Showing posts with label car insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car insurance. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2011

How Many PPI Claims Have You Got??

How Many PPI Claims Have You Got??

Here is a general sentiment of concern across the nation about past practices in supplying PPI products and even though these may have been amended by the appropriate people PPI refunds are a frequent amount among individuals who have obtained cover.
Occurences of PPI mis-selling are now confirmed to have been plentiful, with many individuals having been given cover that will be of little use. If you choose you wish to put in a claim for a PPI refund then pleased] to know there are certain steps to take.At the point when the financial associations chose to conduct an investigation into PPI mis-selling they were astonished to prove that many consumers had been mis sold PPI and that fresh steps would need to be implemented to outlaw irresponsible selling and re-shape the industry.More and more individuals are in the process of revisiting their Payment Protection Insurance policies thanks to the recent changes in the industry and chasing a PPI refund have become commonplace.

Pursuing a claim should be schedule and in the major claims are very successful these days.Payment protection insurance - also referred to as PPI - is a versatile service] which is there to aid you in the event of certain incidences resulting in loss of pay. Making a payment protection claim on a policy results from one or more designated occurrences coming about.Large numbers of us these days hold PPI policies, but in what circumstances do payment protection claims can be made? The actual circumstances where you may claim must be written in the policy agreement and will be completely explained to you at the point of purchase.If you own a useful PPI policy it will be at some point that you may have to ask for payment protection insurance claims. Such payments are generally given as monthly payments, some tax free of charge, for a set span of time.It may be very frequent that you could have been mis-sold payment protection insurance and the recent changes to the method by which it is to be be sold have created to do away with this problem.

Many persons may be unknowing that they could use a PPI policy because of the past problems.When you find you were mis-sold PPI then you necessitate to begin to look at how to get your money back. There are moves to be used in claiming back PPI and there is plenty in the way of excellent literature to help you.The time you might begin to make a PPI claim is defined within the agreement that the person concerned chooses when signing the cover. There are various set occasions that could create a claim and these should change between cover schedules.With the frequent tales concerning the methods in which PPI policies have been mis-sold in the past it will be no surprise that plenty people request a PPI refund. Research have found that a number of people had been issued with policies that were irrelevant to them.The financial authorities are known to have made changes with regard to the providing of PPI policies following complaints from many quarters and as a result PPI claim have become a common occurrence as people seek compensation for mis-sold products.One of the most important parts of a PPI policy is a clear explanation of when it can be made active.
There are specific triggers that allow the policy holder to claim PPI, and these would be simply defined in the document.
Much is made in the newspaper columns these days about tales of missold PPI policies and this has seen as a result a thorough investigation by the Financial Services Authority in which they deduced that such mis-selling had really occured.Tales of mis sold PPI policies brought about a full scale investigation by the FSA and the upshot was that numerous cases of mis-selling were known to have taken place across the country. Revisions have been put in place to the process in response.When you discover that you have been mis-sold a PPI policy, there are routines in place through which you can reclaim PPI outlay. Numerous claims are upheld and a growing number of people who believe they were misled are waiting for the outcome of claims.Payment Protection Insurance used to be a worthy purchase for a number of people as it was meant to cover a choice of occurrences where the policy holder may find they are unable to work. As a result there are plenty designated circumstances where you can commence PPI claims against a lender.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

7 life insurance concepts every individual buying a policy must know


7 life insurance concepts every individual buying a policy must know

The need and significance of having adequate monetary cover in the form of life insurance has been talked and written about more than enough, over the last few years in our country. While more and more citizens are realising the importance of securing their families' future, one cannot but help get the feeling that there is still a bit of a hole as far as understanding the basics involved in life insurance products, their configuration and terms and conditions are concerned.Here are 7 key concepts each policy owner (or would be policy owner) ought to know and understand:

1. Sum Assured/Insured
Life insurance is a contract between the insurance company and the individual buying insurance. Sum Assured refers to the amount of money for which the individual buys insurance. It is the amount that will be paid by the insurer to the nominees/dependents of the life insured in the case of death of the insured provided the premiums associated with the insurance policy have been duly paid on time. Life insurance is a meant to provide financial protection and a means to replace lost income for one's dependents and can help meet any outstanding liabilities and future financial needs if you are not around. How much Sum Assured to opt for should take into account these needs and factors.

2. Policy Tenor/Tenure/Term
A life insurance policy is typically bought for a defined period of time. This time period is generally referred to as the Policy Term/Tenor/Tenure. Simply put this is the time period for which you wish to purchase a life cover. For e.g. if you take a life insurance policy for a Sum Assured of Rs. 50 lacs with a policy term of 25 years, you agree to pay applicable premiums at regular intervals during this 25 year period.In return for the payment of premiums, the insurance company will provide a life cover during these 25 years. The policy cover will cease at the end of 25 years.One should try and insure himself for the maximum duration possible and go for the highest tenure available for your age and Sum Assured; if not, at least cover yourself till your 'income earning years'.

3. Benefits,
There are typically two kinds of benefits associated with life insurance policies. Death Benefit is the amount that will be payable to the insured's dependents if the insured dies during the term of the policy. This is benefit is typically equal to the Sum Assured in most cases while in some products it can be Sum Assured plus any bonuses added on as per the product structure and terms.While death benefit is a common feature across all types of life insurance products, some forms of life insurance also offer a Maturity/Survival Benefit. In such products, the insurer also agrees to pay a lump-sum amount on the completion of the term of the policy upon the non-occurrence of the insured event i.e. on the survival of the policy owner.Protection oriented policies like Term Insurance offer only Death Benefit while other savings oriented products such as Money-Back, Endowments and Unit Linked Plans offer both Death and Survival Benefits. It is because of this difference in benefit structures that term insurance is far cheaper than any other form of insurance and should be the first product in your life insurance portfolio. If however, there is already adequate financial protection available for your dependents and your primary need is long term savings for capital appreciation and / or conservation, available options under savings oriented plans should be considered.

4. Free-look period
The guidelines issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) allow for a 15 day period to customers an option to review their decision to purchase a particular life insurance policy and return the policy if they so choose and have their premium refunded. This period starts from the date of receipt of the policy documents by the customer.During this period, customers can review in greater detail the policy they have bought, go through its terms and conditions, policy wordings and the like to satisfy themselves of having made the right purchase. This gives you an opportunity to cross check your understanding of the product and what you thought if offers basis your interaction with any sales personnel or intermediaries with the actual document(s) which detail the product features, benefits and costs.In case you reach the conclusion that the product is not what you thought it was for any reasons whatsoever, including having been mis-sold the policy, you can return the policy to the insurance company and ask for a refund of your premium. Since the free-look period is available for only 15 days from the date of receipt of policy, it is important to review your policy documents at the earliest. If you take a decision to return the policy under the 'free-look' period you need to contact the insurance company to communicate your decision to cancel the policy as a free-look cancellation.

5. Lapses
A life insurance policy is said to be active or in-force till the time the premiums due on the policy are being paid on time. The risk cover associated with the policy continues only as long as the policy is active. Typically all life insurance products have a 'grace period' after the premium due date during which policyholders can pay the premium that is due.The regulatory framework defines 'grace period' as the time granted by the insurer for the payment of premium from the due date of the premium without any interest or penalty during which the policy is considered to be in-force. This grace period is 15 days in case the premium payment frequency is monthly and is 30 days in all other cases. If the premium is still not paid after the completion of the grace period, then the policy stands lapsed as of the date on which the grace period expires.Simply put, when a life insurance policy lapses, the insurance coverage under the contract ceases to exist. Therefore, if anything were to happen to the insured, the insurer is not obliged to pay any benefits to the nominees/beneficiaries of the insured.One needs to ensure that his/her life insurance policy remains active so as make sure that the life cover can continue uninterrupted. If your policy lapsation happened on account of missing out on premium payments inadvertently or due to any temporary financial hardships, you should try and find out about your options and revive your policy at the earliest.

6. Nominees
The life insurance policyholder has a authorized right to appoint a person or persons to receive the policy benefits in the event of death of the life insured. Any policyholder, who is a major and the life insured under a policy, can make a nomination. A nominee is the person designated by the policyholder to receive the proceeds of an insurance policy, upon the death of the insured. Nomination can be changed by the policy owner at any time during the term of the policy any number of times.While nomination is an authorisation to receive the policy benefits in the event of death of the life assured, it does not give the nominee an absolute right over the money received to the exclusion of other legal heirs, who may continue to have a legal and valid claim over the money so received by the nominee.

7. Assignment
Assignment is the process through which you transfer the rights of a life insurance policy and its benefits to a person (Assignee). On assignment, the assignee has complete and absolute rights over the policy and its benefits. One needs to be careful while assigning a policy. Unlike a nomination, an assignment once made cannot be cancelled. An assignee can, however, further assign the policy to another person since he now is the owner of and holds the rights to the policy.It is important to note that in case of endowment or money back policies that have a survival benefit, rights to even the maturity benefits will be with the assignee on you surviving the term of the policy. Whether to choose between assignment or nomination will depend on what you think best suits you and your dependents keeping in mind the characteristics of each.