Archive for August, 2008

 

Introduction of Health Insurance in India - Mediclaim Policy in India - Health Insurance Coverage - Health Insurance Company in India

Sunday, August 31st, 2008
insurance
S.K.Sethi asked:


Introduction of health insurance in india

In mid 80’s most of the  hospitals in India were government owned and treatment was free of cost. With the advent of Private Medical Care the  need for Health Insurance  was felt and various Insurance Companies  (New India Assurance, National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance & United Insurance Company) introduced Mediclaim Insurance as a product.

According to recent news report Health insurance continues to be the fastest growing segment with annual growth rate of 55%. Health Premium has risen to Rs. 3300 crores in 2006-2007. As per the recent reports from various agencies the Health sector has the potential to become a Rs. 25000-crore industry by 2010.

On August 15, 2007 Prime Minister has announced Rs 2000 Crores for Health Insurance for poor citizens. We foresee that this amount will be partly in form of subsidy therefore during calendar year 2008 we can expect  Health Insurance premium to touch figure in the range of Rs 10,000 Crores.

In 2001 with entry of various private Insurance companies now the customers have choice of buying this insurance from 14 Insurance companies.

The Companies, which offer  Health or Mediclaim Insurance, are;

                          

Apollo DKV Insurance Company Limited.

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited

Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited

HDFC General Insurance Company Ltd.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Limited.

IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Limited

National Insurance Company Limited

New India Assurance Company Limited

Oriental Insurance Company Limited

Reliance General Insurance Company Limited

Royal Sundram Alliance Insurance Company Limited

Star health and Allied Insurance Company Limited

TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited. (Overseas Health Insurance only)

United India Insurance Company Limited

Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited

India is the only country  where hospitalization insurance policy  was being sold as  Mediclaim Insurance Policies. The very name gives a feeling to the insured that claim has to be lodged. If motor insurance policy is not sold as motor insurance claim policy and household insurance policy is not sold as household claim policy then why this be named as Mediclaim?

Health Insurance and Mediclaim are two different names for the same product. The change has started  coming and now we have started calling it Health Insurance. ICICI Lombard has even named it as Health Insurance Policy.

Calling is as Health Insurance is a positive way of looking at this Insurance. It also giving  us a feeling that we as a society have started moving from curative medical care to preventive medical care.



Raymond

 

How can I get home owners insurance quotes before I buy a home?

Sunday, August 31st, 2008
insurance quotes
brooke m asked:


I filled out a mortgage app at bank and was aproved. That is as far as I have gotten. Trying to get an idea of how much I am looking at for insurance/taxes in Deer Park TX area for 4 bedroom home (120K) and how do I go about finding a realtor? 25F/1st time buyer.

Lillian

 

Sorting Through The Different Types Of Life Insurance

Saturday, August 30th, 2008
life insurance
Jim Pretin asked:


Life insurance is a means for providing financial protection for your family in the event of your death. A life insurance contract is relatively straightforward; you agree to pay a premium at regular intervals, and the insurance company agrees to pay a certain sum of money to your beneficiary upon your death.

There are three parties to a life insurance contract. First, there is the insured. This is the person whose life is being insured under the policy. Next, there is the insurer. The insurer is the insurance company who underwrites the risk. And third, there is the owner. The owner and insured are not necessarily one and the same. Someone can buy a life insurance policy to insure the life of someone else, such as their spouse.

The person who buys the policy is the owner, and the person whose life the policy is based on is the insured. When the owner and the insured are different people, premium payments are the responsibility of the owner.

Every life insurance contract also has a beneficiary. This is the person who receives the proceeds from the policy in the event of the death of the insured, and is assigned by the owner. There are two types. An irrevocable beneficiary can not be changed unless the beneficiary gives his or her permission; if it is revocable, the owner can change it at any time.

The policy is subject to certain terms and conditions. There are usually certain exclusions that apply, depending on the person being insured. But with almost every policy, death as the result of ******* during the first two years of the policy term is excluded from coverage.

Also, during the first two years of the policy, often referred to as the contestable period, the insurance company retains the right to not immediately pay out, even if the death is caused by a condition that is covered in the policy. The company can order an investigation into the death of the insured, to make sure that the death was not deliberate or the result of homicide.

The amount paid to the beneficiary is called the face amount. The maturity date is reached upon either the date when the insured deceases or reaches a certain age. Life insurance is most often used to provide income protection to the spouse of the deceased.

Regardless of the reason for buying the insurance, the owner (if not the same person as the insured), must have an insurable interest. In other words, the owner of the contract must have a reason for wanting to insure the life of that person, otherwise the contract is void.

When the person covered by the policy dies, the insurance company requires proof of death before paying the claim. A notarized death certificate is the most commonly accepted form of proof. The benefit is paid out either as a lump sum or as an annuity that is paid out over time.

Any annuity can be a good way to receive the benefits. It is possible for the beneficiary to set up a lifetime annuity, which would guarantee that person a certain amount of monthly income for the rest of his or her life.

There are two basic types of life insurance, temporary and permanent. Temporary insurance is known as term life. An example of a term policy would be a 20-year term life, which means that the policy will pay a death benefit if the person dies within the next twenty years.

Permanent insurance includes whole life and universal life. Whole life provides for a payout no matter when the person dies, but premiums have to continue to be paid, usually right up until the insured reaches the age of 100. Universal policies are somewhat similar, but they allow for greater premium flexibility. Universal insurance is somewhat complicated; you should talk to an agent before buying it.

I hope this information has helped you become acquainted with life insurance. You should sit down with your spouse and talk about buying a policy. Then, call an agent who works for an insurance company with a strong financial rating and make an appointment to discuss your objectives. Use the information that was presented here to help you make intelligent choices so your family will be protected in the event that something happens to you.



Aaron

 

Best Auto Insurance Quotes: Know the Rules to Get Best Rates

Saturday, August 30th, 2008
insurance quotes
Apurva Shree asked:


After you have bought your vehicle, next step is to get it insured, try to get the best auto insurance quotes so that it’s not too heavy on your pocket. If you already have a vehicle which is insured, but it’s time now to renew your insurance, you can do little research on whether your current company is giving you the best rates or not. Auto insurance quotes can be provided by the insurance companies directly, through insurance agents or through the internet.

The best and by far the quickest way to get best auto insurance quotes is to shop online. You can get instant quotes from different companies; get the best rates without physically discussing it and its all done from the comfort of your home or office. Shopping online allows you to compare quotes given by different insurers, thus you can get the best quotes without hassles.

Key Factors Which Decide The Insurance Quotes:

There are some factors which play a key role in deciding your insurance premium:

Premium for new cars with big engines and large sizes is more. The bigger your engine is, the flashier your car is, the more money you have to shell out in the premium. A flashy sports car attracts much higher auto insurance quotes than a sturdy car with no frills.

Age and *** also play a major role. Many insurers offer lower insurance quotes for women drivers, as women drivers are considered to be safer. On the other hand, young and inexperienced drivers have to pay more as car insurance UK. However, for getting best auto insurance quotes, you may check in with some websites which offer lower rates for young drivers too, those who have taken advanced driving lessons.

If you get extra safety features installed on your car, you will get lower car insurance quotes. Getting your windows etched with your registration number, having alarms fitted etc., these safety features play an important role in getting the best auto insurance quotes for you.

Type Of Insurances:

Another important aspect for getting good auto insurance quotes is the knowledge of what is insured and what not. For the simple third party insurance, only basics are covered and premium is low. While for the full comprehensive insurance, it has a high premium, but it covers you and your car against everything and anything.

Depending on the above stated factors, you can very well decide what kind of insurance you want and what you can do to lower the insurance premium. You must also do a background check about the insurer’s market reputation and service provided to the customers. Now, it’s up to you to negotiate the best auto insurance quotes with your insurance company.



Eleanor

 

Why are some life insurance policies more expensive than others?

Friday, August 29th, 2008
life insurance
Telling It Like It Is asked:


One company would charge nearly $30 a month, another only $7 and I asked for the same amount of whole life insurance at my current age. What makes the more expensive one better - and is it better if you’re really covering yourself for same basic fees and services. Could someone explain in laymens terms?

Alvin

 

Whole Life Insurance - Permanent Life Insurance

Friday, August 29th, 2008
life insurance
Bradley Steffens asked:


Many people think life insurance is useful only for a specific period in life: those twenty to thirty years when a person is married with children living at home. The assumption is that should a breadwinner die once the children are grown, the surviving spouse will be able to support himself or herself on a single income. In such a scenario, life insurance is necessary only a 10- or 20-year period. Those who share this outlook believe that term life insurance, which provides coverage for a limited number of years, provides all the protection they need. Because the coverage is closed-ended, term life is the least expensive kind of life insurance available.

Other consumers are not so optimistic. What happens, they wonder, if the surviving spouse becomes disabled? Even after the children grow up and move away, a disabled person will not be able to support himself or herself if the breadwinner dies. If the term life insurance has expired, the disabled spouse will have no safety net in the event of the death of his or her spouse. Similarly, a child may become disabled and unable to move out and support himself or herself like other children. With a disabled adult child living at home, the surviving spouse might not be able to meet all the expenses on his or her own.

Divorce can factor into life insurance decisions as well. A term life insurance policy might cover a “first” family, but many people divorce, remarry, and start new families. The number of people having or adopting children in their forties and fifties is increasing steadily. A term policy taken out in a breadwinner’s twenties or thirties will expire just as the new family is getting started, unless he or she has “renewable” term life. Even then, costs will go up.

It is possible for an older person to buy a new term policy, of course. The problem is that insurability is not guaranteed. If a person is in poor health or has had a serious illness, such as cancer, insurance companies can and will deny coverage. Even in ideal health, a person will pay much more for term life over the age of 50 than he or she would have much earlier, erasing some or all of the savings realized during the term of the first policy. For example, a 55-year-old woman will pay 6.8 times more for a 30-year, $500,000 policy than she would have at age 30–$2,210 a year compared to just $325 a year. Prices will increase by as much as 30 percent if the insured is just 10 pounds above the insurance company’s ideal weight. If the person weighs even more, rates will skyrocket.

Some term life policies are renewable without needing a physical exam. These policies cost more than standard term policies, but they allow the coverage to continue. The premiums rise with each renewable period, reflecting the greater risk of death as a person ages.

The best way to guarantee insurability and control insurance costs into middle age is to buy permanent life insurance, such as whole life insurance or universal life insurance. Permanent life insurance does not expire until the insured does. In addition, the premiums will not go up based on the health, weight, or age of the insured. If a permanent life insurance is taken out while a person is in his or her twenties or thirties, the premiums are much higher than those of a term life insurance. Because the premiums remain constant, however, they are lower than those of a term life policy taken out later in life.

Permanent life insurance also provides a way for consumers to generate savings, something that term life insurance does not. Term life is pure insurance in the sense that it insures the policyholder’s life and nothing else. Permanent life insures a life, too, but it also includes a mechanism for saving money. When the permanent life insurance policy is new, the cost of insuring the life is lower than the premium amount. The insurance company deposits the excess amount (minus the company’s fees and profits) into savings account. This money, known as the cash value, increases each time a premium is paid. The insurance company invests these funds in the open market. The returns on the investment are credited to the account. These gains are tax-deferred, meaning that they grow, untaxed, as long as the money is in the account. If the cash value is withdrawn or used to pay the premiums after the insured reaches retirement age, no taxes are paid on the gains.

The policyholder can access the accumulated cash value by withdrawing it, borrowing it, or using it as collateral for a loan. The insurance company also agrees to pay the cash value to the policyholder, if he or she cancels the policy.

There are basically two types of permanent life insurance: whole life and universal life. Both offer permanent coverage and cash value. They differ in the amount of flexibility they offer policyholders. Whole life offers set-it-and-forget-it simplicity. The death benefit, premium amount, and rate of cash value accumulation are fixed at the outset. Universal life allows the policyholder to modify the original contract, based on changing circumstances and needs. For example, if the policyholder loses his or her job, he or she can decrease the premium to make it more affordable. By contrast, if the policyholder receives a promotion, gets a better paying job, or enjoys growth in their own business, he or she can increase the premium amount to accumulate cash value more quickly. If the policyholder marries, has more children, buys a larger house, or for any reason needs a larger death benefit to sustain his or her family, he or she can increase the death benefit of the universal life insurance policy.

Universal life insurance accumulates cash value in a different way than whole life does. With whole life, the rate of accumulation is low, around 3 percent, but it is guaranteed and unchanging. With universal life, cash value accumulates at varying rates, depending on the performance of the insurance company’s investments. Typically, universal life outperforms whole life, and accumulates cash value more quickly. It is possible, however, for the opposite to happen. Many universal life policies offer a guaranteed minimum return, but it is lower than the return for a comparable whole life policy.

Permanent life insurance is a practical solution for consumers who worry about coverage and insurability later in life. Those who are happy with a simple, unchanging, guaranteed plan may opt for whole life. Those who want the option of adjusting the premium amount or the size of the death benefit may find that universal life offers the perfect combination flexibility and security.



Eleanor

 

Why Buy Life Insurance?

Thursday, August 28th, 2008
life insurance
vincent yeong asked:


When I asked people “have you bought yourself a life insurance or have you insured?” Most of the answers became another question, why buy life insurance? 

Buying life insurance is a protection for ourselves and our family, fate is unpredictable, should mishap falls on us we do not know. Who is going to take care of our children upon our death? Should we see them live on charity or let them live in misery? To own a policy is to secure our family; the proceeds from the life insurance can substitute the income to our family upon our death. We also buy life insurance to cover our funeral expenses, for funeral expenses is a huge sum of money to pay. If we died our children have to live on.

Buy term life insurance or whole life insurance?

There are two basic types of life insurance, term life insurance or whole life insurance.

 Term life insurance

Term life insurance provides the buyer for a specified period of time or term, this life policy carries no cash value, and it covers the insured for a stated term of 10 to 20 years or more, upon maturity the policy is then expire and invalid, the coverage will then cease. Any how you may request a new policy, but the premium will be expensive if a person is old.

Whole life insurance

Whole life insurance provides the insured permanent or life time coverage and with adjustable cash value, the buyer can borrow the cash value for times in need. The beneficiary will receive the proceeds upon the death of the insured. The premium of this policy depends on the age, health, occupation and some other factors of the buyer.    

Buy life insurance early and pay less

To buy life insurance is better to start young, we can start off with little coverage and therefore also little premium to pay. When we are single, we have less responsibility, as we married our responsibility getting more and we can buy another additional life insurance, so that we have more coverage, and give more security to our family.

You can get your free life insurance quote online, the premiums are adjustable at the buyer’s discretion, please feel free to visit us.

You can learn more about life insurance with the convenience of internet, so find out more about whole or term life insurance, you can obtain free life insurance quote by following some simple steps of filling in the form, you can also get tips on affordable life insurance just by some clicks, so visit us at http://www.affordable-life-insurance-tips.com today

 

 



Zachary

 

What kind of health insurance plans do college and professional sports teams get?

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
health insurance
auntfran8 asked:


Do the athletes themselves have to make copayments and such as that for their own surgeries,doctor visits,etc. like the rest of us do?

What about the coaches? Is it the same for them? If I can get some answers from anyone who has worked with health insurance,good!

Troy

 

How can you find out what auto insurance company a person has?

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
insurance
Chupacabra asked:


A friend of mine had their parked car damaged by a driver and the person that did it is not willing to give out their insurance information. There was a police report and unfortunately the insurance information was not captured. Is there any ways to find out what insurance company a person has? Maybe through the DMV or alternative? I realize they may not have insurance but it still would be worth to find out. The damaged car only has liability insurance.

Samantha

 

Does the Health Insurance Quote You Get in California Help?

Monday, August 25th, 2008
insurance quotes
Thomas Henry asked:


In today’s world of dangers, it has become highly necessary to insure once health. Just the thought of medical and health care expenses can drive you crazy. With medical and health treatment getting costlier day by day, that a average middle class person is finding it difficult to manage their basic health care. And with this situation at hand, you need to make sure that you have a health insurance, it is a ‘Must Purchase’ in your list of buys. And before you get insurance you need to do a little research to get a quote to find out how much you pay for the policy and service and how much you will get from the policy.

It does not matter which city you live in; Los Angeles, Redding, San Diego, Sacramento or California, we all tend to be bothered about the same things: air and water which is not polluted and anything else which is quite essential to maintain good health.

People from these places know that different rates of health insurance are based on the different needs of different individuals. Most people from California know that getting a quote from the Health Insurance is the best method to find the most suitable and affordable health insurance deal. Though the reputation of the company and the comfort level with the policy is important, but still people from all over the world including California mainly depend upon the quote they get for the policy. Our health is really precious but we need to realize that health insurance is not all that important.

A quote by the Health Insurance in California is the best possible information a consumer can avail to make a perfect decision on health care for themselves or their family members. You need to compare like policies in regard to actual quote, to see what you get covered under it as well as costs for scheduled appointments with the doctor or in the case of emergency at the hospital. It is really very essential to ask questions regarding choice of physicians, payment for pregnancy, pre-existing conditions and the many other doubts in your mind before actually deciding which policy is the best for you and your family. Policies are many just as the families who need them and so it is very important to look into every aspect of your health insurance quote from, what you need to do initially or at the time of service to what your health professionals need to do.

All throughout United States the best way to get information on health insurance is to get a health insurance quote, information like their standard of care and the expenses you need to pay. And in today’s world, where we have a lot of daily and monthly payments, it is really necessary to make the right choice regarding our financial position and our physical care. And also with the certainty of an official insurance you come to a peace of mind which actually brings you good health. In California a Health Insurance quote actually helps you to decide which policy will be the best for you. And it will help you tend to your most basic desire as a human – Good Health and Financial Security.



Ashley