People living in rural parts of the country will soon be able to avail insurance cover without being subject to mandatory health check-ups as is the norm for life insurance policies .

The department of posts is set to launch a major micro life insurance   policy which will no more require the insurees to disclose their present health condition or diseases at the time of buying the policy, a move aimed at expanding the coverage in rural India.

The proposed insurance scheme, which can be availed by economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society and particularly women, will provide a risk cover up to Rs 25,000, said an official in the ministry of communication and information technology. The aim is to cover around one-tenth of Indians and become one of the potent players in the Indian insurance sector by easing out the procedural formalities that precedes purchase of any life insurance scheme.

While the new scheme has been made customer friendly, the postal department will put in place system and process to address the issue of fake claims. To ensure that relaxation over disclosing the insuree’s health condition does not lead to wrong claims, the claimant has to file a death certificate issued by a government doctor on the deceased’s cause of death, the official said. If the medical report says that the insuree was suffering from any ailment that existed prior to the purchase of the insurance policy, the postal department has an option not to honour the insurance claim. The policy premium will vary according to the age of the insuree and the duration of the policy.

India Post expects to cover around 100 million Indians by the end of 2011 under the scheme, this policy is assumed to play a major role in attaining this objective. The move is a part of the initiative taken by India post to put a major thrust on its insurance services and have a strong presence in the insurance sector specially in rural areas,” the official added.

Eight million lives and a sum of Rs 40,000 crore have been insured, since the launch of rural postal life insurance scheme launched in 1995, under various policies offered by India Post under the rural postal life insurance. The department also plans to align its investment norms for life insurance policies to pump in part of its daily collections in revenue-generating instruments including stocks, a move which is likely to start from October 1, 2009.
With a huge presence in the country with around 1.55 lakh post offices, the postal department is slowly developing itself as a centre for distributing diversified services like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), life insurance and financial solutions to its customers apart from its mail delivery system.

(Source:-The Economic Times)

Aviva Life Insurance and DBS Bank today announced a strategic partnership for bancassurance in India by which DBS Bank will offer its customers, customised insurance solutions from Aviva’s comprehensive portfolio.

As the corporate agent for Aviva Life Insurance, DBS Bank which provides  holistic offering of banking and wealth management services, will now offer Aviva’s best in class products like Aviva Young Scholar, Aviva Health Plus, Aviva LifeLine, Pension Elite and SaveGuard, to affluent and high net worth (HNI) customers from all its 10 branches.

TR Ramachandran, CEO and MD Aviva India said, “The tie-up with DBS Bank is an important milestone for Aviva. We are India’s leading Bancassurer with more partnerships and a first class reputation for implementation. Given the fast changing market dynamics and its volatility, customers today are seeking avenues for financial security. With this strategic tie-up Aviva and DBS can address this very need of the customers through our products and services.”

Sanjiv Bhasin, CEO, DBS India, said, “We are committed to building a universal banking franchise in India. As we step up our initiatives in the retail domain, teaming with Aviva reaffirms our approach of partnering with the best to offer optimal solutions and service excellence.”

Both Aviva and DBS have high expectations from the partnership and are fully committed to make it a success. Several joint initiatives have been planned to further promote this association. This partnership expands the ongoing relationship that Aviva and DBS have across Asia to the important and rapidly growing market of India. Aviva and DBS have forged a fruitful partnership in Singapore and Hong Kong since 2001. The two companies also plan to extend their partnership further by providing bancassurance in China and Taiwan in future.

(Source:-india PR wire)

After exiting from its IT outsourcing outfit, financially battered American International Group (AIG) is now moving up to sell its 26 per cent stake in Tata AIG Life Insurance to its Indian partner. Tata, which has 74 per cent in the life insurance joint venture, has roped in consulting and auditing firm KPMG to structure the deal. However, AIG will continue in another joint venture, Tata AIG General Insurance.

According to analysts, AIG’s 26 per cent stake in Tata AIG Life could fetch up to

Rs 800 crore, as the global financial conglomerate will charge Tata a huge premium for its expertise provided to the JV. Replying to queries on the issue, a Tata Sons spokesperson said, “As stated several times before, we do not wish to comment on such speculation.”

Mumbai-headquartered Tata AIG Life was Launched in the year  2001 and since then  has built  substantial life insurance operation in India and has some 200 offices across the country and assets of around Rs 10,000 crore. Till now it is  uncertain that whether Tata would run the business all by itself or divest the 26 per cent from AIG to other foreign partners.

(source:- indian express)

L&T group has decided to enter into the general business in next 6 months, the strategy of the group would be to go slow in the process.

“We have decided to enter into general insurance business considering the long-term potential of the business going forward,” L&T Chief Financial Officer Y M Deosthalee told reporters here.

In India there are already 20 players, including  four public sector firms in general insurance business.

The company has no plans to partner with anybody at this point of time for its general insurance business which will take shape in next 6 months.

As per the existing guidelines, a foreign partner is allowed 26 per cent stake in non-life ventures. They, however, cannot set-up wholly-owned subsidiaries in India.

General insurance would be a separate entity and the money required for the venture essentially will be in the form of equity and that will be from the parent L&T, the engineering and construction major, Deosthalee said.

L&T, which has a significant presence in IT and finance, is expected to approach the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for approval.

The company is also venturing into the asset management business but this is still in the preliminary stage, he said.

(source:- business standard)

People who have tested positive for Swine flu will be entitled to claim the expenses of their treatment under the medical insurance they hold.

The good news came after the decision taken by state government that allows private hospitals to treat swine flu patients.

Divisional manager for New India Assurance Company, Pune,  Mr.Narayan Shejawale  said that the money spent by a swine flu patient will be entitled to reimbursement under the Mediclaim scheme. He further added “The only pre-requisite is that the policy needs to be taken out at least 30 days prior to the patient’s hospitalisation”.

The patient’s admission to the hospital would be cashless, though the insurance claim for the fee paid for the swab test will be settled retrospectively, within 30 days of filing the claim, Shejawale informed. He clarified that the patient can prefer a claim whether he is covered individually or under a group medical insurance plan.

Dr Shreeraj Deshpande, head of Heath insurance,  Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said swine flu patients who test positive and get hospitalised would be covered under hospitalisation reimbursement plans like Bajaj Allianz Health Guard, Mediclaim or Group Health Insurance scheme in the same way as any other  illness, which requires hospitalisation.

(source - thehindubusinessline)

In Jammu & Kashmir tourists will get an insurance cover. This new came as great surprise and relief for Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism industry. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, the state government has decided to provide the industry an insurance cover, envisaging compensation for the losses due to the ‘ongoing’ uncertainty in the state. Officials of the state said the scheme will be on the pattern of the crop insurance scheme.

Nawang Rigzin Jora, tourism Minister of the state said, “We are starting an insurance scheme for the people associated with the tourism industry to compensate them for the losses suffered due to the militancy. This is the first of its kind insurance scheme in the country and we are finalising the modalities for it.”

Premium for the insurance scheme will be decided by the government after consulting some insurance agencies and the recurring yearly loss will be paid by the insurance agencies to the businessmen in the tourism sector. Any shortfall in the projected business shown by the people associated with tourism trade will be compensated by the insurance agencies.

(source - indianexpress)

Suvidhaa Infoserve will now allow consumers to pay power, electricity and other bills and insurance prmium with out the hassle of waiting in queues This service will be provided through local stores, STD booths, mobile outlets, pharmacies and neighbourhood stores.

According to N Sundaresan, Suvidhaa’s sales vice president “In India, 5% of the consumers use debit or credit cards. Suvidhaa stores aim to provide multiple services on cash payment at a single counter” . Further he added  ”We realized that majority of Indians prefer to shop at local stores. To help these stores expand their business, Suvidhaa has set up points with local stores.”

There are presently 40 Suvidhaa points mainly in North Goa. “We plan to set up 500 more such points across Goa,” Sundaresan said. The company is also looking at the travel and tourism industry and hopes to tie up with the Goa Tourism department.

The service will be provided at a small premium and the fee will depend on what the service provider charges.  The starting service charges are Rs 5. However, if a service provider directly pays Suvidhaa for its services and does not charge its consumers, that service is free.”

Suvidhaa has tied up with LIC, Reliance Money, HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Ltd, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Apna Loan, Bajaj Allianz, IRCTC, domestic airlines and private bus operators.

Also in Goa The company are in initial talks with the electricity department for payment of electricity bills and BSNL for telecom, said Sudaresan. Talks are also on with Dempo sports club for (soccer match) tickets.”

(source: Times of India)