferring not to err on either the side of engineering frugality or consumer aspirations.

Maruti is working on revamping its one-time mainstay, the 800, to make it comply with the latest emission norms and more spacious; this model will be priced under Rs 2 lakh, and pitched headon against the Nano, whose various models are priced between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2.11 lakh ex-showroom in Mumbai. (Currently the Maruti 800 is only available in tier 2 towns where emission norms are less stringent.)

But Maruti also has another small car in the works that will straddle the space between the Nano and the Alto (whose base model has a price tag of well under Rs 3 lakh).

"It is not a replacement for the Maruti 800 but a totally new car with a new shape and design," points out a senior Maruti executive on the condition of anonymity. Korean major Hyundai has similar designs; it is set to launch an 800 cc small car branded 'HA' in November in the price band of Rs 2.3-2.8 lakh. The HA will compete against the Alto and be priced below the Hyundai Santro.

The Santro has a price tag in the range of Rs 3.25 lakh to Rs 4.34 lakh. "We do not have the technology for a ULCC and we do not think it will be viable. Our new car will not compete with the Nano," says Arvind Saxena, director, sales & marketing, Hyundai Motors India.

So where does that leave the Nano, which has still to get its act together? After sales peaked at around 10,000 in April 2011, they had once again dipped to 3,260 in July. This makes Tata Motors' expectation of sales of 20,000 per month by December almost a pipedream. Officials of Tata Motors are hopeful that the Nano will pick up once interest rates and fuel prices fall; and once the distribution part of the game is figured out.

Executives working on the Nano project point out that the company is focusing on increasing the car's reach in tier-II and III markets. Some 300 exclusive Nano dealerships will be set up in the current fiscal. A diesel version with high fuel efficiency that is on the cards will also help boost sales.

"The Nano has a lot of potential and the Tatas have the first-mover advantage. They are going through a learning curve and have to focus on understanding the Nano consumer," says Sorabjee. Yet, the Tatas might well have a fallback plan in place. Industry experts point out that Tata Motors has started work on a platform that is larger than the Nano called Dolphin.

"Tata is close to showcasing a car bigger than the Nano," says an Ahmedabadbased supplier of Tata Motors. Company officials declined to comment. The global majors in India for their part have put their ULCC plans in cold storage.

The view at Ford is that since more than half of its buyers of premium hatchback Figo in July were first-time buyers, consumers may well be in a position to bypass the ULCC segment.

"We do not have any immediate plans to bring products in the ultra low-cost segment. A significant proportion of our products to come will be positioned in the volumes segment that contributes to 70% of industry sales," says Michael Boneham, MD, Ford India. Ford's Detroit neighbour feels the same way.

"We are not working on the project anymore and there are no plans to introduce any ultra low-cost car now," says Karl Slym, MD, General Motors India. In mid-July, reports surfaced that Bajaj Auto had shelved a project to develop a ULCC in India with Renault, saying it was commercially unviable.

"We have not seen the car or any prototype yet and there has been no confirmation from the Indian company on any ultra low-cost project. If in case there is any product developed and shown to us, we will only move ahead if it confirms to Renault's global standards and if the quality of the product matches our DNA," Renault India managing director Marc Nassif had recently told ET.

One little known local player, International Car & Motors Ltd (ICML), which makes multi-utility vehicles, has also bid adieu to its ULCC dream. "We shelved our plans to make a micro car as the initial feasibility reports suggested that customers do not have a fancy for low-priced cars. They want premium features; rather than price, they are fixated on quality, styling and luxury," says L D Mittal, Chairman, ICML.

It's now up to Ratan Tata to prove to the world that the ULCC still has a worthy place in the sun. For now the priority is to clear unsold Nano stocks. To that end, many leading Tata Motors dealers across the country have started offering schemes to customers over and above the ones offered by the company.

"We started offering lower monthly instalments and down payments to lure customers. We had no choice as we are losing sales and interest costs on the inventory," says a leading Mumbai-based dealer.

Tata Motors can do with some help from its dealer network but in the longer run it has to prove that Indian consumers - tens of thousands of them - want to drive an ULCC. For the moment, they are alone on that road.

.......edior

Small cars dent profits of motor insurance companies

Dear Members & Viewers,

The high proportion of imported components in small cars is denting profits of motor insurance companies, with their claims ratio rising to 70% from 40% in the past two years.

General insurers, who face huge losses in their motor insurance portfolio because of accidents and third-party cover, say replacing damaged imported parts in vehicles is a costly affair.

Claims ratio is the amount an insurer pays as claim on every 100 of premium it earns.

Car sales in India grew at record levels near 30% in the last two fiscals, which also saw automobile companies aggressively push into the below 5-lakh category with new car launches.

"Our data shows the average claim in the passenger car segment has increased from Rs 8,000-10,000 to Rs 10,000-15,000 in the last three years. This has started to eat into the profitability of insurers," Vijay Kumar, president and head of motor insurance at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, told reporters in Kolkata. Bajaj is the country's third-largest insurer in terms of 'own damage' cover, which insures a policyholder's vehicle.

The percentage of imported parts in the small cars of manufacturers such as Volkswagon, Chevrolet, Toyota and General Motors was high, which was pushing up replacement cost. Consequentially, renewal premiums are also on the rise, said a senior insurance official.

"There could be instances where an individual needs to shell out premiums that are higher in absolute terms than the previous year's. Higher the claims, higher would be the renewal premiums," Kumar said.

A senior Bajaj Allianz official said: "Insurance premiums are a factor of the price of the car. As competition in the small-car segment hots up, manufacturers are adopting aggressive pricing strategies to capture the market. It has resulted in low premium income on account of competitive prices, but high claims ratio as replacement costs are high."

......EDITOR

"" RAMADAN "" GREETINGS

Dear Members, Viewers and Welwishers,

Message:

Chupke se chand ki Roshni choo jaye Aapko

Dheere se ye Hawaa kuch keh jaye Aapko,

Dil se jo Chahte ho maang Lo Khuda se

Hum Dua karte hain mil jaye wo Aapko”

“EID MUBAARAK”

WITH WARM GREEINGS

          M. HANUMANTHA RAO       T. GOPALA KRISHNA

                  PRESIDENT               GENERAL SECRETARY

INDIA FIRST LIFE INSURANCE ADOPTS UNIQUE APPROACH TO CASHLESS "Claim Settlement "

Dear Viewers,

Buying a health insurance policy is very easy but when it comes to making a claim through a third-party administrator (TPA), policyholders have to undergo a tedious process. India First Life launched its first unit-linked health plan ‘IndiaFirst Money Back Health Plan’ which aims to address the claim settlement process in a unique way.

Normally, in order to make a claim, a policyholder has to either contact the TPA or the insurance company via telephone, email or fax. India First Life is using a tech-savvy approach where-in the policyholder can get a cashless treatment simply by swiping their card at the hospital. The company is networked with 4,956 hospitals across the country for providing a cashless treatment.

Commenting on this, Dr. P Nandagopal, CEO and MD of India First Life said, “The customer need not go to the TPA or send a fax. Once he swipes the card, the authorisation immediately happens. Again when he gets discharged from the hospital, he would need to swipe it and the hospital gets the money through the MasterCard service network, bypassing the entire documentation that is otherwise required and makes the whole process hassle-free."

How does this work?

1. The policyholder will swipe his or her card at the same machine that is used to swipe a debit or a credit card

2. The information gets passed on to the TPA, who will contact the hospital and get details of the medical treatment that the patient needs to undergo

3. If everything is in place, the cashless claim gets approved and the insurance company directly pays the hospital

About IndiaFirst Money Back Health Plan:

This is a savings-cum-indemnity health plan with a policy term of 5 years for single pay and 10 years for regular pay. It offers a comprehensive health cover for the entire family along with the investment flexibility to grow wealth by investing in different funds under a single plan. The minimum sum assured for individuals is Rs 1.5 lakh whereas the maximum sum assured is Rs 5 lakh. The maximum sum assured for a family floater policy is Rs 10 lakh and the policyholder can include spouse, up to 2 children and parents. The cover can be extended to include new members in case of marriage or remarriage, child birth or legal adoption. In case of hospitalisation, surgery etc, the plan pays for the hospital bills. It also covers 195 listed day care procedures, cost of medicines, diagnostic tests, etc.

In case if the policyholder gets treatment at a non-networked hospital, then IndiaFirst Life will pay only 80% of expenses, while the remaining 20% will have to be borne by policyholder.

Just like most other health insurance policies, there is a waiting period of 4 years on pre-existing diseases. Since this is a unit-linked health plan, the policyholder has the option to choose from six-investment funds and make partial withdrawals after 5 complete policy years.

The new tech-savvy approach that IndiaFirst Life has adopted is bound to address the pain points of a policyholder, which is getting a hassle-free cashless settlement.

....... EDITOR

Life Insurance premium collection dips by 2.5 percent in July 2011

DEAR VIEWERS,

New business premium of life insurance companies have collectively declined by 2.5% for the month of July 2011 as compared to that in July 2010.

Out of the 23 life insurance companies in India, only 7 of them have shown a positive growth. These companies are Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), SBI Life Insurance, Max New York Insurance, Aviva Life Insurance, Kotak Life Insurance, Met Life Insurance and ING Vysya Life.

Aviva Life Insurance has taken the highest jump of 94% by collecting premiums of Rs 116.61 crore in July this year over Rs 60 crore in July 2010. Aviva Life Insurance Company has introduced some really great child plans and an online term plan called Aviva iLife which is also one of the cheapest term plans available in the markets. Term plans are very popular with families in India as it is a no frills policy offering a high sum assured for a low premium.

LIC has collected Rs 6064.71 crore in July this year, which is a 6.6% growth over its collections of Rs 5690.31 in July last year.

Reliance Life Insurance, Bharti Axa Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Companies’ premium collections have taken a steep plunge.

Among the private life insurers, SBI Life Insurance Company has done the highest business which is evident by its premium collections of Rs 710.11 crore. Incidentally last year, same time, ICICI Prudential’s collections were higher than SBI Life. While SBI Life has raised the bar this year by registering a 26.1% growth, ICICI Prudential has recorded a negative growth.

..... Editor

Insurance for Ganesh Chaturthi running in crores

Dear Viewers,

Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations are just around the corner and Ganpati mandals in the city of Mumbai have started gearing up for the same. Large number of devotees, people, and even bollywood celebrities flock to get a glimpse of their favourite idol; and the numbers are only increasing by the year.

Ganpati mandals want to leave no stone unturned in making sure that they get complete security and are willing to pay large sums of money to get an insurance cover for the same.

Insurance cover for this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi, starting on September 1, is estimated to run into crores of rupees. Mandal’s across the city are seeking quotes from insurance companies for this festival and are in the stages of finalizing the premium as well as the sum assured.

Last year, the city’s richest mandal GSB Seva Sadan, based in Matunga, had taken an insurance cover of Rs 49.5 crore. They are all set to break last year’s records and the insurance cover this year is likely to cross Rs 50 crores.

Insurance cover for Ganesh celebrations largely covers the crowd or the people gathered at the venue, the mandal, and expensive gold jewellery encrusted with gemstones adorning the idol.

Other top ganpati mandals in the city are also looking to insure this event and collectively the sum assured this year is likely to break all records, especially due to the recent terror attacks in the city. Terror insurance cover is also an option that people are now considering.

The most popular and top Ganpati mandals in the city are Lalbaugcha Raja, GSB Seva, Ganesh Galli and Khetwadicha Raja among others.

All in all, large sums of money are being showered for this year's Ganesh Chaturthi in the city and insurance is going to play a very vital role.

......EDITOR

General Insurance Companies register a positive growth in July,2011

DEAR FRIENDS,

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has released the business figures of all general or non-life insurance companies in India. For the month July 2011, these companies have collectively recorded an 18.5% growth over their premium collections in July 2010.

New India Assurance, the country’s largest non-life insurer, has collected Rs 707.15 crore for the month of July this year, with a growth of 18.2% over its collections in July last year. The other 3 public sector insurance companies – United India Insurance, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance have also registered a double digit growth.

Among the private insurance companies, ICICI Lombard has collected the highest premia of Rs 398 crore, followed by Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Iffco Tokio, Tata AIG, HDFC Ergo and others. Star Health Insurance and Universal Sompo are the only two insurance companies to have registered a dip in their collections over that in July 2010. There are 3 standalone health insurance companies in India – Star Health Insurance, Max Bupa Health Insurance and Apollo Munich Health Insurance. Max Bupa, whose premiums are comparatively on the higher side, has collected only Rs 5.34 crore whereas Apollo Munich Health Insurance has collected Rs 30.24 crore.

SBI General Insurance has collected Rs 22.16 crore in July this year, which is a 4-fold jump over its collections of Rs 5.04 crore in July last year.

......EDITOR

New India Assurance gets new CMD

DEAR VIEWERS,

United India Insurance Chief G Srinivasan has taken up the additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the country's largest PSU general insurance company, New India Assurance.

The appointment follows the suspension order issued by the government to New India Assurance Chairman and Managing Director M Ramadoss over alleged irregularities in the grant of credit insurance cover to a private airline company during his tenure as Oriental Insurance head.

Srinivasan has taken over the additional charge of Mumbai-based New India Assurance from today, sources added. Ramadoss has been put on suspension pending investigation of the allegations against by the CBI, official sources said.

A case is also pending against Ramadoss with anti-corruption watchdog Central Vigilance Commission. Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the residence of Ramadoss in connection with alleged irregularities in the credit insurance cover given to Paramount Airways by Oriental Insurance.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the grant of credit insurance amounting to Rs 14-25 crore by Oriental Insurance to Chennai-based Paramount Airways in 2008-09 toward multiple bank guarantees for covering fuel purchases.

Credit insurance, now banned by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, is taken by a company to cover its dues and in case it fails to repay them, banks recover it from the insurance companies. Ramadoss is the second chief of a state-owned insurer to face action this year. In May, 2011, the government removed Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Chairman T S Vijayan following alleged irregularities in investment decisions taken by the insurer during his tenure. The CBI is looking into the matter.

The CBI has alleged that Ramadoss entered a criminal conspiracy with Paramount officials for providing credit insurance cover to the airline, which was in violation of the existing rules and regulations.

Paramount Airways had taken a loan of about Rs 400 crore loan from five major banks to make payments for fuel to oil companies. However, it allegedly defaulted in repaying the amount. These five banks had subsequently sent claims to Oriental Insurance, which had issued the credit insurance to the airline.

The planes of Paramount Airways were de-registered in 2010, following which they could not operate their flights. (PTI )

.......EDITOR

TCS, Infosys, MindTree, HCL and other Indian IT companies to suffer as angry America wants its jobs back

Dear Viewers,

Some American corporations are retaining a small, but highly-prized slice of software jobs at home, mindful of the record unemployment levels and the anger among locals who see work being shipped overseas.

For Indian software providers such as TCS, Infosys and HCL, such a development — it is not expected to become a mainstream trend — could chip away a fraction of new jobs that could have been offshored to them. In an interview with Bloomberg on Monday, Charlene Begley, chief information technology officer of GE, said his company was rethinking the strategy of outsourcing more than half of its IT work.

....EDITOR

General Insurance Companies post a HEALTHY GROWTH IN Q1 - 2011-12

DEAR MEMBERS AND VIEWERS,

The first quarter results of non-life or general insurance companies are out and New India Assurance is the highest grosser among all insurers. For the period April to June this year, New India Assurance Company collected Rs 2316.12 crore with a growth rate of 15.97% as compared to previous year.

Among private players, ICICI Lombard has the highest collections of Rs 1261.65 crore in the first quarter with a growth rate of 17.81% over that in the previous year. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance is next in line after ICICI Lombard, with Q1 collections of 795.81 crore.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company has shown an impressive growth of 71% for the period April to June 2011-12 with collections of Rs 71.83 crore over Rs 42.05 crore during April to June 2010-11. There are only 3 standalone health insurance companies in India – Apollo Munich Health Insurance, Star Health & Allied Services and Max Bupa Health Insurance. Compared to its other two counterparts, Star Health tops the charts with the highest collections of Rs 409.86 crore for the period April to June 2011-12. In the month of June, Star Health Insurance has collected Rs 154.02 crore, which is almost a 58% jump over its collections of Rs 97.70 crore in June last year.

Despite the news of Reliance buying 74% stakes of Bharti, Bharti AXA General Insurance collected premiums of Rs 54.26 crore for the month of June 2011 over Rs 37.60 crore in June 2010. After receiving the nod from Competition Commission of India (CCI), the deal between Mukesh Ambani led Reliance and Bharti is awaiting other regulatory approvals.

.......EDITOR