WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN YOUR CAR METS AN ACCIDENT ??

Accidents can happen at any time, any place so it is always best to be prepared. Motor vehicle accidents in particular, have a high frequency rate so having insurance would not just be an advantage but a requirement

Being in an accident without any proof of insurance is worse, aside from paying a fine, you will lose your driver’s license. Also, if you’re the cause the accident and you do not have liability insurance, you may have to pay for the third party property damage and the injured person, yourself and these costs may be substantial.

While car insurance can certainly give drivers peace of mind and security, it can be quite complicated once you actually get into a car accident. There are certain do’s and don’t’s in any insurance transaction, so in order to fully maximize your insurance, here are essential must do’s and for car insurance claims:

When a Crash Occurs

Stop your vehicle in a safe place. In most areas it is illegal to leave the scene of an accident. Determine if anyone in your vehicle or other involved vehicles is hurt. Summon an ambulance, if needed. After the accident, if you’re able, make sure you take pictures of the scene, get the contact information of the people involved and take note of the details of the accident such as the weather condition or other factors such as traffic lights, etc. See a doctor after an accident, he will be able to treat your wounds and diagnose further necessary treatment and medical attention.

Report the Accident

Laws in some areas require that all accidents be reported. Contact your insurance company as soon as possible when you get involved in a car accident. Many insurance companies also require that crashes be reported to police if there is any involvement of third party damage, or they may deny payment of claims.

THE CONTACT CENTER FOR INSURANCE COMPANY WILL HELP YOU TO LOCATE NEAREST SERVICE GARAGE FOR VEHICLE REPAIR AND PROCESS OF CLAIM.

Be honest with your insurance company. Concealment of material facts, no matter how insignificant or potentially embarrassing you think it is, can invalidate your policy so always make sure you give your insurance company truthful information.

Be Cooperative
When police officers arrive on the scene, be cooperative, and provide any requested information. Get the names of the officers on the scene, and ask them to provide you with any information necessary for you to obtain an accident report. Also exchange contact information and insurance information with others involved in the crash. Get the names of witnesses and their contact information as well.

Know the difference between replacement coverage and depreciated or actual cash value.
Don’t settle a personal property loss for actual cash value when your policy provides for replacement.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you don’t feel you’re getting fair compensation from an insurance company, either with regards to medical expenses, auto damage or anything else to which you think you’re entitled, talk to your agent or call center of insurance or Customer service manager ( claims ) or your attorney about your claim.

Do review and understand your coverage before talking to your insurer or your agent. Read the "Coverage" and "Exclusion" sections of you policy in particular.

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Health Insurance Portability May Miss July 1, 2011 Kick-off

You may have to wait a little longer to get a portable health insurance policy. Insurance companies are seeking more ‘clarity' and time to implement the portability of health insurance which is supposed to come into effect from July 1, 2011.

Representatives of general insurance companies are meeting Mr J. Hari Narayan, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), on Friday to bring to his notice some issues of immediate concern in switching over to the portable health insurance regime.

“The move is good but there are certain issues to be sorted out before July 1. We, along with other insurers, will be talking to the regulator,” Mr G. Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, United India Insurance Company Ltd, told Business Line.

According to industry experts, the implementation of portability from July 1 would be difficult from a company's perspective.

“Greater clarity is needed on some vital issues. For instance, If we want to accept a health policy from a customer of others, obviously some information on previous medical/claim history is required,” Mr B. Subrahmanyam, Vice-President, Bharati AXA General Insurance Company, said.

There is also confusion on the applicability of portability to various types of health plans which are broadly divided into basic plans and plans with option of benefit component (in case of hospitalisation) and indemnity.

“It is also not understood how portability would be effected from a health plan offered by a life insurance company to a general insurer,” Mr Subrahmanyam said.

“If you see from a customer point of view, there could be hitches as well. The migration from one company to another cannot be a smooth affair if serious issues are not settled,” said the head of a leading general insurance company.

“Many companies, however, have done their groundwork on underwriting, documentation and other procedures to be followed in case IRDA insists on giving the portability without any postponement. But we are hopeful our request will be considered,” he added.

When contacted, a senior IRDA official said the regulator would take a decision keeping in view the interest of the policyholder as well as companies. “First, we have to talk to the companies,” he said.

In February 2011, the IRDA had directed insurers to ensue health policy portability and had also ensured the companies that it would make policy-wise claim history available for effecting quick portability.

[Source]

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ICICI Bank's Home Loans Will Be 25 Basis Points Higher

Interest rates on home and other loans from ICICI Bank have gone up by 25 basis points following a decision by the country's largest private lender to increase its benchmark rates.

As a result of this increase interest rates on ICICI Bank's home loans will be 25 basis points higher than its rivals HDFC and State Bank of India, which offer loans at 10.25%. The bank said the increase was in line with the hike in its cost of funds. The increase in Base Rate, which has taken place within a fortnight of Reserve Bank of India raising policy rates by 25 basis points, will be effective from July 4. A 25 basis points increase in lending rates would push up the equated monthly instalment on a 20-year, Rs 30 lakh home loan by over Rs 500. ICICI Bank is the first major lender to respond to RBI's policy measures. Some lenders are holding back a hike over fears that credit growth may falter.

Last week, ING Vysya Bank was the among the first to revise rates with a 25 basis point hike in its Base Rate. Following an increase in policy rates last week, HDFC said that it would wait to see to what extent the increase in rates pushes up cost of funds. In an interview to ET Now On Thursday, Krishna Kumar, managing director, State Bank of India said the bank would soon have a meeting of its asset liability committee and take a view on interest rates.

According to Kumar, Reserve Bank is likely to increase rates in its July policy review as well if inflation continues to remain high.

ICICI Bank's Base Rate will now be 9.5% as against 9.25% at present. The Base Rate is the benchmark for all loans availed after July 1, 2010. The prime lending rate (PLR) which is the benchmark for older rates and the Floating Reference Rate – the peg from retail loans have also been hiked by 25 basis points.

Last week in an interview to a news agency, NS Kannan, chief financial officer, ICICI Bank said that overall loan growth for the bank in 1011-12 would be around18%-20%, which is in line with the industry, but slower than predictions (made at the start of the fiscal) of a 23%-25% industry credit growth. Kannan also said that retail loan growth this fiscal was likely to lag at 15%-17%, with retail portfolio likely between 35%-39% of the total loan book.

[Source]

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Electronic Payments Can Curb Black Money

The group president for Visa, one of the world's largest payment companies, has said that governments can curb black money by partnering commercial institutions to promoter electronic payments. Electronic payments includes the gamut of channels through the banking channels which includes, credit cards, internet and mobile payments.

In an interview with TOI, Elizabeth Buse, group president, Visa, responsible for Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa said that bringing transactions out of cash into electronic forms will allow governments to have better tax compliance and greater monitoring of fraudulent transaction and money laundering.

"In markets like Mexico we have seen government subsidize terminalization to bring more transactions out of the black economy. Without government participation it is challenging for commercial enterprises to come and promote electronic payments. The government has to be a partner," she said. Besides reducing black money, electronic payments also promote growth, Buse said. She pointed to a Moody's finding that between 2004 and 2009 electronic payments have added 50 basis points to global GDP, adding $1.1 trillion to global wealth.

According to Buse, there are a number of impediments for electronic transactions, but top of the list is acceptance. "In India only 3% of consumer spending transactions are through electronic payments. So you have 97% of this big fast growing economy as an opportunity," she said. Buse, who is considered as one of the 25 most powerful women in finance by US Banker, is in the process of tying up with State Bank of India to install credit card swipe machines in at least five lakh merchant establishments - a target set by SBI.

"To solve the merchant acceptance problem we knew that it will require a different structure than what we have today. We really wanted to increase the rate and breadth of consumer acceptance because 80% of the consumers do not live in the big cities where you have the POS terminals."

Buse said the new acceptance machines will be different kind of terminal which would perhaps use mobile network. "You may think of a hotel as a traditional form of merchant establishment that accepts cards but we have to reach small merchants in small towns and that will require different services and a different economic model."

She feels that debit cards will drive payments in India. India has 22.8 crore debit cards, and debit card transactions grew 39% last year. "We see much of the cash transaction going to debit and SBI has the largest debit card portfolio. So we are partnering SBI on the customer side as well as the merchant side."

The other big bet is on mobile payments. According to Buse, in mobile payments where standards are still evolving, the most prevalent model will be one open to maximum number of participants and which runs on most of the mobile handsets.

On Thursday, Visa announced that it is acquiring South Africa based Fundamo, a leading platform provider of mobile financial services for mobile network operators and financial institutions in developing economies. It also announced a new, long-term commercial agreement with Monitise PLC, a leading provider of mobile money solutions for financial institutions in more developed geographies.

[Source]

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Eligibility Criteria For Home Loans

Most people are obsessed with an idea of purchasing a home of their own. People, who are financially sound, manage to purchase their dream homes easily. But, there are also those who don’t have sufficient amount of money to purchase a dream home. Ostensibly, these people quest certain source to get financial assistance to purchase a home of their own without any hassle.

Home loan is the best source of arranging finance when it comes to purchasing a home. Fortunately, with presence of so many banks and financial institutes in the market today, people have good option to avail home loans to buy a dream home.

Home loan is one of the most important sources of managing your financial deficiency during the time of purchasing a home. People who need immediate financial assistance to ease out hassle involved in purchasing a home can fend off such problems by applying home loan at a bank or other financial institute that provide home loan services. However, availability of home loans is subject to fulfillment of certain eligibility criteria from the home loan applicants.

Banks have their respective eligibility criteria for home loan applicants. You are supposed to fulfill your eligibility criteria, failure to which may cause rejection of your application regarding home loans. The article is mentioning some eligibility criteria for home loans that will guide you how to avail home loans for your need.

The applicant should minimum be of 21 years old. The maximum age limits varies according to the applicant. The salaried person should be of 58 years old and age of 60 years is determined for government employees. Those who are self-employed must be 65 years age old.

As per the academic qualification, the applicant should be a graduate from any stream but s/he should be graduated from a recognized institute. If you have completed your master degree, that will be an added advantage to fulfill the eligibility criteria for home loans.

More so, there should be stability in source of income from the applicants. You should also state your current income, annual income and spouse’s income (if existed) and details of previous loans (if you’ve applied). You will be asked to submit a report of bank statements and details of taxes you are paying to the government.

You will be asked about the stability of your current work profiles, with information about whether or not you will stay connected with the job for almost 15 years.

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Getting Family Floater Health Insurance Policy

Health insurance policy is one of the most indispensable things that any individual should purchase to ensure that any unforeseen circumstances regarding medical issues can well be fended off prematurely. Among various health policies available for individual’s health safety, family floater health insurance policy is one of them that ensure unusual health safety and benefits to you and your family members.

One of the remarkable features of floater health insurance plan is that it provides the health coverage under same plan for a single premium to all of your family members. The sum assured is available in case any eventuality experienced by your family member during the term of family floater health insurance plan.

There is no dearth of insurance companies providing family floater health insurance policy. However, the terms and conditions associated with plan, and the sort of coverage benefits you will avail during the plan existed may vary according to the insurance company that you have chosen.

This is the reason why individuals, seeking health insurance policy in this regard should carefully read through the policy plans of the company before purchasing the plan. This is one of the best ways to avoid any unpleasant outcomes at the end or maturity of the health insurance plan that you have purchased.

Some companies under their family floater health insurance schemes give you the medical benefits, such as it covers medical expenses like room charge, cost of medications and doctor’s fees during your hospitalization terms for more than 24 hours. More so, the plan also benefits you by covering your day care medical expenses incurred on technical surgeries and other medical procedures consuming not more than 24 hours during your hospitalization term.
The aforementioned benefits under family floater health insurance policy are subject to variations depending upon the kind of insurance company you are choosing. That means to say, not all the insurance companies can give you the identical and same medical coverage benefits as others and variations are inevitable in their service.

Therefore, you are requested to search extensively from Google search engine about insurance companies providing health insurance plans including family floater health insurance policy.
Adding further, some insurance companies have also their respective eligibility criteria for availing family floater health insurance plan. As an applicant, you are supposed to read these eligibility criteria carefully to avoid any confusion in future.

More so, you can also consult the concerned representative of the insurance company regarding any issue and suggestions that seem plausible and worth-consulting for you.

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Ambani’s Reliance Industries Buys Out Bharti in Insurance Venture With Axa

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), India’s biggest company by market value, will acquire Bharti Enterprises Ltd.’s stake in its general and life insurance joint ventures with Axa SA (CS), Europe’s second-largest insurer. The transaction amount wasn’t disclosed.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is seeking to expand in the financial services business as demand increases in the world’s second-fastest growing major economy. In March, Reliance announced an agreement with D.E. Shaw & Co., the $20 billion hedge fund founded by David Shaw. The two plan to start stock- brokerage and private-equity businesses in India.

Reliance is looking to diversify its business as earnings growth from its core oil and gas business slows. The company missed analysts’ expectations in the quarter ended March 31 with a 14 percent increase in net income, the least in six quarters.

“The revenues from the oil and gas business will not increase substantially and so the company needs to look for new streams of business,” said Kishor Ostwal, managing director of CNI Research (India) Ltd., a publicly traded equities-research provider in Mumbai. “They have announced that they want to enter the financial business arena and this is a progression in that direction.”

Reliance Industries fell 1 percent to 944.5 rupees at the 3:30 p.m. close in Mumbai yesterday. Reliance Industrial Infrastructure shares gained 2.7 percent, the most in more than two months, to 569.45 rupees. The announcement was made after the close of markets.

Ownership Limit

Reliance will hold 57 percent and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd. (RIIL) 17 percent in the life and general insurance companies. Paris-based Axa will continue to hold 26 percent in the ventures, the maximum allowed by Indian laws. It will have the option to acquire an additional 24 percent in the businesses, if and when local regulations allow greater foreign ownership in insurance, a statement from Reliance said.

Bharti, the holding company for India’s biggest mobile- phone operator, Bharti Airtel Ltd. (BHARTI), and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT)’s partner in the country, entered the insurance business in 2006.

“The decision is in line with Bharti’s strategy of focusing its energies and financial resources in businesses where it is making a deeper impact,” Bharti said in an e-mailed statement announcing the sale yesterday. “Currently, the financial services ventures do not fit into Bharti’s long-term growth plans.”

Bharti, controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal, will use the proceeds from the sale for other group businesses, the statement said, without providing more information.

Insurance Premiums

In the year ended March 2011, Bharti AXA Life collected premiums of 7.9 billion rupees ($177 million) and Bharti AXA General Insurance 5.5 billion rupees, the statement from Reliance said.

D.E. Shaw will join with Reliance to offer investment banking, derivatives trading and alternate-asset management next year, Louis Salkind, managing director at D.E. Shaw, said in an interview in Mumbai on May 26.

D.E. Shaw India Financial Services Pvt., the venture with Reliance, will hire 100 people in the next 12 months to 18 months, and raise funds locally by the fourth quarter to invest in private companies, Salkind said. The company will build a platform for trading stocks and derivatives this year for large investors.


[Source]

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Free Healthcare For Pregnant Women, Infants

Toll-free number may be called for transport at time of labour

In a bid to improve the maternal and infant mortality in the country, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to provide free nutritious food, treatment, and transportation to all pregnant women who go to government facilities for delivery. Free healthcare services will also be provided to the newborns, as and when required.

To be launched on June 1 from Mewat, Haryana, the scheme will be applicable for all women from the sub-centre to the district hospital levels which are covered under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Expenses for diagnostics, any surgical interventions, and nutritious food will be provided up to seven days, if need be.

The Centre would undertake the costs involved in transporting pregnant women to and from medical centres, including dropping her back home, said Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

As of now, transportation facility is provided only for taking pregnant women to the health care facility during emergency or for delivery. States have been asked to ensure provision of free services to pregnant women as well as to sick infants in government health institutions. This would include, Mr. Azad said, the provision of free drugs, free consumables and diagnostics, free diet during stay and free transport.

There would be a toll-free number for every State which could be called for transport.

The money for the scheme would be provided through the NRHM and its implementation would also be monitored through the NRHM mechanism.

Also expressing concern over the selective abortion of girls, the Minister said the re-constituted Central Supervisory Board (CSB) was scheduled to meet on June 4 and all the States had been asked to give a report on the steps taken, in the past two years, under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, to prevent female foeticide. Describing as alarming the skewed sex ratio in the country, Mr. Azad said figures that had come up in the latest Census report would also be discussed during the meeting.

Highlighting the achievements of his Ministry in the past two years, Mr. Azad said the government had for the first time in three decades started talking of population stabilisation openly by promoting family planning.

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What Is Covered And Not Covered In Private Car Package Policy

PRIVATE Car insurance is driven by the TAC ( tariff advisory committee – IRDA ) regulations for the standard motor policy which will be same for all the general insurance companies. The benefits and features in addition to the coverages, as mentioned in standard motor policy becomes the point of comparison

What is covered in Private car package policy ?

Risks indemnified against loss / damage to vehicle (including accessories, if covered)

Fire, explosion, self ignition, lightening

Burglary, housebreaking, theft

Riot & strike

Earthquake

Flood, typhoon, hurricane, storm

Accidental external means

Malicious act

Terrorist activity

Landslide, rockslide

In transit

Protection and removal costs (upper limit Rs. 1500) – towing facility

What is NOT covered in the policy (Exclusions)

Consequential loss

Depreciation

Wear and tear

Mechanical/ electrical breakdown

Failures

Breakage

Damage to tyres (if car not damaged - 50% clause)

Known or deliberate accidental losses/damage

Intoxicated driver

Policy conditions to be followed (area, license etc)

Other general exclusions (nuclear war etc)

Damage Caused by Overloading

Exclusions

Competitive features, benefits and add-ons given by insurance companies*

* Not the part of standard policy wordings

Cashless in preferred workshop and dealership garage

24*7 claims support

Toll free call center for claim registration and customer support

Online policy on website and self help section for customer support

EMI option for premium

Towing facility even on holidays

Instant claims assistance and sms updates for claim registration, Surveyor allocation, and payment release

Traffic updates

Zero depreciation policy

Return to invoice policy

Warranty on accidental repairs

ADD ONS - Road side assistance (Extended by service provider Mondial / RACE )

A. loss of personal belongings

B. ncb protection

C. loss of personal belongings

D. emergency transport and hotel expenses

E. key replacement

F. Daily allowance

Apply For Best Car Loan

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Types Of ICICI Credit Cards

ICICI offers many types of credit cards according to users need

ICICI Future Gold Credit Card

ICICI Platinum Credit Card

ICICI Titanium Credit Card

ICICI HPCL Gold Credit Card

ICICI Preferred Gold Credit Card

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Required Documents For Home Loan From SBI Bank

List of papers/ documents applicable to all applicants:

·	Completed loan application
·	3 Passport size photographs
·	Proof of identify (photo copies of Voters ID card/ Passport/ Driving licence/ IT PAN card)
·	Proof of residence (photo copies of recent Telephone Bills/ Electricity Bill/ Property tax receipt/ Passport/ Voters ID card)
·	Proof of business address for non-salaried individuals
·	Statement of Bank Account/ Pass Book for last six months
·	Signature identification from present bankers
·	Personal Assets and Liabilities statement
For guarantor (wherever applicable):
·	Personal Assets and Liabilities Statement
·	2 passport size photographs
·	Proof of identification as above
·	Proof of residence as above
·	Proof of business address as above
·	Signature identification from his/her present bankers
Additional documents required for salaried persons :
·	Original Salary Certificate from employer
·	TDS certificate on Form 16 or copy of IT Returns for last two financial years, duly acknowledged by IT Deptt.
Additional documents required for Professionals/self- employed/ other IT assesses:
·	Acknowledged copies of three years I.T. returns/ Assessment Orders.
·	Photocopies of challans evidencing payment of Advance Income Tax.

Online Sent Your Query To Know About SBI Home Loan

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Gold Loans – Quick Funds At Lower Interest Rates

Many leading gold loan providers in India are now offering discounted rates along with other additional benefits. One can now avail a loan up to Rs 1 crore against gold. They are also offering loan amounts ranging from Rs 1,305 – 2,025 per gram of gold.

Evidently rates offered by gold loans are far cheaper than a personal loan. Let’s compare the interest rates of a personal loan with a gold loan.

	Personal loan	Gold Loan
Interest Rates	14.25-19%	12-24% (depending on gold value)
Added Fees	Processing fees of 2-3%	No processing fees
Added fees	2-3% pre payment charges	No pre payment charges
Maximum loan	Rs 50 L	Rs 1 Cr.
Maximum Tenure	7 years	1 year

Opting for a gold loan instead of a personal loan is fast becoming a norm for both urban and rural India. In fact the social stigma attached to gold loans has almost diminished and they are widely recognised as acceptable means of raising funds for meeting urgent money requirements.

Providing a collateral security in the form of gold, property and even shares/debentures help in decreasing the interest rates. In case of a default, when the borrower fails to repay the loan on time the lender has an option of confiscating the security provided. Otherwise a personal loan which is an unsecured loan attracts a high interest rate as the borrower doesn’t provide any security to the lender.

Contrary to a personal loan where the bank offers a fixed interest rate, gold loan rates are hugely dependant on the safety margin you leave for the lender. That is, if you are pledging more jewellery for the same loan amount then interest rates will be conclusively lower. Thus, depending on net weight and the purity of gold interest rates vary from 10 to 17%.

Each bank has its own method to calculate the value of jewellery pledged. Some banks fix the consideration price at a level (e.g. Rs 1,000-1,200 per gram) for a period of 6 months and revise only after a year irrespective of the market value. While others take an average of two weeks’ market value and then accordingly value of the jewellery amount is decided. Some look at the daily movement of the gold price in international value and offer a loan.

The best thing about a gold loan and other secured loans is that irrespective of your credit history you can avail a loan by providing a security belonging to a third party which may include your parents, spouse, siblings and even friends.

Another advantage of a gold loan is that it is the easiest and the quickest option available. Without much paper work involved one can easily get a loan in a few minutes. The only document required for a gold loan is personal identification proof. No other document is necessary.

Thus, in case of a medical emergency where instant cash is required, one can enjoy the benefit of a hassle free expeditious disbursement of loan. More and more people are now opting for such loans whose tenure is not more than 1-2 years to finance their children’s education, buying a car or even to pay down payment for a home purchase.

The repayment of the loan can be structured between the interest amount and the principal amount. Through this means the principal can be paid at the end of the loan period in a lump sum and the interest amount can be repaid in form of an EMI in regular intervals.

For example, if you took a gold loan for Rs 2 lakhs for 2 years at 12%, then monthly you would be required to pay Rs 2,000 for 2 years. But apart from paying this 2,000 every month you will have to pay back the lump sum principal value of Rs 2 lakhs at the end of 2 years. Whereas the EMI for a personal loan of Rs 2 lakhs for 2 years at 12% interest rate would be Rs 9,400 and there won’t be any option for paying a lump sum money at the end of your tenure.

There are a few pointers to keep in mind before settling down on a specific bank or NBFC for a gold loan. Check the interest rate being offered by the lender, it should be lower than a personal loan being provided by it. Taking a loan from an NBFC is considered far costlier than a bank, some of them extending it to 33.6%. So always check in a public sector or a private sector bank for gold loan at a reasonable rate.

In fact if you can restrict your loan amount to around 50% of the market value of the jewellery then you will get reasonable interest rates.

As interest rates vary according to the quality of gold, rates would be lower on hallmarked jewellery. Banks prefer jewellery instead of gold coins while providing loans as the customer has emotional value attached to the jewellery being pledged.

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