Register your Complaints to IRDA regarding Insurance related matters

• Do you face issues while dealing with your Insurance Companies?
• Do they don’t answer you on time or don’t entertain your genuine concerns on time?
• Are you having a problem with Claims or other issues with an insurance company?

Should you complain?

In case you are facing issues like unsatisfactory answers, no replies on time , delay in replies, taking matters for granted and not treating you properly, any misselling in Insurance, you can complain to IRDA about all this , it’s just a call away, hence better use the facility and don’t feel like you are not powerful enough.

You can also mail Insurance companies and cc the IRDA email id for complaints for faster and better reply, but only in case you are facing issues, don’t spam them 

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Call centre

IRDA (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority) has started a new service where you can approach by phone or E-mail and complain against your Insurer.

There is a call centre started by IRDA for registering grievances on policy-related matters. The call centre will provide an easy and convenient way to bring complaints to the notice of the IRDA.

The Toll Free Number is 155255 and Email for complaints is complaints@irda.gov.in. 

Before the complain, you can approach the Insurance Ombudsman where the dispute involves amount lower than Rs 20 lakh. You can find the contact mail address of the Insurance Ombudsman of your region from IRDA’s Web site http://www.irda.gov.in

Public health investment has substantially increased: Economic Survey

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who presented the Economic Survey 2011-12 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, said that there has been an increase in public health investment in the country.

The combined revenue and capital expenditure of the Centre and States on medical and public health, water supply and sanitation and family welfare has increased from Rs.53,057.80 crore in 2006-07 to Rs. 96,672.79 crore in 2010-11.

"In addition to increasing resource allocation for the health sector the government is also playing a critical role in facilitating access to health care delivery channels, public and private through subsidized health, insurance schemes like the Rasthriya Swasthaya Bima Yojana(RSBY) for providing basic health care to poor and marginal workers. 

The RSBY is being extended to cover MGNREGA beneficiaries and beedi workers," said Mukherjee.

"A sum of Rs. 1437 crore has been allocated to the states during 2011-12 under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK). In order to reach out to difficult, inaccessible, backward and under-served areas with poor health indicators, 264 high focus districts in 21 states have been identified based on concentration of SC/ST population and presence of left wing extremism for focused attention," he added.

Mukherjee also pointed out that the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), which targets lowering of Maternal Mortality Ratio by ensuring that deliveries are conducted by skilled birth attendants, has shown rapid growth in last three years, with number of beneficiaries rising to 106.96 lakh in 2010-11 from 90.37 lakh in 2008-09, with the issue of governance, transparency, and grievance redressal mechanisms being the thrust areas for the JSY.

Courtsey: ANI

Goodbye Internet

Come March 8, the Internet could stop working for millions of users because of a virus, DNS Changer, which has corrupted millions of computers in more than 100 countries.

Though the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shut down the rogue DNSChanger network and put up surrogate servers following a US court order, it has the mandate to run the temporary network only till March 8.

Unless the FBI obtains a fresh order, the network will be turned off, resulting in millions of computers worldwide no longer having Internet access.

In November 2011, six Estonian nationals were arrested for running a sophisticated Internet fraud ring that infected millions of computers worldwide with the DNS Changer which enabled them manipulate the multibillion dollar Internet advertising industry.

This virus also made computers vulnerable to a host of other viruses. The criminals are said to have siphoned off $14 million, but the amount could be much larger because banks are typically reluctant to reveal how much they have lost. The two-year FBI investigation was code-named Operation Ghost Click.

What is DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is an Internet service that converts user-friendly domain names into the numerical Internet protocol (IP) addresses that computers use to talk to each other.

DNS and DNS Servers are a critical component of your computer’s operating environment. 

Without them, you would not be able to access websites, send e-mails or use any other Internet service.

When you enter a domain name, such as www.abc.com, in your web browser’s address bar, your computer contacts DNS servers to determine the site’s IP address. Your computer then uses this IP address to connect to the website.

DNS servers are operated by your Internet service provider (ISP) and are included in your computer’s network configuration.

What is DNSChanger?

A small file about 1.5 kilobytes, DNSChanger is a Trojan that changes the infected system’s DNS settings, in order to divert traffic to unsolicited and potentially illegal sites.

This Trojan is designed to change the “NameServer” Registry key value to a custom IP address, which is usually encrypted in the body of the Trojan.

By controlling DNS, a criminal can get an unsuspecting user to connect to a fraudulent website or interfere with that user’s online web browsing.

DNSChanger malware causes a computer to use rogue DNS servers in one of two ways.

 First, it changes the computer’s DNS server settings to replace the ISP’s good DNS settings with rogue DNS IP addresses operated by the criminal.

Second, it attempts to access devices on the victim’s office or home network that run a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server (for example, a router). 

The malware attempts to access your router using common default user names and passwords. This is usually “admin” and “admin” respectively.

It converts the genuine DNS settings these devices use to rogue DNS settings operated by the criminals. This is a change that impacts all computers on the corporate network, even if individual computers are not infected.

One consequence of the FBI disabling the rogue DNS network is that victims who unknowingly access the Internet through rogue servers could lose access to the Internet altogether.

So the FBI got a court order allowing them to replace the rogue servers with legitimate stand-ins. The FBI was told to educate the public and Internet Service Providers about the DNSChanger malware.

If your ISP’s DNS server is infected, you, too, will be affected. How do you know if your computer is infected? It is best to have it evaluated by a professional.

You can also check it yourself in Windows 7 by going to the Start menu, typing Run and then cmd. At the command prompt, enter: ipconfig /all. Look for the entry that reads “DNS Servers……….”

The DNS numbers are in the format of nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn, where nnn is a number from 0 to 255. Make note of the IP addresses for the DNS servers and compare them to the table of known rogue DNS servers.

If you are using a Mac, click on the Apple symbol in the top left corner and choose System Preferences, then Network and click on the Advanced button. Choose the DNS tab on top to show the DNS servers you are using.

There is a special website to check if your ISP’s DNS requests are made to the right places: http://www.dns-ok.de. 

This site will tell you if you are affected by the DNS Changer malware or not.

What will happen after March 8?

According to the FBI, it will shut down the surrogate DNS servers over a period of four months, affecting millions of users who are still using rogue DNS addresses.

If your PC is infected by rouge DNS, you can use Avira DNSRepair tool. Download it from: www. avira.com/files/support/FAQ_KB_Download_Files/EN/AviraDNSRepairEN.exe.

Mac users just make sure you are using the correct DNS. And check your computer thoroughly for other malware.

Courtesy: The Telegraph, Kolkata.

RBI hints at another CRR cut also rules out SLR reduction

The Reserve Bank on Monday hinted at another reduction in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of banks to ease the severe liquidity in the system but ruled out a cut in the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), saying that such a move will not create any additional cash flow. ”Space for (more) CRR cut still exists as we need to see significant fall in aggregate deficit,” RBI Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn told reporters on the sidelines of a function.He did not indicate any timeline for the cut. Gokarn, however, ruled out any cut in the SLR saying,”Reducing SRL will not create any additional capacity in the system at this point of time, because of there is surplus. If SLR is close to the limit, then a reduction is possible, and may have created capacity. But given the situation all instruments are on the table.” On January 24, RBI had cut CRR by 0.5 percentage points to 5.5 per cent, releasing Rs 32,000 crore into the system. Since then, the fund crunch has only worsened. Last Thursday, the strain on the system rose to high of Rs 1.02 lakh crore. And going forward it will only increase as by March 15 companies will have to make advance tax payments, which will drive out Rs 60,000 crore from the system. Another Rs 12,000 crore is likely to go out of banks due to the ONGC auction last week and companies will drain a similar amount out on account of excise duty payment. Stating that liquidity deficit is partly structural and partly temporary, Gokarn said, “Current call rates suggest that things are relatively stable (since) there is arbitrage in the market. ”Banks which have surplus SLR can borrow at the LAF (liquidity adjustment facility) and lend through call (money) market to banks which do not have excess SLR. So, the fact that SLR is skewed is not a cause of concern.”