Money Back Health Insurance Plan.by IndiaFirst Life Insurance

IndiaFirst Life Insurance, a joint venture between Bank of Baroda and Andhra Bank along with UK's Legal & General, has announced its foray into the health insurance market with the launch of IndiaFirst Money Back Health Insurance Plan. 

A substantial part of the premium you pay is actually credited into your policy account and this money is invested in various funds as per your choice to get you optimum returns.

This money accumulates in your account and comes back to you at the end of the policy. What's more, you can also use this amount anytime if you need to cover hospital expenses that are beyond the insurance limits or not payable under this policy.

The plan is a long term plan for 5 or 10 years and offers dual tax benefit of Section 80C and 80D, under the current tax laws.

It offers the convenience of cashless treatment, cover for 195-day care procedures, re-imbursement of medical expenses for 30 days pre and 60 days post hospitalization, cover for the entire family (spouse, two children and two dependent parents) under one plan.

It is an indemnity-based plan - the insurer will reimburse the expenses incurred on hospitalization, subject to the sublimit and other conditions. You can choose between five fund options.

FEATURES: It is available as individual and family floater plans. The floater plan covers the policyholder, spouse, two children and two parents.

The policyholder will be the 'primary life assured', and others will be referred to as 'other life assured'. Upon the death of the 'primary life assured', the benefits are paid out and the policy ceases to exist.

The policyholder can nominate a beneficiary to receive the sum assured in case of his/her death. The maximum entry age is 60 years and a policyholder cannot be over 70 at the end of the tenure. The maximum ages of parents at inception and maturity should be 65 years and 75 years, respectively. 

SUM ASSURED: The minimum cover offered is Rs 1.5 lakh, and Rs 5 lakh is the upper limit. Under the floater option, the maximum sum assured is Rs 10 lakh.

TERMS OF COVERAGE: The maximum cover is restricted to five times the annual sum assured. There are sub-limits for doctor's fee, room rent, ICU charges, etc. On maturity, you will get the fund value, either as lump sum or in installments, as per your choice.

PREMIUM AND PAYMENT TERMS: You can choose either the single-premium -with tenure of five years – or the regular premium option, with a 10-year term. The premium will be reviewed annually.

Till the age of 45, the minimum premium under the regular mode is Rs 10,000, while it is Rs 30,000 for single premium mode. If you are over 46, the minimum premium will be Rs 14,200 in the regular mode and Rs 37,500 in the single premium mode.

CHARGES: Premium allocation charges are 13% in the first year and 2% in the subsequent years under the regular premium mode.

UPSIDE: Those unwilling to treat their yearly health premium solely as expense and prefer to create a fund instead may find the plan appealing.

DOWNSIDE: The plan is costlier than pure health policies, due to Ulip charges. In addition, the policy gets terminated upon the life assured's death, leaving the dependents unprotected.

Note- This blog (www.yoursweetmoney.blogspot.com) must not hold responsible for any information shared in this article as all the information has gather through online.

You are hereby requested to consult with your financial planner prior to investment.

Honda Jazz

Honda Siel Cars India today launched a variant of the premium hatchback Jazz.

The move precedes the introduction of the small car Brio, which will feature the same engine as the new Jazz.

The car is priced in the range of Rs 5.50 lakh to Rs 6.06 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The old Jazz was priced between Rs 7.12 lakh and Rs 7.56 lakh. The new variant will be fitted with a 1.2-litre petrol engine and give a mileage of 16.7 km per liter.

The engine is being manufactured at a facility in Greater Noida.

As per Mr. Jnaneswar Sen. Honda Siel senior vice-president (sales and marketing), “The engine capacity at the plant is around 1 lakh units per annum and the utilization level is about 60 per cent. So, there is enough capacity to produce engines for the Jazz and Brio”.

He also said some of the components would be brought from the Tapukara plant in Rajasthan. The localisation level of components in the new car stands at about 76 per cent.

DLF stares at Rs 900cr more penalty

Real estate giant DLF may have to pay Rs 900 crore extra penalty if the Competition Commission of India (CCI) finds it guilty of abusing its dominant market position in three more projects in Gurgaon.

The CCI stunned the housing market on Tuesday when it slapped a Rs 630-crore fine on DLF for unfair practices at its Belaire project in Gurgaon. 

The competition regulator is now investigating charges of market dominance and anti-competitive practices in the Park Place, Magnolias and New Town Heights projects.

Officials said apart from DLF, the commission was also investigating 10 to 11 cases involving other real estate players where complaints under sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act 2002 had been lodged. Sections 3 and 4 deal with anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position, respectively.

Sources said next in CCI’s line of fire were cement companies such as Ultratech, ACC and Ambuja Cement, who might have misused dominant market positions.

“Complaints have come from buyers of residential properties in Park Place, Magnolias and New Town Heights against DLF. We will issue an order soon,” said commission officials.

The commission can charge a penalty of up to 10 per cent of three-year average turnover of a company in each case of abuse of market dominance and anti-competitive practices. DLF posted an average turnover of Rs 9,006 crore between 2009 and 2011. In Belaire, the fine was 7 per cent of the average turnover.

The CCI will also initiate “suo-motu” investigation into other real estate players, including Lavasa and DB Realty, as anti-competitive practices have become a norm in the real estate sector.

“Buyers in general are facing problems such as escalation of property price, change in build-up area and delay in getting possession. 

It is, therefore, appropriate to look into the general practice along with specific complaints,” said officials.

The commission, which was set up two years back, is currently investigating around 140 cases.

The commission feels a real estate regulator will “ensure the amount collected from customers is utilised for the specific project, bring transparency in information relating to work progress and end the practice of built-in hidden costs other than the initial set price”.

Analysts said in the absence of a market regulator the commission should be careful during its investigation. “The commission should see to it that it does not become a tool in the hands of irate consumers. 

It should be circumspect when dealing with complaints,” said Abhishek Goenka, partner (real estate) at BMR Advisors.

A Real Estate Regulation Bill 2011, which will bring transparency in the sector and protect consumers from fraud, is yet to be introduced in Parliament. 

If the bill becomes law, all developers will have to register with the regulator and provide details of their projects before starting promotional activities.

Courtesy- http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110819/jsp/business/story_14396014.jsp

ICICI loan

 Bringing back memories of the much-reviled teaser rate home loans, ICICI Bank today launched two home loan products, which give borrowers the option of a fixed interest rate for the first two years.

However, it is not a teaser rate loan in the strictest sense as it does not front-load a lowball rate as an inducement to unsuspecting home loan borrowers.

Under the one-year fixed rate home loan, the customer can take a loan at 10.50 per cent for an amount less than or equal to Rs 25 lakh, 11 per cent for higher than Rs 25 lakh and less than or equal to Rs 75 lakh, and 11.50 per cent for above Rs 75 lakh.

Under the two-year fixed rate scheme, the customer can take a loan at 10.75 per cent for an amount less than or equal to Rs 25 lakh, 11.25 per cent for above Rs 25 lakh and less than or equal to Rs 75 lakh, and 11.75 per cent for an amount higher than Rs 75 lakh.

On completion of fixed rate period, loans will take on a floating interest that will be linked to the base rate.

Borrowers will also have to pay a margin above the base rate, which will be decided at the time of loan sanctioning.

The new products will be available from Friday, ICICI Bank said, adding that the fixed interest products are in addition to the already available floating products.

The notorious teaser rate loan was the brainchild of the State Bank of India and its former chairman P. Bhatt. It was launched in 2009 with a fixed interest rate component that was as low as 8 per cent for the first year. It morphed into a floating rate for the remaining term of the loan.

However, the RBI came down on these schemes as it was concerned that borrowers might find it difficult to service the loans once the normal rate kicked in.

With interest rates turning expensive and observers fearing a couple of more rate hikes from the apex bank, ICICI Bank’s latest move seems designed to carve out a greater market share and acquire customers.

The lender said that fixed income rates would shield customers from frequent changes in home loan interest rates and protect them from any rise in interest rates over the next one or two years.