SUPREME COURT PANEL WANTS 3-YEAR INSURANCE POLICY FOR CARS, 5-YEAR POLICY FOR MOTORBIKES AT TIME OF SALE

Dipak K Dash,

Concerned over poor compliance of third party insurance of vehicles, which puts all road users at risk, the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety has asked the insurance regulator to offer mandatory three-year insurance policy for cars and five-year policy for motorbikes at the time of sale and registration. 

Sources in the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) said only 6.5-7 crore vehicles had insurance cover against approximately 18 crore registered vehicles. Government officials said almost 50% of vehicles plying on roads had no valid insurance and a large share of them were two-wheelers. 

Driving any vehicle without third-party (TP) insurance is an offence and attracts a fine of up to Rs 1,000 with a possible jail term of three months. These vehicles pose a serious risk as accident victims have little chance of getting inadequate compensation. 

Self-damage and other insurance covers except TP are optional. 

TOI has learnt that representatives of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) told the SC panel at a recent meeting that it had allowed three-year insurance plans for two-wheelers and insurance companies could offer them. “But the road safety committee said this must be made mandatory to increase compliance. Giving any option does not work,” said a source who attended the meeting. 

Data shows that five-year TP insurance upfront for two-wheelers will be almost similar to what companies charge for comprehensive insurance. For example, the annual TP insurance premium is only Rs 720 for majority of two-wheelers and so five-year insurance will be Rs 3,600, which is slightly higher than one year’s comprehensive insurance policy. 

But insurance companies have their reasons. “The problem of uninsured vehicles can be fixed mainly by enforcement. Why can’t government devise a norm that every vehicle owner has to renew the registration annually in place of the present 15 years. No registration can happen without insurance and so there will be 100% compliance. Now, with all these processes going online, this proposition won’t be difficult to implement,” said an industry representative. 

He added that though a few companies have been offering three-year insurance for two-wheelers, there were few takers. 

Source: Economic Times

Aadhaar To Be Submitted Within 6 Months For New Insurance Policies

Correction: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that Aadhaar will not be mandatory for new insurance policies. The correct position is that customers buying new policies have 6 months to submit their Aadhaar.

Even after the Supreme Court extended the deadline to link Aadhaar with various services, including existing bank accounts, mutual funds and insurance policies, Aadhaar or Aadhaar enrolment number remains mandatory for opening a new bank account. At the same time, there are consumer complaints citing the demand for Aadhaar at points of sale of other financial products such as insurance policies and mutual funds.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has clarified that though Aadhaar is not compulsorily required at the time of buying a new insurance policy, the consumer will have to submit it within 6 months. An Irdai circular stated that for new insurance policies, the consumer is allowed 6 months from the date of commencement of account-based relationship to submit her Aadhaar number and permanent account number (PAN) or Form 60 to the insurer. “In absence of Aadhaar, (a) client shall submit any of the “Officially Valid Documents” as mentioned in the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 (as amended from time to time),” the regulator stated.

These rules state that officially valid documents include passport, driving licence, PAN card, voter identity card issued by the Election Commission of India, job card issued by Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Aadhaar card. All of these except PAN serve the purpose of identity as well as address proof, while PAN can only be a proof of identity.

For existing insurance policies, the date of linking Aadhaar is extended till the matter is finally heard and the judgement is pronounced by the Supreme Court of India, the insurance regulator said.

Aadhaar E-KYC for insurance 

You should also take note that the Aadhaar-based electronic-know your customer (e-KYC) process is sufficient for the purpose of customer verification for insurance companies.

For life insurance products, regulatory guidelines mandate that insurers conduct a KYC check before selling the policy in case of direct sales. If the sale is through other channels, such as online, KYC is to be completed within 15 days of the sale.

These practices put the onus on insurers to ensure that these products are not used for money laundering.

For non-life insurance products like motor and health covers, the anti-money laundering guidelines of the insurance regulator mandate that the KYC process be done at the time of claim. Moreover, KYC will apply only when the claim settlement is over Rs1 lakh.

If you use Aadhaar for insurance KYC, you do not need additional documents as proof for details such as identity, date of birth or address. However, if the photograph in your Aadhaar is not clear, or there is a mismatch (for example, in photo, or name), the insurer can ask for additional documents. So, if you plan to use the Aadhaar e-KYC method, ensure that the details in your Aadhaar database are correct and updated, and that the photograph is clear.

You can verify your own Aadhaar authentication history through an option available on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) website—www.uidai.gov.in. If you find any unauthorised authentication, you should register a complaint with UIDAI.

Source : LiveMint - 06-Apr-2018

Aadhaar Is Not Mandatory For New Insurance Policies

Even after the Supreme Court extended the deadline to link Aadhaar with various services, including existing bank accounts, mutual funds and insurance policies, Aadhaar or Aadhaar enrolment number remains mandatory for opening a new bank account. At the same time, there are consumer complaints citing the demand for Aadhaar at points of sale of other financial products such as insurance policies and mutual funds.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has categorically clarified that Aadhaar is not required to buy an insurance policy. “In view of the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India... for existing insurance policies, the date of linking Aadhaar is extended till the matter is finally heard and the judgment is pronounced by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the insurance regulator stated in a circular.

It further clarified that for new insurance policies, the consumer is allowed 6 months from the date of commencement of account-based relationship to submit her Aadhaar number and permanent account number (PAN) or Form 60 to the insurer. “In absence of Aadhaar, (a) client shall submit any of the “Officially Valid Documents” as mentioned in the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 (as amended from time to time),” the regulator stated.

These rules state that officially valid documents include passport, driving licence, PAN card, voter identity card issued by the Election Commission of India, job card issued by Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Aadhaar card. All of these except PAN serve the purpose of identity as well as address proof, while PAN can only be a proof of identity.

Aadhaar E-KYC for insurance 

You should also take note that the Aadhaar-based electronic-know your customer (e-KYC) process is sufficient for the purpose of customer verification for insurance companies.

For life insurance products, regulatory guidelines mandate that insurers conduct a KYC check before selling the policy in case of direct sales. If the sale is through other channels, such as online, KYC is to be completed within 15 days of the sale.

These practices put the onus on insurers to ensure that these products are not used for money laundering.

For non-life insurance products like motor and health covers, the anti-money laundering guidelines of the insurance regulator mandate that the KYC process be done at the time of claim. Moreover, KYC will apply only when the claim settlement is over Rs1 lakh.

If you use Aadhaar for insurance KYC, you do not need additional documents as proof for details such as identity, date of birth or address. However, if the photograph in your Aadhaar is not clear, or there is a mismatch (for example, in photo, or name), the insurer can ask for additional documents. So, if you plan to use the Aadhaar e-KYC method, ensure that the details in your Aadhaar database are correct and updated, and that the photograph is clear.

You can verify your own Aadhaar authentication history through an option available on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) website—www.uidai.gov.in. If you find any unauthorised authentication, you should register a complaint with UIDAI.

Source : LiveMint - 05-Apr-2018

Life Insurance Claims Are To Be Paid in 30 days

25-Jan-2018

It’s important to understand the process of making a claim in a life insurance policy, especially for the nominee of a life insurance policy. Knowing the process and the documents to be submitted can save you a lot of trouble. But did you know that to make insurance claims more efficient, the insurance regulator has spelt out strict turnaround timelines on claims and penalty on violation, under the Protection of Policyholders’ Interests Regulations of 2017. Read for more details.

How to file a claim
Start with filling the claim form, which can be downloaded from the insurer’s website or collected from the agent or the insurer’s office. The form asks for details such as policy number, date, time and cause of death of the policyholder, name of the nominee and bank account details. Other than the claim form, the nominee will also have to submit supporting documents such as the original policy papers, death certificate and medical records in case of natural death. In case of un-natural death that includes accidental death, murder and suicide, additional documents such as the first information report (FIR) and a postmortem report also need to be attached.

Also, the nominee needs to submit her Know Your Customers (KYC) details to the insurer. Do keep in mind that during calamities, insurers tend to waive the need for some of these documents.

Duty of the insurer
As per rules, a life insurer needs to process the claim without delay and if there are enquiries, they need to be raised together and not in a piece-meal manner. In fact, this needs to be done within a period of 15 days of the receipt of claim. The insurer has a window of 30 days from the date of receiving all the relevant papers and the required clarifications to pay the claim or reject it. But if the insurer sees merit in further investigation, it can take up to 90 days, which start from the date of receiving the claim and the claim needs to be settled within 30 days thereafter.

The penalty on violating these timelines are also specified. If there is a delay, the insurer shall pay interest at the rate of 2% above bank rate on the claim money from the date of receipt of the last necessary document. So, if you have done your bit by submitting all the documents, but the insurer settles the claim after 35 days, the insurer will not pay a penalty for 5 days, but 35 days.

Source : LiveMint

The success story of LIC: From 1957 to 2017

Big players

Some of the top stocks in LIC's portfolio, which delivered handsome returns during the year include ITCBSE, ONGCBSE, NHPCBSE, NTPCBSE, SBI, ICICI, Coal IndiaBSE, SAILBSE and NMDCBSE.

Good news for the customers

Thanks to higher profit from it's huge portfolio, LIC has decided to pay 40 per cent higher bonus and dividents to the government and its customers for 2016-17.

Starting of journey

The Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act on the 19th of June 1956, and the Life Insurance Corporation of India was created on 1st September, 1956, with the objective of spreading life insurance more widely and to reach all insurable persons in the country, providing them adequate financial cover at a reasonable cost.

Branch offices

LIC had 5 zonal offices, 33 divisional offices and 212 branch offices, apart from its corporate office in the year 1956.

Market expansion

LIC took place within a few years and many new branch offices were opened. From about 200 crores of New Business in 1957 the corporation crossed 1000 crores only in the year 1969-70, and it took another 10 years for LIC to cross 2000 crore benchmark of new business.

Market expansion

LIC took place within a few years and many new branch offices were opened. From about 200 crores of New Business in 1957 the corporation crossed 1000 crores only in the year 1969-70, and it took another 10 years for LIC to cross 2000 crore benchmark of new business.

Stable growth rate

LIC continues to be the dominant life insurer even in the liberalized scenario of Indian insurance and is moving fast on a healthy growth rate of 16.67 per cent trajectory. LIC has issued over one crore policies during the current year.

Journey continues

From then to now, LIC has crossed several milestones; set remarkable performance records in the Indian life insurance business and continues to dominate the market till date.

"LIC still mkt leader in claim sattlements"

LIC increases its stake in Punjab National Bank to 14%

Are you on track for a large retirement corpus?

A 35-year old, having a Rs 70,000 monthly expense, will need Rs 8 crore at retirement

'How much money should I have when I retire?' This is one of the most common questions that financial advisors and planner face when someone new approaches them for help with their future financial goals.

There is no easy answer to this question. The retirement corpus__the amount of money one would require to have a peaceful retired life__varies from person to person, depending on a host of factors, primarily the lifestyle one wants to maintain post retirement and hence the related expenses, said Sanjeev Govila, founder of Delhi-based Hum Fauji Initiatives that provides financial services solutions to people from the armed forces.

According to Govila, one of the accepted rules in financial planning is that while calculating post-retirement expenses, it is estimated that soon after retirement the person retiring will need to spend about 70% of his/her expenses just before retirement. By spending this much the person should be able to maintain his pre-retirement lifestyle. From then on, it is also estimated that every year his/her expenses will rise by the rate of inflation. And the life expectancy is 85 years. "So in effect, at the time of retirement the person will have to build a corpus that will sustain him for the next 25 years, post retirement," Govila said.

For example, if a person is 35 years old and has a monthly expense of Rs 70,000, when he/she retires at 60, he/she will require a corpus of nearly Rs 8 crore to maintain the same lifestyle that he/she has now. The retirement corpus will jump to Rs 11.3 crore if the same person has a current monthly expense of Rs 1 lakh.

The retirement corpus, at present, looks very large but it's pure calculations based on practical assumptions. For example, at 6.5% rate of inflation, your monthly expenses would double in less than 12 years. And at 7.5% rate, this would take less than 10 years to double. So for a 35-year old person with a current monthly expense of Rs 70,000 and a market rate of inflation at 6.5%, it would go up to nearly Rs 3 lakh by the time he/she retires. That's about Rs 36 lakh per annum. To provide for that large an amount, the corpus should also be large enough, financial advisors say.

So what's the solution? According to Govila, if you have age on your side, that is if you start planning for your retirement early, you should invest more in equities and as you grow older, you should shift part of your corpus into debt.

Also during the accumulation phase__when you are earning and is able to invest for your future goals__the trick is to invest through the systematic investment route, financial planners and advisors say. For example, if you invest Rs 10,000 per month in an equity fund with an expected annual return of 15%, the corpus at the end of 20 years will be about Rs 1.5 crore. If you increase the amount to Rs 25,000 and invest for 25 years, you could expect a Rs 8.2 crore corpus.

So the numbers, although they look astonishing, are very much achievable, they say.

(Coirtesy- Times Of India)

'Banks imposing unreasonable fee for breach of minimum balance'

Delhi,28 (PTI)-Public sector as well as private banks have been imposing unreasonable charges on customers for failing to maintain minimum balances in their savings accounts, a study by an IIT-Mumbai professor has claimed. 

The study, by Ashish Das, showed that some banks like Yes BankBSE 0.46 % and Indian Overseas Bank have been imposing penal charges of over 100 per cent per annum on shortfall in maintenance of minimum balance in customers accounts. 

The Reserve Bank guidelines mandate that charges for non maintenance of minimum balance in savings bank accounts be "reasonable and not out of line with the average cost of providing the services". 

According to the study: "With many banks charging at an average high rate of 78 per cent per annum of the shortfall amount, it makes the whole regulation of reasonableness of charges as per cost quite shallow". 

As per the data provided by Das, Indian Overseas Bank imposes annual charge of 159.48 per cent on shortfall in minimum balance. Yes Bank charges 112.8 per cent, followed by HDFC BankBSE 0.13 % (83.76 per cent) and Axis BankBSE 1.91 % (82.2 per cent). 

The largest lender SBI charges 24.96 per cent penalty, says the study. 

The minimum balance requirement in different banks range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 1 lakh. 

The RBI, the study said has formulated the penal charges rule with an objective of bringing in fairness from the customers' angle. 

"Thus, it is time to plug the regulatory and supervisory gaps in a holistic manner and formulate clear guidelines on the formation of slabs and how to measure reasonableness of charges based on costs of funds," it said. 

Ashish Das is a professor of statistics with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai.

(Courtesy: Economic Times)

होय, मी युती सरकारचा नायनाट करणारे विषारी औषधच – विखे पाटील

होय, मी युती सरकारचा नायनाट करणारे विषारी औषधच – विखे पाटील

नागपूर. ( शाहरुख मुलाणी ) – होय, मी भाजप-शिवसेना युती सरकारचा नायनाट करणारे विषारी औषध असल्याचे चोख प्रत्युत्तर विधानसभेतील विरोधी पक्षनेते राधाकृष्ण विखे पाटील यांनी शिवसेनेला दिले आहे.

विखे पाटील हे विषारी औषध असल्याचे प्रसिद्धी पत्रक काल शिवसेनेने काढले होते. त्याला उत्तर देताना विखे पाटील यांनी शिवसेनेवर जोरदार पलटवार केला. यासंदर्भात प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त करताना ते म्हणाले की, भाजप आणि उद्धव ठाकरे, हे दोघेच या सरकारचे खरे लाभार्थी असल्याचे विधान मी केले होते. सत्य हे कटू असते आणि ते उद्धव ठाकरेंना खुपल्यामुळे त्यांनी मला विषारी औषधाची उपमा दिली आहे. परंतु, ही टीका म्हणजे माझ्या कामाची पावती आहे. हे सरकार म्हणजे महाराष्ट्राला लागलेला बोंडअळी आणि तुडतुड्याचा रोग आहे. ‘बी फॉर बीजेपी’ म्हणजे ‘बी फॉर बोंडअळी’ तसेच ‘टी फॉर तुडतुडा’ म्हणजे ‘टी फॉर ठाकरे’ आहे. हे रोग नष्ट करण्यासाठी मी विषारी औषध असणे राज्याच्या हिताचे आहे आणि म्हणून मी या लोकविरोधी सरकारविरोधात विषारी औषधासारखेच काम करीत राहणार, असेही विरोधी पक्षनेते म्हणाले.

ऊसतोडणी कामगारांसाठी महामंडळाची घोषणा करणार – कामगार मंत्री संभाजी पाटील निलंगेकर

शेतमजूर युनियन चा नागपूर विधीमंडळ अधिवेशनावर प्रचंड मोर्चा
# शेतमजुरांसाठी स्वतंत्र कल्याणकारी महामंडळची मागणी
@ ऊसतोडणी कामगारांसाठी महामंडळाची घोषणा करणार – कामगार मंत्री संभाजी पाटील निलंगेकर

नागपूर. ( शाहरुख मुलाणी ) – महाराष्ट्र राज्य शेतमजूर युनियन (लाल बावटा) च्या वतीने आज नागपुरात प्रचंड मोर्चा काढण्यात आला. हिवाळी अधिवेशनाच्या पहिल्याच दिवशी आज राज्यभरातील हजारो शेतमजुरांनी स्वतंत्र कल्याणकारी महामंडळ सुरू करण्याची मागणी करत मंत्रालयावर धडक मोर्चा काढला. यावेळी शिष्टमंडळासोबत कामगार मंत्री संभाजी पाटील निलंगेकर यांनी चर्चा करुन शेतमजूरांसाठी कल्याणकारी महामंडळ सुरू करण्याचे आश्वासन दिले. तर ऊसतोडणी कामगार महामंडळाची उद्या घोषणा करणार असल्याचे सांगितले.

वाढती महागाई, स्थानिक रोजगाराचा अभाव आणि अपुरे वेतन यामुळे रोजगार ग्रामिण भागातील शेतमजूरी व मिळेल ती मोलमजुरी करणाऱ्या श्रमिक वर्गाला जीवन जगणे मुश्कील झाले आहे. गाव सोडून दूर दूर रोजगारासाठी स्थलांतर वेठबिगारी करावी लागते. शेतमजुरांच्या किमान वेतनाची मागील कित्येक वर्षांपासून पुनर्रचना झालेली नाही. रोजगार हमी योजनेच्या कामावरही महागाईच्या प्रमाणात मजूरी अत्यंत कमी व अनियमित मिळते. रोहयोच्या कामाची मागणी करूनही काम दिले जात नाही. शेतमजूरांसाठी स्वतंत्र कल्याणकारी मंडळाची स्थापना करण्याची केवळ घोषणा केली गेली. मात्र प्रत्यक्षात अजून काहीही केले गेले नाही. याशिवाय भूमिहीनांना कसण्यासाठी आणि बेघरांना राहण्याकरिता कायम हक्काने जमीनींचे रीतसर हक्क दिले गेलेले नाहीत. ग्रामीण गरीबांसाठी शासकीय अनुदान वाटप करण्याच्या ज्या योजना आहेत त्याच्या अनुदानांच्या रक्कम अपुरी आहे. आणि स्वस्त धान्य दुकानातून अन्नधान्याचा पुरवठा सर्वांना मजूरांना होत नाही.  त्यामुळे शेतमजुरांच्या किमान वेतनाची पुनर्रचना करून महागाई भत्ता लागू करावा, शेतमजुरांसाठी सामाजिक सुरक्षा देणारे स्वतंत्र कल्याणकारी मंडळ स्थापन करा., रोहयो कामावर प्रतिदिन पाचशे रुपये वेतन नियमित अदा करा व वर्षभर कामे काढा, ज्यांना अजून रोहयोची जॉब कार्डे दिली नाहीत त्यांना ती त्वरित द्या, शेतमजुर आणि ग्रामीण गरीबांना दरमहा तीन हजार रुपये निवृत्तीवेतन द्या, प्रत्येक शेतमजूर कुटूंबाला दरमहा दोन रुपये किलो प्रमाणे पस्तीस किलो धान्य आणि अन्य जीवनावश्यक वस्तूंचा पुरवठा करा, ग्रामीण बेघरांना घरासाठी कायम हक्काने रीतसर दोन गुंठे जमीन द्या आणि घरकुलाची अनुदानाची रक्कम पाच लाख करा, भूमिहीन कसत असलेल्या गायरान जमिनी त्यांना कायम हक्काने द्या, वनाधिकार कायद्याची अंमलबजावणी करून सामुहिक वन हक्क द्या,तसेच वन जमीन कसण्याच्या हक्काची प्रमाणपत्रे सातबारा उताऱ्यांसह द्या इत्यादी मागण्या यावेळी करण्यात आल्या.

या आंदोलनाचे नेतृत्व शेतमजूर युनियन चे केंद्रीय सहसचिव कॉ. कुमार शिराळकर, केंद्रीय कमिटी सदस्य कॉ. बाबासाहेब सरवदे, कॉ. प्रकाश चौधरी, नथ्थुभाऊ साळवे,  राज्याध्यक्ष मारोती खंदारे, सय्यद रज्जाक, विनोद गोविंदवार, दिलीप शापामोहन यांनी केले.

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LIC topped list in agent productivity in FY17

The country’s largest insurance company, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), had the most productive agency force in FY17 with each agent selling 17.12 new policies during FY17. According to a study on the Life Insurance Industry in India in 2017 by Fintelekt, HDFC Life had the best average for the private sector at 6.52 new policies per agent.

The report said that while the number of exclusive or tied agents engaged by life insurance companies has seen fluctuation over the years, the number of agents in FY17 was lower than that in FY13.

“This has been attributed to the high churn among agents as well as the efforts of life insurance companies in recent years to improve productivity and weed out under-performing agents,” the report said.

Of the 20,88,519 agents employed in FY17, more than half or 11,31,181 agents, were engaged by LIC. Among private sector companies, Reliance Nippon Life had the highest (1,62,276) agents.

In terms of agent productivity, among private sector companies, apart from HDFC Life, SBI Life was at the second best at 4.67 policies per agent.

However, the report said that despite the reliance on bancassurance as the main distribution channel, bancassurance led companies engaged a sizeable agency force in FY17, (4,88,886) among the 11 bancassurance-led companies (in the previous table), as on March 31, 2017.

Bajaj Allianz Life had the highest average ticket size per agent of Rs 33,008 in FY17, according to Fintelekt. Among the bancassurance-led companies, ICICI Prudential Life had the highest average ticket size Rs 23,359 for retail agents.

As per current insurance regulations on bancassurance, banks are allowed to sell products of multiple insurance companies. Fintelekt research showed that LIC has the maximum number of tie-ups with 60 banks, followed by SBI Life with 30 banks.

Source-Money control.

Banks now liable for mis-selling insurance: Here is how to complain to banking ombudsman

Walk into any bank branch and there is a high chance of you getting hounded by bank and insurance companies officials to invest in mutual funds or buy an insurance policy. 

Now, what they are doing is not against the law because banks are actually allowed to cross-sell third-party products such as insurance and mutual funds to their customers. 

However, after buying such a product from a bank, if you have a grievance, the bank will not help you. In fact, banks wash their hands of all responsibilities after selling them. 

So if you have bought an insurance policy from a bank, you have to go to the insurance company or insurance ombudsman if you have any grievances. And the sale of third-party products which brought fee-based revenue to banks was outside the purview of the banking ombudsman. 

This is set to change. In a notification on 23 June 2017, the RBI said that customers who are mis-sold third-party products by banks can now go directly to the banking ombudsman. In the notification, RBI has said that it has widened the scope of its Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006, to include deficiencies arising out of selling insurance, mutual fund, and other third-party products by banks. The Banking Ombudsman Scheme enables the resolution of complaints relating to services rendered by banks and it facilitates the settlement of such complaints. 

It is not only the scope of the ombudsman that has been widened, but the new rules have also enhanced its jurisdiction. Earlier, the banking ombudsman could only pass an award ( a direction or an order) of up to Rs 10 lakh. This has now been increased to Rs 20 lakh. Additionally, the banking ombudsman can now grant a maximum compensation of Rs 1 lakh for loss of time and money, harassment and mental anguish suffered by the complainant. 

Spotting mis-selling: Common mis-selling practices in banks 

At times, the executive across the table at a bank branch will let you know your bank balance even without you asking for it and will suggest 'high return' products in lieu of low returns on money lying in your savings account. In such circumstances, the probability of you being mis-sold a product is high. 

As a bank customer, if one is looking for a loan or a bank locker, remember, there is no compulsion to buy an insurance product along with. The practice of bundling such products leads to a forced buying experience and can ultimately result in mis-selling. What one needs is a pure term insurance to cover the additional liability arising out of taking the loan. 

Similarly, someone looking to invest in a bank fixed deposit may be asked to invest in a single premium insurance product without disclosing the risk factors and without doing a risk profile of the customer. 

Then there are times when a customer may wish to invest a lump sum in fixed deposit. Alternatively, a single premium plan is suggested and to make matters worse, the investment is put into a regular income scheme. There have been instances where senior citizens have been made to buy regular income insurance plans or even pension plans. 

This move by RBI may not put an end to such deceitful practices by banks, but it can at least hold the banks responsible for any unfair selling practices. At the same time, buyers of financial products also need to make informed decisions to avoid mis-buying. 

Now that you can approach the banking ombudsman for third-party products mis-sold to you by the bank, here are four such instances when you can register a complaint. 

1) Improper and unsuitable sale of third-party financial products 

2) Not enough transparency when the product was sold 

3) Nondisclosure of grievance redressal mechanism 

4) Delay or refusal to facilitate after-sales service by the bank 

Procedure for filing complaint 

Every bank branch, by law, has to display the address of the office of the banking ombudsman under which it comes under. One can file a complaint, both offline and online, with details about the nature and the extent of loss and the compensation sought. 

But before filing a complaint with the ombudsman, one has to formally file a complaint with the bank and wait for at least 30 days. Until now, if someone was mis-sold an insurance policy or a mutual fund scheme by a bank, the only recourse was to approach the insurer or fund house. 

There's no fee involved in filing the complaint with the banking ombudsman and one need not route it through an advocate. You can represent the case yourself or even through an authorised epresentative. Do keep in mind that the ombudsman can refuse to hear a complaint if it is time-barred or already heard in some other court. 

Mis-selling is a menace that has to be curbed, and the RBI has been pretty vocal about mis-selling by banks. "Distribution of insurance products by banks is popular the world over. It can provide very useful non-interest income (fee-based income) and positively impact profitability," said the RBI in its Financial Stability Report (FSR). The report also said, "There is a need to check the possibility of mis selling, especially in the light of reported attractive performance-linked incentives for bank staff and management." 

(Courtesy- Economic times)

GET READY FOR LIC'S JEEVAN UTKARSH- SINGLE PREMIUM PLAN

This is close ended plan, which is available for very short  period. It provides high risk, i.e. 10 times of your premium paid with accidental death & disability benifits. It is also benificial to taxpayer & medium income group individuals as the returns of this plan is completely tax free whatever huge amount you get by the maturity.

Aadhaar or PAN compulsory for new registration on LIC website

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country's largest life insurance company, has revamped its online portal. 

The various e-services on the portal are now available with a new user interface (UI) and an improved navigation.The customer portal has a new address and can be accessed at here . (https://ebiz.licindia.in ) 

The policyholders looking to register for such online services will have to either provide PAN or Aadhaar number in addition to other details such as policy number, date of birth etc. 

Policyholders can enrol policies purchased on their own name or even those bought in the name of their spouses and children. for policies other than self or in the name of a minor, such as spouse or major children, it is better to get them registered separately with different user Ids. 

Some of the e-services available on the portal 

One can make online payments towards any renewal premium through net banking, debit card, credit card etc., the policyholder can view the policy schedule i.e. the first page of policy bond which constitutes policy schedule, the policy status i.e. the basic details of policy will be displayed such as plan-term, sum assured, date of commencement etc. As a policyholder, one can also view the bonus status i.e. the total bonus accumulated under the policy will be displayed. 

In the new version, the premium due calendar has come upfront showing the details of premiums due during the year on month wise basis. 

The policyholder can also view the premium paid certificate for each policy separately and in a consolidated form. In addition, the facility to register a complaint or a grievance with the insurer is there on the portal. The access to various forms related to maturity or death claims are also available once the policyholder logs on to the portal. 

TO REGISTER FOR E-SERVICES 

If already registered on LIC Portal 

" Click on e-Services, login with your user-id and password. 

" Register your policies for availing the e-services by filling up the form provided. 

" Print the form, sign it and upload the scanned image of the form. 

" Upload the scanned image of PAN Card or Aadhaar Card or Passport. 

" After verification, an acknowledgement e-mail and SMS will be sent to avail the e-services. 

If not registered on LIC Portal 

" Visit www.licindia.in, click on the tab "new User" 

" Select your own user-id and password and provide all the necessary information 

" For availing e-Services, click on the tab "e-Services", log in with the user id created 

" Register your policies for availing the e-services by filling up the form provided. 

" Print the form, sign it and upload the scanned image of the form. 

" Upload the scanned image of PAN Card or Aadhaar Card or Passport 

" After verification, an acknowledgement e-mail and SMS will be sent to avail the e-services 

In case a registered user is finding it difficult to access the new portal or the registered policies or other information is not being displayed properly, the access to the older version is still available. The earlier version of the portal can be accessed here 

(https://customer.onlinelic.in/LICEPS/Login/begin.do?ebiz ) 

The existing users may, however, continue to access the portal without furnishing the PAN or Aadhaar.

 (Courtesy-Economic Times)

LIC unveils 2 policies based on Aadhaar

Delhi,28- LIC has introduced teo endowment assurance plans for individuals having aadhaar card. While the AADHAARSHILA is a plan exclusively designed for women, the other scheme AADHAAESTAMBH is meant for men.  Absolute amount assured on death under Aadhaaarstambh is 100%, whereas For Aadhaar shila is 110% os basic sum assured. These plans offer a combination of  protection and savings and provide a lumpsum amount at the time of maturity for the surviving policyholder and financial support for the family in case of death of the policy holder, a company statement said.

अखेरच्या तासातच हिमानीचे पायलट होण्याचे स्वप्न भंगले

खेमेंद्र कटरे

गोंदिया(berartimes.com),दि.26– येथील बिरसी विमानतळावरील कॅनडियन कंपनीसोबत असलेल्या नॅशनल फ्लाईंग अकादमीच्या प्रशिक्षण केंद्रातील प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमानाला आज बुधवारला सकाळी ८.४५ वाजेच्या सुमारास अपघात होऊन दोन पायलट जागीच ठार झाल्याची घटना गोंदिया जिल्ह्यातील दवनीवाडा पोलीस ठाण्यांतर्गत घडली.हे विमान चार आसनी असून डीए.४२ क्रमांकाचे होते.मृत पायलटमध्ये वरिष्ट पायलट रंजन रंजीत गुप्ता(वय ४५) यांचा समावेश असून प्रशिक्षणार्थी पायलट ही कु.हिमानी गुरुदयाल कल्याण (वय २४,रा.दिल्ली )चा समावेश आहे.विशेष म्हणजे या अपघाताने हिमानीच्या कुटूबियांतील सदस्यांचे आयुष्यातील सर्वात मोठं स्वप्नच हिरावून घेतले आहे.पायलट होण्यासाठी जो 200 तास सराव करावा लागतो,त्या सरावाताली अपघाताच्यापुर्वी उड्डाण घेतलेला अखेरचा तास हा 199 चा टप्पा पार करुन 200 तास होणार होता.परंतु नियतीला हिमानीचे हे 200 तास पुर्णच होऊ द्यायचे नव्हते की काय अशी चर्चा रुंगू लागली आहे.अकादमीतील काहींच्या मते हिमानीने 200 व्या तासासाठी उड्डाण भरले होते.त्यानंतर ती सोलो पायलट म्हणून एकटी विमान चालविण्याचे काम करु शकली असती.

सुत्रांनी दिलेल्या माहितीनुसार प्रशिक्षणार्थी वैमानिक आपल्या वरिष्ट पायलटसोबत प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमानाने (विमान क्र.डीए.४२) विमानतळावरुन उड्डाण घेतल्यानंतर गोंदियापासून पश्चिमेला असलेल्या देवरी गावाजवळून वाहणाèया वैनगंगा नदीच्या मधल्या पात्रात प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमान कोसळले.प्रत्यक्षदर्शी लोकानी दिलेल्या माहितीनुसार विमानात बिघाड आले असावे त्यामुळे ते नदीपात्रात सुरक्षित विमान उतरविण्याचा प्रयत्न करीत असताना विमान हलत होते त्याचवेळी वैनगंगा नदीतील पाण्याची पातळी मोजण्यासाठी लावलेल्या देवरी ते मध्यप्रदेशातील लावणी या गावाला जोडणाèया रोपवेच्या ताराला विमानाचे पंखे अडकले गेले.त्यात पंखे वेगळे झाले आणि  प्रशिणार्थी विमानाचे चार ते पाच तुकडे झाले.रोपवेच्या तारापासून विमानाचा मुख्य इंजिन किमान १०० मीटर दुरपर्यंत फेकला गेला.एक इंजिन एकीकडे तर दुसरा इंजिन एकीकडे फेकला गेला. या घटनेची माहिती तेथील सरिता जलमापन केंद्र देवरीच्या कर्मचाèयाने दवनीवाडा पोलीसांना दिली.या अपघातातात महिला पायलटचा पाय मोडला गेला असून दोन्हीच्या डोक्याला जबर मार लागलेला आहे.मृत पायलट यांचे मृतदेह केटीएस जिल्हा रुग्णालयात उत्तरीय तपासणीसाठी हलविण्यात आले आहे.उत्तरीय तपासणीqनतर मृतदेह हे एयरएंबुलसने पाठविण्याची तयारी विमानतळ प्राधिकरणाने केल्याची माहिती सुत्रांनी दिली.या घटनेच्या तपासासाठी दिल्ली येथील विमानतळ प्राधिकरणाची एक चमु सुध्दा बिरसी विमानतळावर दाखल झाली आहे.

आहे.घटनेची माहिती मिळाल्यानंतर विमानतळ प्राधिकरणाचे प्रबधंक राजा रेड्डी,अप्पर तहसिलदार एन.एस.मेश्राम,बालाघाट जिल्ह्याचे पोलिस अधिक्षक अमित सांघी व उपविभागीय अधिकाèयांनी घटनास्थळावर धाव घेत परिस्थितीचा आढावा घेत नागरिकांच्या सहकार्याने मदतकार्य करीत अपघातग्रस्त विमानातून मृत पायलट यांना काढले.अपघातात पुर्णत मोडकळील आलेल्या प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमानाच्या ब्ॅलकबाँक्स च्या तपासणीनंतरच विमानात बिघाड आला होता की नाही याचा उलगडा होणार आहे.

बिरसी विमानतळ व प्रशिक्षण केंद्रावरील काही घटना

यापुर्वी २०१० मध्ये विमानतळावरुन उडालेला विमान मध्यप्रदेशातील लांजी येथे इमरजंसी लँडीगच्या माध्यमातून उतरविण्यात आला होता.त्यावेळी तो प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमान पुर्णत क्षतीग्रस्त झाला होता.

१८ मार्च २०१३ रोजी विमानतळाच्या रनवे वरुन सरळ प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमान रनवेच्या बाहेर येऊन एका वाहनात शिरले होते.तिसरी घटना

गोंदियाच्या बिरसी विमानतळावरुनच प्रशिक्षणासाठी उडालेल्या रायबरेली येथील प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमानाचा(डायमंड-४०) मध्यप्रदेशातील पचमढी परिसरात २४ डिसेंबर २०१३ मध्ये अपघात होऊन एका पायलटचा मृत्यू झालेला होता.त्यामध्ये सोहेल अंसारी या पायलटचा मृत्यू झाला होता.

 तर दीड महिन्यापुर्वी सुध्दा बिरसी विमानतळावर प्रशिक्षण घेणाèया दोन प्रशिक्षर्णार्थी पायलटचा आकस्मिक मृत्यू झाल्याचे प्रकरण समोर आले होते.आत्तापर्यत येथील विमानतळावरील राष्ट्रीय विमान प्रशिक्षण संस्थेत ३-४ घटना घडलेल्या आहेत.त्यातच ज्या विमानातून सराव केला जातो ते विमान जुने असल्याचे बोलले जात आहे.

लोकांच्यानुसार विमान लँडीग करतांना अपघात-पोलिस निरिक्षक हेमने

दवनीवाडा पोलीस ठाणेंतंर्गत येणाèया देवरीनजीकच्या वैनगंगा नदीपात्रात आज झालेल्या विमान अपघातप्रकरणी माहिती देतांना पोलीस निरिक्षक वासुदेव हेमने यांनी सांगितले की,पायलट नदीपात्रात विमानाचे लँडीग करण्यासाठी प्रयत्न करीत असताना हा अपघात झाला.लोकांनी दिलेल्या माहितीनुसार विमानात काहीतरी बिघाड झाले असावे त्यामुळेच ते विमान खाली उतरवित होते तेव्हाच रोपवेच्या ताराला विमानाचे पंखे लागले आणि विमानाचे तुकडे तुकडे झाले.याप्रकरणाचा तपास सुरु असून आज गोंदिया विमानतळाच्या वरिष्ठांनी पाहणी केली असून उद्याला विमान प्राधिकरणाचे वरिष्ठ पाहणीसाठी घटनास्थळी येणार असल्याचे सांगितले.

प्रशिणार्थी विमानाला अपघात-प्रबंधक राजा रेड्डी

गोंदियाच्या बिरसी विमानतळाचे प्रबंधक राजा रेड्डी यांनी प्रशिक्षणार्थी विमानाला अपघात झाल्याचे मान्य करीत नॅशनॅल फ्लार्इंग ट्रेqनग इस्टिट्युटचे(एनएफटी) प्रशिक्षणार्थी असल्याची माहिती दिली.सोबतच हा अपघात घटनास्थळापासून काही अंतरावरुन बालाघाट जिल्ह्यात जात असलेल्या हायटेंशन तारेला विमानाचा पंखा टकरावल्याने इंजिन बंद पडले असावे असा अंदाज व्यक्त करीत याप्रकरणाची सखोल चौकशी करण्यात येणार असल्याचे सांगितले. यासंदर्भातच एनएफटीच्या वरिष्ठांशी संपर्क साधून माहिती घेण्याचा प्रयत्न केला असता त्यांच्याकडून उत्तर देण्यास टाळाटाळ कऱण्यात आली.

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