Life Insurance Plans that You Find in Your Life

When people say that life is always full of risk, I always think that it is a motivating word and a remembrance for us to have life insurance plans. There are many important things that become the consideration why we should have the plans for life insurance. For those who apply it and have felt the impact and benefits, they say that having this great thing has brought many good effects to their life, even the life of their children and grandson.

The Benefits of Life Insurance Plans

There are some great benefits when you have the life insurance plans in your life. First, the insurance can ensure the continuance of the income when the one who supply the primary income cannot acquire the income again. The insurance ensure that the money that has been paid for the insurance will be returned for the sake of the life that has been insured by the one who supply the income. When you have life insurance, your family's future is guaranteed to ease as the money that you pay will be given to those who you refer.

The life insurance plans are able to be used for protecting our assets in the business or other kinds of asset. We know that our assets are used for making a good capital in every bet that we do in business. We will be able to get some coverage when we often get a misfortune when we bet on the business that we do. When such misfortune comes to visit us, the plans of life insurance will come to help us easing the problem. When we have known about the benefits of the insurance, it is time to know the kind of insurance in our life.

Whole Life Insurance

The first life insurance plans that I will talk about is the whole life insurance. When you want to make your family have a really guaranteed future, this is the insurance that will help you to do it. This fine insurance works by covering the financial problems that may happen to your beloved one when you are not around anymore or you can do something. It will help their financial problem because you are not able to work anymore.

This insurance may be the most expensive life insurance plans because it relates to a future of the loved one. When you apply this insurance, the hardest and biggest payments may happen in the first stage of the insurance. This is due to the preparation when you are going to stop working soon or unpredictable accidents happen. It may make you stop producing income. When the insurance agent has thought that your insured money has reached sufficient funds, the insurance agent will charge you will lesser money.

Term Life Insurance

When you apply for this term life insurance, these life insurance plans will work only for the sake of your beloved ones, but the returning of the money will be made in a certain term in our life. The reason for returning may be from the insurer's which cannot get any money anymore or they have passed away.

Universal Life Insurance

The next life insurance plans are the universal life Insurance. This life insurance planning is made for the sake of making savings when you get broke or cannot produce money or even get a great lose in business. Unlike the whole life insurance, this insurance has a high flexibility in payments. You can do this insurance by having small payments over a period of time or you can make the payment at once with great amount of money. This flexibility makes many people love this kind of insurance.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment

The last life insurance plans that we will be explained are the accidental death and dismemberment. This kind of insurance is done by a rider who have many risks of accident and death in their life. When someone gets accident or death or even get paralyzed because of accident, the insurance will give an additional gift for you to relieve the burden that your family should bear.

Some insurance policies may cover living expenses for those displaced by wildfires

Families displaced from their homes due to wildfire evacuations may be eligible to be reimbursed for their additional living expenses if their insurance policy provides for such claims. Examples of those expenses include lodging, meals and purchasing toiletries if a consumer is displaced by the wildfire or as a result of an evacuation order.

One of several Blackhawk helicopters that is fighting wildfires in Eastern Washington. Photo courtesy of Washington state Emergency Management Division. 

Consumers in several areas in Eastern Washington have been ordered to evacuate at different points during the wildfires. We are hearing reports that some insurance companies are requiring consumers to provide a copy of the municipality’s emergency evacuation order before they will pay for additional living expenses. There is nothing in state laws or rules that prohibits an insurance company from asking for this information. If you need a copy of an evacuation order, contact the emergency management teams in your area.

If you have access to your insurance policy, read it to find specific information about what is covered, your deductibles, what kind of documentation is required and policy limitations or exclusions. If you don’t have a copy available to you, contact your insurance company, agent or broker.

Here are more resources from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner:

• For general insurance questions, call an insurance expert at 1-800-562-6900.
• Learn about wildfires and homeowner’s insurance.
• Get information about filing a claim after a disaster.
• If you have a problem with your insurance company, you can file a complaint.

OIC is hiring IT Specialist 5 in Tumwater

OIC is seeking a highly motivated IT Specialist 5 (IT Security/ Network/ Server Administrator) in our Tumwater headquarters. The IT Specialist 5 is the lead IT security specialist for the agency and is responsible for planning, designing, configuring and supporting the agency’s network infrastructure and servers. The ideal candidate must have strong knowledge of IT network and server infrastructure, Microsoft Active Directory, LAN/WAN administration, configuring network hardware and software and enterprise backup software.

OIC supports employees through regular training and opportunities to implement new technologies and participate on multiple projects teams. We also offer tuition reimbursement, free parking and participate in the state's commute trip reduction program.

If you are interested in joining our team, view this and other jobs at OIC.

The New Era of Crowdfunding for Businesses in Singapore

Investment scams happens everywhere in the world. How do we know which are investment scams and which are not? These are the normal questions we come across with. Are there viable indicators?

Recently, crowdfunding has started to gain my attention in the investment world. This is still something new in Singapore and many people are worried if it's a scam by itself since it is not regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)? I was sceptical on it as well. Moving on, I did some research, met up with the people involved in one of the crowdfunding for SMEs called MoolahSense and strive to uncover the difference between investment scams and crowdfunding. I will share with you more on my findings in this post.

Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Geefunding_crowdfunding.png

But before that, let's take a look at some of the worst investment scams in Singapore and see what really caused it to be a scam. There are certain told-tale signs if we look carefully.

Infamous Investment Scams in Singapore


1. Sunshine Empire 

A taxi driver invested $81K in Sunshine Empire and lost most of it. Sunshine Empire collected a total of $180M from Singaporeans and operated for about a year before the authorities stepped in. Sunshine Empire was a multi-level marketing company set up in 2006 promoting "lifestyle packages" and cash rebates if investors invest and buy their packages.

The interests given were as high as 10% a month. Yes its 10% a month, not a year, and people still believed in it. In an article on business times, it was revealed that investors were told that the company was developing theme parks in Malacca and Cebu, and was setting up a radio relay station in Taiwan on top of owning a number of franchises and that the high returns were generated from investments and businesses alike.

10% interest per month really sounded too good to be true. The business itself raised red flags when investors were buying lifestyle packages but were told returns were generated from investments in theme parks and franchises.


2. Geneva Gold

Geneva Gold is a gold buy back scheme which allows investors to invest in Gold and get a monthly interest for a period of time. Eventually, this would work out to be higher than the amount they initially paid. The interest paid was about 2% per month.

The scheme failed somewhere in 2012 and monthly payments were delayed. To me, it’s simply because the business model was not sustainable. Collecting money from investors to buy gold and later sell it at a higher price is what they did so they could pay the interest to investors. But when gold prices started falling, the scheme fell off completely. It is not sustainable in the long run.

Is Crowd-Funding a Scam? 

In this post, I'm going to focus on crowdfunding for businesses. This is something new in Singapore but not new in the US and UK. As this is still new in Singapore, the industry is not yet regulated by the MAS. But, is this a scam in itself? Let's take a look at what crowdfunding is to understand it better.

Crowd-funding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the internet. One of the crowd-funding platform for businesses in Singapore is Moolahsense. MoolahSense, as quoted on their website, is “a trusted P2B lending platform that empowers investors to stimulate economic growth by providing finance directly to growth SMEs, in exchange for an attractive rate of interest.”

MoolahSense co-founded by the CEO Mr Lawrence Yong, who has been a practitioner in the financial sector for the past 12 years, with experiences spanning private wealth management and investment banking. MoolahSense has opened up a whole new avenue for us ordinary investors who want a part to play in investing in SMEs in Singapore. Previously, only accredited or angel investors have the opportunity to invest in startups or SMEs.


How Does Crowd-funding Works? 

The investment opportunity provided by MoolahSense is essentially a bond-like program where one can lend money to the SMEs and get interest in return on a certain time period – either on a monthly or one-time basis. You can watch the below video on how it works:

Only 1 in 20 SMEs get funding from banks even though they contribute greatly in the economy of Singapore. Crowdfunding is a win-win situation for both SMEs and investors. SMEs get the funding they want and investors get the interest in return. 

SME Notes, something relatively new in Singapore

Crowdfunding at MoolahSense is an easy-to-understand concept. They bring companies and investors together.

In the world of investment, there are different types of bonds such as government bonds, corporate bonds and bond ETFs. One other type of bond is called the ‘SME notes’.

SME notes refer to a promissory note from one party to another that enables a payee to receive payments over a fixed period of time, ending with the date at which the entire loan is to be repaid. A form of investing in SME notes is via peer-to-business (P2B) lending.

P2B lending is a form of debt-based crowdfunding that allows individuals to lend directly to businesses, facilitated via an internet-based platform. Investors can earn attractive fixed yields, gain access to a new asset class, and invest in local growth businesses.

P2B lending is still relatively new in Singapore as compared to in the U.S., Europe and China. However, it is a global phenomenon that is gaining popularity in Asia. In Singapore, the pioneer P2B lending platform, MoolahSense, connects investors to high growth small and medium enterprises (SMEs) seeking short term financing, in exchange for attractive returns.

You can download a copy of an ebook on Fixed Income Returns 101 to learn more about the various ways to generate steady yields. Download it here. 


2 reasons why Moolahsense is Different from scams:
Investing through MoolahSense can yield you an interest as high as 20% per annum. 20%!!! This sounds like a scam. However, we have to note that this 20% is actually amortised thus the real return is only about 11% per annum. Interest can vary from investments to investments depending on the individual companies who issue the notes.

You may ask what is amortised? This simply means we are paid back a sum of money (plus interest), every month, instead of waiting ‘til the end of the year or ‘til the investment tenure expires. The interest is only charged on the remaining principle thus having a lower real return rate. If we invest $1000 on tenure of 12 months with interest at 10% through MoolahSense, we would get back $87.92 every month for the next 12 months. More is paid in interest at the beginning as principle is still high and lesser is paid in interest towards the end. It is the same as how most housing loans are amortised here in Singapore. This is how the investment works. You can refer to their website which has an online calculator here.

Finally, let's see why crowd-funding through Moolahsense differs from a scam?

1. They are the only known legally compliant debt based lending platform in Singapore

Over a period of 3 years, the founders have consulted intensively with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to ensure that the business will not violate any existing regulations.

In the process, MoolahSense was given the ‘no obligation’ confirmation by the MAS to proceed with its current business model.

2. There are much easier ways to scam people, than to do a crowd funding campaign

Honestly, there are much easier and cheaper ways to scam people. Doing a crowd-funding campaign requires a fair bit of upfront work, not to mention the costs involved in shooting a good video, hosting an info sessions, etc.


Are you able to identify scams from real investments now? However, do take note that every investment has its risks even if it’s not a scam. It is recommended to understand and do some research to weigh your risks before investing in anything.

Check out Moolahsense website to find out more about the opportunities for SMEs funding and investments.

Fires continue to devastate Eastern Washington

More than 780,000 acres have burned in 11 counties and tribal lands in Eastern Washington. President Obama has signed an Emergency Declaration that authorizes FEMA to assist with equipment and resources.

The fires have claimed an estimated 80 homes and displaced families and affected agriculture, businesses and countless communities. The weather forecast calls for rain over the weekend, but there's also a possibility of lightning in some areas. Several of the fires were started by lightning.

A photo from a wildfire in Wenatchee in July 2015 (OIC photo)

The Insurance Commissioner’s website has information for consumers about wildfires and homeowner’s insurance, including things you should talk to your insurance agent about and tips for protecting your home and belongings. We also have tips for filing a claim after a natural disaster and how to find disaster resources.

Here are resources from other agencies:

• Follow news about the fires on Twitter at #WaWILDFIRE.
• The Washington Department of Natural Resources has the most recent fire information available on its website and through its @waDNR_fire Twitter feed. 
• Governor Inslee has declared a state of emergency and instituted a statewide burn ban in June. You can view the Governor’s Wildfire Resource Page at http://bit.ly/WAwildfire. 

Some experts are predicting wildfires will continue into September. Here are some tips for preparing for wildfire risk:

• Check your policy to make sure damage from wildfires is covered. Some policies include coverage for emergency shelter, such as a hotel, if a home is uninhabitable. 
• Review your policy to make sure you have enough coverage. Things like fine art, jewelry and computer equipment may have limited coverage under a standard policy. But you can buy special coverage that gives you more protection for those types of items, called a rider. Contact your insurance agent or broker to ask about supplemental policies. 
• Catalog your home’s belongings in case you need to make an insurance claim. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has a printable home inventory checklist or you can try free iPhone/iPad or Android apps. 
• You can help protect a rural home and limit the danger by clearing a natural fire break between your home and surrounding trees, brush and uncut fields. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has information on how to protect yourself and your home before, during and even after a wildfire. 
• Have an emergency kit and a family communication plan. Know the location of your valuable papers, including insurance policy and contact information, mementos and anything you can't live without, so you can evacuate with them, if needed. 
• Here's a list of recommended emergency supplies to keep on hand in the case of an evacuation. 
• Don’t forget about planning for your pets. Ready.gov has tips for pet owners. 

Consumers can seek help with their insurance or ask insurance-related questions by calling our consumer advocates at 1-800-562-6900 or contacting us online.

Are new condo rentals a good deal for owners, tenants, or neither?

We thought we’d dig into whether leasing an apartment in a brand new condo represents a good deal for tenants, and at the same time verify whether a value investor is going to get good rental returns in the early years of their condo.

On one hand, we hear stories all the time of people getting a bargain when renting in a new development, and that seems to make sense considering there will be a flood of supply on the market (many near-identical apartments all available in a short period) and there may be inconveniences too (e.g. Ongoing construction, facilities not complete yet, etc). On the other hand - everyone loves shiny and new, right? We know in general that condos rent for less as they get older, but then where is the peak? Day 1, Year 2? Let’s look into the data to find out!

Dark Condos 

We noticed recently that the Business Times updated their “Dark Condos” infographic feature with “Still Dark Condos” These photo essays involved taking photos of new condos at night as a way to determine approximate occupancy rates.

An accompanying article in the Straits Times attempted to “shine some light” on the situation, which seemed strange considering that the condos had all and their Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) issued for more than 18 months. Suggestions in the article include: - Today’s expats are overseas more often - Apartments might be purchased by wealthy foreigners as holiday homes - Owners choose not to lease out as rents are too low and could attract unsavoury tenants (!) - Owners prefer to keep the unit empty for an easier sale - HDB upgraders staying on to wait for better price for their flat


We don’t find any of these particularly convincing, but it’s interesting nonetheless! This gave us the idea though to dig deeper into the rental data of some slightly older condos to see if we can spot any trends once they are more than 2+ years old and lease renewals come up.

Condo Analysis 

Here are some well known condos we picked to see what trends can be found with initial leases versus renewals. 

Reflections at Keppel Bay 

“Reflections” is a gorgeous condo on the south coast which is often photographed and often talked about. The first leases were signed there in early 2012 but it took a while before all apartments were ready for tenants, so the move-in continued for over year. This is definitely one where we heard wild stories of bargain leases, followed by rents going through the roof once people heard how great it was but not many apartments were left, and then finally 2-3 years later the leases didn’t seem that bad after all. 

To get some hard data, we consulted the URA who publish lease data every month. Fortunately, the URA started publishing this data from the start of 2012, although these days they only keep the last 36 months on the site at any time. However we have the data since 2012 so could take a look at the early Reflections leases. We decided to first focus on the 2 bedroom apartments between 1000-1200 square feet, which are the most common there. Here’s the graph with our own annotations: 

This graph definitely shows a trend, as we’ve annotated. Although rent within the first 3 years averaged $5,700/month, the earliest leases were clearly below this, before shooting up almost every month before hitting a peak around a year after the first leases were signed (I.e. The peak was early 2013). 

So did the earliest renters get a bargain? Did rent shoot up after that? Did rent return to “normal” levels after that? Yes, yes and yes - or so it seems. 

To see if this was just by chance, we looked at 3 bedroom apartments between 1500 and 1800 square feet. We saw similar results: 

To check one other anecdote, we wanted to see if we could spot any trends in lease renewals 2 years after the first leases were signed (2 years is the typical lease length, especially in 2012). What we saw was really interesting: 

From the above you can see that the average monthly rent in 2014 was higher than 2012 for the first 4 months only, and after that leases signed in 2014 decreased compared to the equivalent month 2 years earlier. This would indicate that the earliest tenants probably did get a bargain in 2012 because the equivalent leases in 2014 were higher, meanwhile those who rented from 5+ months since launch perhaps overpaid, considering leases were negotiated down two years later. This decrease could also indicate a decreasing rental market in general in late 2014 though.  

Based on this Reflections data, we can draw some probable conclusions: 

1. Early tenants definitely got a great deal on rent compared to average 

2. As the number of available apartments dried up, tenants seemed willing to pay a premium 

3. After the first lease cycle, the bargain leases were negotiated up while later leases were negotiated down 

4. Although early leases went up and later ones down, the earlier ones were still cheaper than later 

We’ll draw some conclusions for landlords at the end too. 

Caspian 

Caspian is a cheaper condo than Reflections at Keppel Bay, which started registering leases in the last quarter of 2012. Taking a look at its 3 bedroom 1200-1300 square feet apartments (the most common size), we see a similar trend of prices in the first few months being below average: 

As Caspian started leases more than half a year after Reflections, its lease renewals would have been hit much harder by the down rental market in late 2014 than Reflections was, so let’s take a look at the data for September 2012-2013 vs the same period in 2014-2015 so far: 

It’s a little harder to draw any conclusions from this, although we can see that leases 2 years later in the late 2014 were higher than in late 2012 while the remainder averaged lower than two years earlier. But as mentioned above, by 2015 we were truly entering a downturn in rental prices so it’s hard to conclude anything for sure. 

Meadows @ Pierce 

For our final analysis, we looked for another from early 2012, so it would be less impacted by the rental downturn in 2014-2015. For Meadows, we looked at both their 1 bedroom apartments - which leased first - as well as their 1100-1300 square feet apartments that sometimes get classified in URA data as 2 bedrooms and sometimes 3 (we just use label of 3 on our graph): 

What’s interesting here is to see how the supply of apartments actually stopped after a few months. Still, the same pattern emerged where apartments are priced under average in the first few months before shooting up as availability decreases. 

Conclusions for Tenants 

We’ve only looked in to three condos here, but it seems that the data backs up anecdotes that you really can get a bargain on rent if you move into a new condo in the earliest few months. But also beware - it seems that these new condos may become overpriced for rent once supply decreases. More good news for tenants in both cases though - it would seem that when leases are renewed, the earliest ones did not completely shoot up, meanwhile the most expensive ones did seem to come back down.  

Conclusion for Landlords 

If you’ve already bought a new condo off the plan, or considering it, then this data is very important for you too. It seems clear that a new landlord has a choice: either race against the clock to fill your apartment early for a cheaper price, or hold out longer with no tenant until you can get a better price. In the case of Reflections at Keppel Bay, we saw leases for the same size apartments increase on average by hundreds of dollars a month for the first few months, which would really add up for a 24 month lease - let alone if the tenant stays longer and you don’t have to negotiate so much again.  

Also, the price at which you rent your condo out can also play an important psychological part if you’re actually planning to sell within the first two years - obviously it’s easier to get a good sale price for your condo if you can show that you’re also getting a good monthly rental. Another factor is that the extra months at the start could give you time to make capital improvements to the apartment that allow both a better rental as well as better sale price in future. 

What do you think - have we missed anything?

Rhys Arkins is the founder of Key Location, a website dedicating to giving people better data about renting Singapore condos

Grant aids veterans in need of mental health services in Tacoma area

A $1.6 million grant and expansion of a Tacoma-area golf course that is a second home for many wounded veterans took center stage Aug. 18 at an event focused on the importance of mental health counseling services.

Commissioner Kreidler joined veterans, their families and representatives of the United Health Foundation in the gathering at the American Lakes Golf Course in Pierce County.

The event centered around the presentation of a $1.6 million grant to benefit "Give an Hour," a national nonprofit organization providing free confidential  mental health services to military members and their families.  The award from the United Health Foundation will be split between Tacoma and Houston.

The grant will help "Give an Hour" raise awareness of available programs, grow its mental health care provider network, and help veterans and their families access services.

"No one deserves more than those who wear the uniform," said the commissioner, a retired Lt. Colonel of 20 years in the Army Reserves.

Others speaking at the event were Dr. John Mateczun, president of UnitedHealthCare Military and Veterans; Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen, president and founder of Give an Hour; and Lourdes "Alfie" Alvarado-Ramos, secretary of Washington state Department of Veteran Affairs.

The featured speakers, though, were veterans and devoted golfers Jim Martinson and Aaron Boyle.  Both noted the importance of mental health services for wounded vets.

Martinson lost his legs to a "Bouncing Betty" land mine in Vietnam in 1968. Another land mine blew off the right leg and arm of Boyle in Afghanistan several years ago. Both cited the availability of mental counseling in helping them through their lengthy recoveries, physical and spiritual.

"These services are desperately needed by many veterans and their families in our community," Boyle said.  "Give an Hour will benefit so many who need help."

Multiple fires threaten Eastern Washington

Over 40 wildfires are burning in 11 counties in Eastern Washington lands of the Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, causing Gov. Inslee to request a Federal Emergency Declaration. 


Our hearts go out to the families of the three firefighters  who lost their lives in the fight to save the town of Twisp and to the other firefighters who were injured.


These fires have claimed more than 50 homes and over 235,000 acres of land. Several communities are under evacuation orders. Weather conditions over the next few days will create the potential for these fires to spread to neighboring communities. 


Follow news about the fires on Twitter using #WaWILDFIRE.

The Insurance Commissioner’s website has information for consumers about wildfires and homeowner’s insurance, including things you should talk to your insurance agent about and tips for protecting your home and belongings. We also have tips for filing a claim after a natural disaster and how to find disaster resources.

Here are some other resources:

• The Washington Department of Natural Resources has the most recent fire information available on its website and through its @waDNR_fire Twitter feed.
  
• Governor Inslee last week declared a state of emergency and instituted a statewide burn ban in June. You can view the Governor’s Wildfire Resource Page at: http://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/washington-wildfire-resources.

Wildfires are predicted to be extensive this summer. Here are some tips for preparing for wildfire risk:

• Check your policy to make sure damage from wildfires is covered. Some policies include some coverage for emergency shelter, such as a hotel, if a home is uninhabitable. 
  
• Review your policy to make sure you have enough coverage. Things like fine art, jewelry and computer equipment may have limited coverage under a standard policy. But you can buy special coverage that gives you more protection for those types of items, called a rider. Contact your insurance agent or broker to ask about supplemental policies. 
  
• Catalog your home’s belongings in case you need to make an insurance claim. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has a printable home inventory checklist or you can try free iPhone/iPad or Android apps. 
  
• You can help protect a rural home and limit the danger by clearing a natural fire break between your home and surrounding trees, brush and uncut fields. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has information on how to protect yourself and your home before, during and even after a wildfire. 
  
• Have an emergency kit and a family communication plan. Know the location of your valuable papers, including insurance policy and contact information, mementos and anything you can't live without, so you can evacuate with them, if needed. 
  
• Here's a list of recommended emergency supplies to keep on hand in the case of an evacuation. 
  
• Don’t forget about planning for your pets. Ready.gov has tips for pet owners. 

Consumers can seek help with their insurance or ask insurance-related questions by calling our consumer advocates at 1-800-562-6900 or contacting us online.

 

Importance of Having Travel Insurance for People with Pre Existing Condition

Safe traveling means not just traveling when one feels grand for a person with pre existing medical condition. When one becomes clear by the doctor for travel and having all your medicines during the flight. One must declare one's specific medical condition or purchase what they call travel insurance with medical conditions to be fully covered during travel.

Standard Travel Insurance

It is different from travel insurance with preexisting condition. It's covered any cost that is associated with the medical condition. One suffers from a heart attack, regular travel insurance will not pay for the cost of the medical expenses. It's covers expenses that are caused by your travel, such as if he plane crashes. For someone traveling abroad, the cost of treatment, hospital, medicine and having to stay longer abroad can cause a big dent in one's finances. This insurance does not cover medical conditions and encourage travelers to purchase this insurance with medical conditions.

Travel Insurance With Pre Existing Conditions

This insurance with pre existing conditions are for people with certain conditions, such as diabetes, heart conditions, cancer, joint and bone conditions, respiratory problems and gastrointestinal conditions. One of the questions that are asked is whether one had any of these preexisting medical conditions. It does not matter whether it happened years ago or if one had been declared cured. The insurance company will assess the insurer and recommend whether or not to get insurance for people with preexisting condition. It is important to be honest and declare a condition because in case of medical emergency. It is best to be covered for medical treatment and other associated expenses.

Travel Insurance With Medical Conditions

This insurance for people with medical conditions can be a little bit more expensive than a regular insurance because certain conditions require expensive treatment and longer hospital stays. The best way to find affordable travel insurance with medical condition is to shop for one as soon as one has purchased his travel ticket. You can compare the quotes and find the most affordable one with enough coverage. It is very important to compare the coverage. Not all travel insurance with preexisting condition is the same. A person who has preexisting medical condition knows his needs. Read the terms and conditions of the coverage is imperative to finding sufficient, not just affordable coverage. A balance of cost and coverage is the best way to go about when trying to decide which insurance to purchase.

A person who is suffering from, a medical condition should carry travel insurance with medical conditions, not just regular travel insurance. The additional cost may save one from the significant financial especially when one is traveling abroad where the cost of medical care is quite high.

Residential mental-health services now on par with medical coverage

Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has clarified to insurance companies in Washington that mental-health services must now be offered in parity with medical services.

The commissioner updated rules on mental-health parity in 2014 and asked insurers to review previous mental-health claims that had been denied under a blanket exclusion. He asked insurers to rectify those denials.

The need for clarification arose after a consumer filed a complaint with our office after being denied for residential mental-health treatment. The individual said this violated federal laws regarding mental-health parity.

The federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 requires insurers in Washington to provide residential mental-health benefits to consumers on par with similar medical health benefits.

Most insurers were already providing the mental-health services on par with medical services. The consumer complaint prompted further clarification.

Better access to mental-health treatment continues as a top public policy priority in Washington. Consumers with concerns can contact the commissioner’s office at any time for information. Consumer advocates are also available to take calls toll-free at 1-800-562-6900.

Read more about mental-health parity. 

OIC hiring six temporary customer service specialists

The Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) is hiring for six part-time, non-permanent Customer Service Specialist 1 positions. The positions are located in our Tumwater headquarters and are expected to work 20-30 hours per week. The expected duration of the appointments is four months, starting September 2015.

The positions provide customer service and technical assistance to the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) staff and volunteers surrounding the annual Medicare open enrollment period. The positions also assist in answering phone calls and consumer questions regarding their Medicare Part D options.

Duties of the positions include, but are not limited to:

• Assisting consumers by telephone or email regarding technical questions or concerns regarding Medicare enrollment, coverage and options. 
• Explaining to consumers available outreach, workshop and public media events in their communities.
• Providing information about services available through the OIC, especially consumer advocacy. 
• Resolving consumer concerns and issues with a thorough analysis and research and provide unbiased impartial information. 

The deadline to apply is Aug. 19.

To apply, or for more information, visit careers.wa.gov

Is It Necessary To Refinance Our Housing Loans?

Most Singaporeans who have bought their own property will have to take up housing loans in order to afford one. We may have heard about refinancing in one way or another but what exactly is it and is it necessary to refinance our housing loans? Did you know that if you refinance a 1 Million property loan regularly, you could save more than $50,000 through it? Each time of refinancing can save you at least $10,000 in interest every 3-4 years. With higher housing prices, refinancing becomes more important as it could save us a lot of money in the process.

Not many people refinance their housing loans as it seems quite troublesome. But if I tell you there's an easier way out for refinancing without having to search for the better loan packages yourself and without having to queue up at the bank, would you reconsider it? Let's look at how refinance can help us save money and how easily it can be done.

Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Housing_and_Development_Board_flats_in_Bukit_Panjang,_Singapore_-_20130131_(multi-row_panorama).jpg

What is Refinancing?

Before we get into how refinancing can help save us money, let's understand what is refinance? Refinance is a term used to describe the change of loan terms from one bank to another. If there's a better package from another bank at lower rates, we can refinance there to get better rates for our loans.


How Bank Loans Work?

We can take up housing loans mainly from 2 places. Firstly, HDB does provide housing loans at interest of 0.1% above the CPF OA. It is currently at 2.6% interest. Secondly, we can take housing loans from banks which currently has interest rates lower than 2.6%.

In this post, I will focus on bank loans and how it works. From here, you'll be able to understand why it makes sense to refinance your housing loans on a regular basis.


Two Types of Housing Loans Packages

Fixed Rate Packages

Banks will not fix any rates for the long term. Fixed rate packages in Singapore are normally fixed for 2-5 years only. Thereafter, it will revert to floating rate again.

For example, if a bank say they have this fixed rate package at 1.80%, the rate may be fixed for 3 years and then becomes floating rate later from the 4th year onwards depending on market conditions. Refinancing before the rate reverts to floating will guarantee us fixed rates again.


Floating Rate Packages

For floating rate packages, the rate also changes after a short period of time, typically on average 3 years. Banks will always offer a discounted rate for the first 3 years then revert to a higher rate from the 4th year onwards.

For example, if a bank say they have this floating rate package at 1.5%, the rate is usually made up of a spread + 3m SIBOR, board rate or other floating scheme the bank has. The spread is normally lower at a discounted rate for the first 3 years and then revised upwards from the 4th year onwards. If we refinance before the rate reverts, we can always get the lower discounted rate.

How a typical floating rate home loan package looks like:

Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4 onwards
0.75% + 3m Sibor	0.75% + 3m Sibor	0.75% + 3m Sibor	1.25% + 3m Sibor

As we can see above, a typical loan package will have lower spread rates for the first 3 years then from 4th year onwards, the spread rates will revised upwards. Refinancing our loans before the rates revise upwards will ensure we always get the lower spread rate.

*The above is just an illustration of rates and do not represent any packages from any banks or financial institutions

How Much Do We Actually Pay In Interest?

Did you know you would have paid $330,523.23 in interest alone for a 1 Million mortgage loan over a 30 year period at 2% interest? If we just refinance it at 0.5% lower, we would have saved almost $100,000 in interest. $100,000 is quite a significant sum of money.

Maybe we don't want to look at long term but how about the instalment we pay every month? Will there be a difference if we refinance our housing loans? Yes there will be. If we have a 1 Million loan at 2.6% interest to be paid over 30 years, the monthly loan instalment is $4,004.00. If we can get a rate of 1.5%, the monthly loan instalment drops to $3,452.00. This helps us save almost $600 every month! Even for a few hundred thousand dollars loan for a HDB flat, we could still save a few hundred dollars a month just by refinancing.

Refinance With Ease And Skip the Queues

The benefits of refinancing is quite significant to help us save on the interest paid and even lower our monthly loan instalment. We could save a few hundred dollars a month and almost $100,000 over the long term. The problem why many people don't refinance is they don't know where to get the best rates or they don't have time to go to the banks to do it.

Refinancing is made easier with mortgage brokering services. Through this service, you get free advice on your home loans and get the best rates. All applications can be done without going down to the bank itself. Its a one stop service that addresses the needs of individuals or families to help them save time and money. You can now refinance your loans with ease.

One month ago, I decided to explore mortgage brokering service and offer it to everyone here after going through the necessary trainings. I like that this service is provided free of charge and at the same time I can help people get the best rates and also help them save time and money.

You can refinance your home loans with me where I can personally help you to calculate on your potential savings and recommend the best rates as I compare against 16 different banks and financial institutions in Singapore. Check out the service I provide here: http://sgyounginvestment.blogspot.sg/p/mortgage-consultancy.html

You can also email me at sgyi@homeloanwhiz.com.sg for any enquires which you might have.

Refinancing smartly can help save us a substantial sum of money.

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Related Posts:
1. Can You Afford That Million Dollar Condominium?
2. How Much Loan Can You Get For Your HDB flat?

International Student Travel Insurance Offers Protection against Different Types of Risks

Going abroad for study is indeed very exciting. You will be in a wonderful campus where you would get introduced to a new way of learning your chosen subject. However have you stopped to think about things that can arise unexpectedly when you are studying and which can affect you financially. For example, a sudden dental emergency can put you in a fix. You have to visit the doctor's immediately to get treatment. There will be bills to pay and money that you had reserved for some other important purpose would have to be spent on this. On the other hand, if you had taken international student travel insurance, the problem can be mitigated effectively and money saved.

What Are The Important Features Of Student Travel Insurance?



Travel insurance is a must for students because it enables them to cope with so many different losses that can arise suddenly when living abroad. This insurance can be availed by anyone who is 16 to 40 years of age with the intention of getting a graduate or post-graduate degree abroad. The person applying for this insurance must already have a student visa. The period of insurance can be anything between 30 days to 2 years which can be extended to 4 years. The policy can be easily availed with online application.

Student travel insurance has been designed to specifically provide protection for students. For example, suppose a student's study is interrupted half way in between the semester but tuition fees has been paid in advance, in such a situation claims can be made on the policy to cover for the losses. Let's take another situation where a student losses passport and travel documents. Getting them duplicated will cost a lot of money however through reimbursement from the policy the loss can be coped. Suppose third party liability expense arises, a student simply cannot pay for the legal expenses arising from such a situation. Once again making a claim on the policy will help to meet the losses.

How To Make A Claim?

In the event of a claim, students do not have to worry how to go about it as there is a clear process in place to help them get money when unexpected situation has arisen. The student travel insurance claims process is simple. Just call the toll free number given in the policy. They will tell you how to complete the claims process. Compensation would be given in the shortest possible time.

What Is The Best Travel Insurance Policy?

Student travel insurance is inexpensive and it is easy to find a low cost policy. There are many policies available, but it is best to take the comprehensive plan because it covers various types of risks.

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Kirti Saxena

Kirti Saxena is a web enthusiast and a writer for different areas including insurance and banking and numerous other sectors.

How Much Does Flood Insurance Cost

After seeing the historic flooding of Nashville, Tennessee, the question of "how much does flood insurance cost" is on many of our minds. After all, floods are devastating – and they're not typically covered under typical homeowners insurance policies. National flood insurance is available through the National Flood Insurance Program.

As with most insurance, flood insurance rates vary based on amount of coverage and risk. For example, if you live in an area that's prone to flooding, expect to pay more for flood insurance than someone who lives in a low risk area. Flood insurance is available for homeowners, condo owners, business owners, and renters.

According to FloodSmart.gov, the average flood insurance policy costs less than $570 per year. While that may be the average, that doesn't mean you can expect to pay that amount. Again, it comes down to the flood risk and the amount of coverage you purchase. For example, if you live in a moderate-to-low risk area and you purchase $250,000 building and $100,000 contents coverage, you would qualify for a "preferred risk" policy with an annual premium of either $355 or $395 depending on if your home has a basement or enclosure.



On the other hand, if you live in a high risk area and purchase the same amount of coverage ($250,000 building and $100,000 contents), you can expect to pay an annual premium of $2633. The rates go up even higher for coastal areas (V zones). If you live in a V zone, you can expect to pay $5700 each year for the same amount of coverage.

To find out which flood zone you live in, go to FloodSmart.gov or FEMA.gov and look up the flood maps for your community. You'll first enter your state and county and then you'll enter your city. From there, you should be able to view detailed flood maps for your area.

Once you know your home's general flood risk, you can look up rates on the FloodSmart.gov site. This will give you a general idea of what to expect. You can also enter your address at FloodSmart's site. This will create a flood risk profile. You'll see the property's flood risk as well as a range of estimated costs for coverage. In addition, a list of nearby insurance agents is generated. Note that the rates will not vary by agent.




While the cost of flood insurance could be pricey, especially if you live in a high risk area, consider the cost of flooding and water damage. Just three inches of water can cause over $7800 in damage. Eighteen inches of water can cause over $26,000.

Like regular insurance policies, it's important to understand what your flood insurance policy does and does not cover. For example, if you purchase flooding insurance covering the building only, then the contents of the home damaged by the flood will not be covered. In addition, if your basement has been improved with flooring and finished walls, these improvements are not covered.

Depending on where you live, flood insurance may be more affordable than you realize. If nothing else, checking your home's flood risk will help you better understand the potential for flooding in your area and start you thinking about preparing for the next disaster.

By: Mr. Mark Decherd

For more information and other articles by Mark Decherd go to:

Dryout® Inc.
1415 Colonial Blvd.
Fort Myers, Fl. 33907
239-437-7100

Water Damage

Dryout Inc Emergency water damage restoration, drying, deodorization, decontamination, disinfection, mold removal, water damage repair, restoration and reconstruction of commercial and residential properties damaged by fire, water and other disasters by a network of trained specialists, technicians and restoration professionals across the USA and Canada.

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Mark Decherd

Mark Decherd's Dryout Inc. was incorporated in 1997 with a mission to serve waterlogged customers in south Florida. We specialize in water...

Gallup poll: Washington ranks 5th among states with drop in uninsured rate

According to a Gallup poll released today, Washington is one of five states to exceed a 10 percent drop in the number of uninsured people.

Seven of the 10 states with the biggest reductions have two things in common: they expanded Medicaid (called Apple Health in Washington) and established a state-based health exchange (ours is called Washington Healthplanfinder).

Washington state has seen record-low rate requests from health insurers in the past two years. Insurers proposed an average 5.4 percent increase for 2016. These plans are now under review and the average rate increase is likely to be lower.

For 2015 plans, insurers proposed an average rate increase of 8 percent. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler eventually approved an average 1.5 percent rate increase.

"I'm pleased to see the health insurers show an increased interest in the individual market and to see rates continue to come in relatively low,” Kreidler said when the 2016 rates were submitted in May of this year.

Open enrollment for 2016 health plans begins on Nov. 1.

LIC NEW ENDOWMENT PLUS ULIP Plan No. 835

LIC NEW ENDOWMENT PLUS Plan No. 835

1.     INTRODUCTION:

It has been decided to introduce LIC’s New Endowment Plus (Plan No.835) with effect from 17^th August, 2015 The Unique Identification Number (UIN) for LIC’s New Endowment Plus plan is 512L301V01. This number has to be quoted in all relevant documents furnished to the Policyholders and other users (public, distribution channels).

LIC’s New Endowment Plus is a unit linked assurance plan, which offers investment-cum-insurance during the term of the policy.The Policyholder can choose the amount of premium he/she desires to pay, depending on which Policyholder will get the equivalent level of cover. Each premium paid by the Policyholder shall be subject to Premium Allocation charge as per details specified in Para 3.I) of this circular. The allocated premium will be utilized to purchase units as per the selected fund type. The Policyholder’s Fund Value will be subject to deduction of charges specified in Para 3 of this circular. Units will be allotted and cancelled based on the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the respective fund applicable to the date of allotment / cancellation. There is no Bid-Offer spread (both the Bid price and Offer price of units will be equal to NAV). The NAV will be computed on daily basis and will be based on the investment performance and Fund Management Charges (FMC) of each fund type. Other details of this plan are as follows.

2.     INVESTMENT FUND TYPES:

Unit Fund: The allocated premiums will be utilized to buy units as per the fund type opted by the Policyholder out of the four fund types options available. Various types of fund options and broadly their investment patterns are as under:

Fund Type	Investment in Government / Government Guaranteed Securities / Corporate Debt	Short-term investments such as money market instruments	Investment in Listed Equity Shares	Details and objective of the fund for risk /return	SFIN No.
Bond Fund	Not less than 60%	Not more than 40%	Nil	Low risk	ULIF001201114LICNED+BND512
Secured Fund	Not less than 45%	Not more than 40%	Not less than 15% & Not more than 55%	Steady Income –Lower to Medium risk	ULIF002201114LICNED+SEC 512
Balanced Fund	Not less than 30%	Not more than 40%	Not less than 30% & Not more than 70%	Balanced Income and growth – Medium risk	ULIF003201114LICNED+BAL 512
Growth Fund	Not less than 20%	Not more than 40%	Not less than 40% & Not more than 80%	Long term Capital growth – High risk	ULIF004201114LICNED+GRW512

The Policyholder will have the option to choose any ONE of the above 4 funds to invest his premiums initially and at the time of switching.

Discontinued Policy Fund:The investment pattern of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall have the following asset mix:

Money market instruments: 0% to 40%

Government securities: 60% to 100%

Computation of NAV: The NAV of all the five segregated funds i.e. Bond Fund, Secured Fund, Balanced Fund, Growth Fund and Discontinued Policy Fund will be computed on daily basis and will be based on investment performance, Fund Management Charge of each fund type and shall be computed as under:     

Market value of investment held by the fund + Value of Current Assets – Value of Current Liabilities & Provisions, if any

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of Units existing on Valuation Date (before creation / redemption of Units)

      

 Where, Valuation Date is the date of calculation of NAV.

     

      On the date of launch the NAV under all funds shall be Rs.10/-

3.     CHARGES AND FREQUENCY OF CHARGES:

I       Premium Allocation Charge: This is the percentage of the premium appropriated towards charges from the premium received. The balance known as allocation rate constitutes that part of the premium which is utilized to purchase units for the policy.

The allocation charges are as below:

Premium	Allocation Charge
1st Year	7.50%
2nd  to 5th  Year	5.00%
thereafter	3.00%

II      Mortality Charge: Mortality Charge is the cost of Life Insurance cover and this will be taken at the beginning of each policy month by canceling the Policyholder’s Fund Value proportionately. The monthly charges will be one twelfth of the annual Mortality Charges.

This charge shall depend upon the Sum at Risk i.e. the difference between the Basic Sum Assured in case of inforce policies or Paid-up Sum Assured in case of policy is paid-up and Policyholder’s Fund Value as on the date of deduction of charge, after deduction of all other charges, and shall be deducted only if, the Basic Sum Assured/Paid-up Sum Assured, whichever is applicable, is more than the Policyholder’s Fund Value as on the date of deduction.

Where, Basic Sum Assured is (10 * Annualized Premium) or (105% of total premiums paid), whichever is higher. The total premiums paid shall be reckoned as on date of deduction of Mortality Charge.

In case where the Policyholder converts the policy into paid-up policy, the Mortality Charge in respect of Sum at Risk under a paid-up policy shall be deducted from the following policy month.

Mortality Charges, during a policy year, will be based on the age nearer birthday of the Life Assured as on the policy anniversary coinciding with or immediately preceding the due date of cancellation of units and hence may increase every year on each policy anniversary. Further, this charge shall also depend on health, occupation and lifestyle of the Policyholder.

The annual Mortality Charge per Rs. 1,000/- Sum at Risk for standard lives is given in Annexure I.   

The Class I extra charge for Life Cover shall be 25% of the Mortality charge for standard lives. Charge for higher EMR shall be multiples of the Class I extra charge as applicable in other plans. This extra charge will be included in the Mortality charges.

III    Accident Benefit Charge:

This is the charge to cover the cost of LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider (UIN:512A211V01), if opted for, levied at the beginning of each policy month by cancelling appropriate number of units out of the Policyholder’s Fund Value. A level annual charge shall be at the rate of Rs. 0.40 per thousand Accident Benefit Sum Assured per policy year. If the Life Assured is engaged in police duty in any police organization other than paramilitary forces and opted for this cover while engaged in police duty, then the level annual charge shall be at the rate of Rs 0.80 per thousand Accident Benefit Sum Assured per policy year.

The monthly charges will be one twelfth of the annual Accident Benefit Charge.

IV    Other Charges:

a)  POLICY ADMINISTRATION CHARGE- This charge shall be deducted at the beginning of each policy month by cancelling appropriate number of units out of Policyholder’s Fund.

The Policy Administration Charge per month, while the policy is inforce shall be as follows:

     

    Policy Year           Policy Administration Charge (per month)

        1^stYear                      (0.35% * Instalment Premium* K) OR (Rs.100/-), whichever is lower

       2^nd Year                     (0.25% * Instalment Premium* K) OR (Rs.70/-), whichever is lower

         3^rdYear                               2^ndYear charge * 1.03

         4^th Year                                3^rdYear charge * 1.03

         5^th Year                                4^thYear charge * 1.03

         6^th Year & Thereafter    Rs. 52.17 in 6^th year escalating at 3% p.a. thereafter

     Where, K is taken as in Table given below:

Mode of premium Payment	Factor “K”
Yearly	1
Half-Yearly	1.6
Quarterly	2.6
Monthly	7

b)  FUND MANAGEMENT CHARGE –Fund Management Charge (FMC) shall be as under:

·   0.70% p.a. of Unit Fund for all the four fund types  available under an inforce policy i.e. Bond Fund, Secured Fund, Balanced Fund and Growth Fund

·   0.50% p.a. of Unit Fund for “Discontinued Policy Fund”

This is a charge levied at the time of computation of NAV, which will be done on daily basis. The NAV, thus declared, will be net of FMC.

c)  SWITCHING CHARGE – This is a charge levied on switching of monies from one fund to another and will be levied at the time of effecting a switch. Within a given policy year, 4 switches shall be allowed free of charge. Subsequent switches, if any, shall be subject to a Switching Charge of Rs. 100 per switch.

d)  BID/OFFER SPREAD – Nil.

e)  DISCONTINUANCE CHARGES –This charge will be levied by canceling appropriate no. of units out of Policyholder’s Fund as on the date of surrender/date of discontinuance of policy. The discontinuance charge applicable is as under:

Where the policy is discontinued during the policy year	Discontinuance charges for the policies having annualized premium up to Rs. 25,000/-	Discontinuance charges for the policies having annualized premium above Rs. 25,000/-
1	Lower of 15% * (AP or FV) subject           to a maximum of Rs. 2500/-	Lower of 6% * (AP or FV) subject to maximum of Rs. 6000/-
2	Lower of 7.5% * (AP or FV) subject to a maximum of Rs. 1750/-	Lower of 4% * (AP or FV) subject to maximum of Rs. 5000/-
3	Lower of 5% * (AP or FV) subject to a maximum of Rs. 1250/-	Lower of 3% * (AP or FV) subject to maximum of Rs. 4000/-
4	Lower of 3% * (AP or FV) subject to a maximum of Rs. 750/-	Lower of 2% * (AP or FV) subject to maximum of Rs. 2000/-
5 and onwards	NIL	NIL

AP – Annualised Premium

FV – Policyholder’s Fund Value as on the date of discontinuance

“Date of discontinuance of the policy” shall be the date on which the insurer receives the intimation from the insured or policyholder about discontinuance of the policy or surrender of the policy or on the expiry of the notice period of 30 days, whichever is earlier.’

Note: As specified in Para 6, the notice period of 30 days will start from the date of receipt of notice by the Policyholder.

f)   PARTIAL WITHDRAWAL CHARGE– This is a charge levied on partial withdrawal and shall be a flat amount of Rs. 100/- which will be deducted by cancelling appropriate number of units out of Policyholder’s Fund and the deduction shall be made on the date on which partial withdrawal takes place.

g)  SERVICE TAX CHARGE – Service tax charge, if any, will be as per the prevailing service tax laws and rate of service tax as applicable from time to time.

Service Tax Charge shall be levied on all or any of the charges applicable to this plan as per the prevailing Service Tax laws/notification etc. as issued by Government of India from time to time in this regard.

The instructions regarding service tax will be issued by Finance & Accounts Department, Central Office, separately.

h)  MISCELLANEOUS CHARGE – This is a charge levied for an alteration within the contract, such as change in premium mode and Grant of Accident Benefit Rider after the issue of the policy, and shall be a flat amount of Rs. 50/- which will be deducted by cancelling appropriate number of units out of Policyholder’s Fund and the deduction shall be made on the date of alteration in the policy.

The Corporation reserves the right to accept or decline an alteration in the policy. The alteration shall take effect from the policy anniversary coincident with or following the alteration only after the same is approved by the Corporation and is specifically communicated in writing to the policyholder.

V    Non-negative claw-back Additions: At various durations starting from 5^th policy anniversary till the end of the policy term, Reduction in Yield (RIY) will be calculated as the difference between Gross Yield and Net Yield. Where Gross Yield shall be computed based on the actual accrual of all income elements i.e. premiums, income from investments as an when received and all actual debits i.e. partial withdrawals to the Policyholders Fund Value as an when debited and net yield shall be computed based on the projection of Policyholder’s Fund at the gross yield calculated above  by considering all charges excluding the following charges:

·         Mortality charge including underwriting extra charges, if any;

·         AB rider charge, if any;

·         Service tax charge and

·         All charges deducted in respect of any options availed by the Policyholder i.e. Miscellaneous Charge, Switching Charge and Partial Withdrawal Charge, if any.

Above calculated RIY will then be compared with the maximum RIY requirement table below:

	Maximum Reduction in Yield (difference between Gross and Net Yield)
No. of years elapsed since inception	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15 and  there after
For continuing policies	4.00%	3.75%	3.50%	3.30%	3.15%	3.00%	2.75%	2.75%	2.50%	2.50%	2.25%
For maturing policies	-	-	-	-	-	3.00%	2.25%	2.25%	2.25%	2.25%	2.25%

If the difference between calculated RIY and Maximum RIY required is positive then an equivalent number of units shall be added to the Policyholders’ Fund in such a way that the calculated RIY shall be equal to the maximum RIY. The same shall be called as Non-negative claw-back addition. The units of the Non-negative claw-back shall be based on the NAV declared as on the date of Non-negative claw-back addition.

VI    Right to revise charges: The Corporation reserves the right to revise all or any of the above charges except Premium Allocation charge, Mortality Charge and Accident Benefit Charge. The modification in charges will be done with prospective effect with the prior approval of IRDA and after giving the policyholders a notice of 3 months.

In case the policyholder does not agree with the revision of charges the Policyholder shall have the option to withdraw the Policyholder’s fund value.

4.     APPLICABILITY OF NET ASSET VALUE (NAV):

Units are allocated at NAV of the date of allocation. The Units will also be cancelled based on NAV of the date of such cancellation. For the premiums received up to a particular time (presently 3 p.m. as per IRDAI guidelines) by any branch of the Corporation or other authorized office for premium collection, through ECS or by way of a local cheque or a demand draft payable at par at the place where the premium is received, the closing NAV of the day on which premium is received shall be applicable. In case premiums received after such time, the closing NAV of the next business day shall be applicable.

The outstation cheque / Demand draft shall not be accepted.

In respect of the valid applications received for surrender, partial withdrawal, death claim, switches and in case of complete withdrawal etc. up to such time by the servicing branch of the Corporation closing NAV of that day shall be applicable. For the valid applications received in respect of surrender, partial withdrawal, death claim, switches and in case of complete withdrawal etc. after such time by the servicing branch of the Corporation the closing NAV of the next business day shall be applicable.

In case of revival, NAV as on the date of revival shall be applicable. Where date of revival is the date of adjustment of all due premiums after underwriting acceptance has been received.

In case of discontinuance, wherein the Policyholder does not exercise the option within the period of 30 days of receipt of notice then the NAV as on the date of expiry of notice period shall be applicable.

In respect of maturity claim, NAV as on the date of maturity shall be applicable.

The timing given (presently 3 p.m.) is as per the existing IRDAI guidelines and changes in this regard shall be as per the instructions from IRDAI.

Each premium paid by the Policyholder shall be subject to Premium Allocation Charge as per details given in Para 3.(I) above. The allocated premiums will be utilized to buy units as per the Fund type opted by the Policyholder out of the Four Fund types options available. Units will be allotted based on the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the respective fund as on the date of allotment. 

5.     BENEFITS:

a)       Benefits payable on death: On death of the Life Assured before the stipulated Date of Maturity provided policy is inforce, then,

On death before the Date of Commencement of Risk:

An amount equal to the Policyholder’s Fund Value shall be payable.

On death after the Date of Commencement of Risk:

An amount equal to the higher of Basic Sum Assured or Policyholder’s Fund Value shall be payable. Where, Basic Sum Assured is (10 * Annualized Premium) or (105% of the total premiums paid), whichever is higher.

The liability shall be booked immediately on the date of receipt of intimation of death with death certificate. Policy Administration charge, Mortality charge, Accident Benefit charge, and service Tax their on recovered subsequently to the date of death shall be paid back to the nominee or beneficiary along with death benefit.

b)      Benefits payable on maturity:

On Life Assured surviving the stipulated date of maturity, an amount equal to the Policyholder’s Fund Value is payable. The maturity benefit can be payable either as an lumpsum amount on maturity or in equal instalments if settlement option is opted for as mentioned in Para 12(D) below.

c)       Optional Benefit:

LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider (UIN:512A211V01): LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider can be opted for at any time within the policy term subject to minimum outstanding policy term of 5 years. Wherever this rider has been opted for under this plan, the Accident Benefit cover will be available till the date of Maturity, provided the Policy is inforce as on date of accident.

This rider will not be available under the policy on the life of minors, during minority. However, this rider will be available from the policy anniversary following completion of age 18 years on receipt of specific request, if found eligible as per the underwriting rules of the Corporation.

Subject to as stated above, under an inforce policy, the LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider can be opted for at any policy anniversary within the policy term subject to minimum outstanding policy term of 5 years.

If this benefit is opted for, an additional amount equal to Accident Benefit Sum Assured is payable on death due to accident, provided the rider is inforce at the time of accident.

If there be more policies than one and if the total Accident Benefit Sum Assured exceeds Rs.100 lakhs, the benefit shall apply to the first Rs.100 lakhs Accident Benefit Sum Assured in order of date of policies issued.

Whenever this Rider is opted for, the Accident Benefit Charges, as specified in Para 3.(III) will be deducted at the beginning of each policy month during the policy term.

Under an inforce basic policy, the Policyholder has the option to cancel this rider at any time during the policy term. However, once the rider is cancelled, it can’t be re-opted during the policy term.

In case the basic policy is not inforce, this Accident Benefit cover shall terminate and no further charges for this Rider shall be deducted. However, the Rider may be revived along with the basic policy during the revival period but not in isolation.

Beyond the specific details as mentioned in this circular in respect of this Rider, additional details, i.e. exclusions, requirements of claim etc. may be referred from the Rider circular Ref: CO/PD/73 dated 08/08/2015.

6.    DISCONTINUANCE OF PREMIUMS:

If premiums under the policy have not been paid within the Grace Period, a notice shall be sent to the Policyholder within a period of 15 days from the date of expiry of Grace Period to exercise one of the options as per Para (I) or (II) below as the case may be, within a period of 30 days of receipt of such notice.

       

Upto the expiry of 30 days of receipt of notice, the policy shall be treated as inforce and the charges for Mortality and Accident Benefit cover, if any, shall be taken, as usual, in addition to other charges as specified in Para 3.(IV), by cancelling appropriate number of units out of the Policyholder’s Fund. Insurance cover shall continue till the date of discontinuance of the policy (i.e. the date on which the insurer receives the intimation from the insured or policyholder about discontinuance of the policy or surrender of the policy or on the expiry of the notice period of 30 days, whichever is earlier).

The benefits payable under the policy upto the expiry of 30 days of receipt of notice shall be same as that under an inforce policy, except Partial Withdrawal, which shall not be allowed if all due premiums have not been paid.

The treatment of policy under different options available during the notice period shall be as under:

I)        If the policy is discontinued on or before the expiry of the 5 years’ lock-in-period:

Policyholder has to exercise one of the following options within a period of thirty days of receipt of such notice.

Option	Description
1	Pay the due premium(s) during the notice period
2	Revive the policy at any time within a revival period of two years from the date of discontinuance
3	Complete withdrawal from the policy without any insurance cover, or
No option selected		Payout the proceeds at the end of lock-in-period or 2 years’ revival period, whichever is later

i)      If Policyholder exercises Option (1) i.e. pays the due premium(s) during the notice period, then the policy shall continue as inforce policy.

ii)    If Policyholder exercises Option (2), then the Policyholder’s Fund Value after deducting the Discontinuance Charge as specified in Para 3.(IV).e) shall be converted into monetary amount as specified in Para 7.a) below. This monetary amount shall be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund as specified in Para 7.b) below.

In case the Policyholder revives the policy during the revival period of 2 years, the policy shall be revived as specified in Para 19.(i) below.

In case the Policyholder does not revive the policy during the revival period of 2 years, then the policy shall be terminated on the expiry of the revival period or on the completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period, whichever is later and the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund, as specified in Para 7.c) below, shall be payable.

  

However, if Policyholder subsequently opts for surrender though within the revival period but

¾      before the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period, the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable on completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period.

¾      after the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period, the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable immediately.

iii)   If Policyholder exercises Option (3), then the Policyholder’s Fund Value after deducting the Discontinuance Charge as specified in Para 3.(IV).e) shall be converted into monetary terms as specified in Para 7.a) below. This monetary amount shall be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund as specified in Para 7.b) below. The Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund, as specified in Para 7.c) below, shall be payable on completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period. However, if revival request is received while the policy is revivable or within 5 years’ lock-in-period, whichever is earlier, then the policy shall be revived.

iv)   If Policyholder does not exercise any option within the period of 30 days of receipt of notice, then the Policyholder’s Fund Value after deducting the Discontinuance Charge as specified in Para 3.(IV).e) shall be converted into monetary terms as specified in Para 7.a) below. This monetary amount shall be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund as specified in Para 7.b) below. The Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund, as specified in Para 7.c) below, shall be payable on completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period or at the end of the revival period, whichever is later. However, the policyholder may revive the policy at any time during the revival period.

While the policy is in Discontinued Policy Fund and Policyholder asks for surrender

¾      before the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period, the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable on completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period.

¾      after the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period but before the end of revival period then the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable immediately.

Irrespective of what is stated above, in case of death of the Policyholder during the Revival Period or 5 years’ lock-in-period, as the case may be, the Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund, as specified in Para 7.c) below, shall be payable immediately.

II)     If the policy is discontinued after the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in- period:

Policyholder has to exercise one of the following options available within a period of thirty days of receipt of such notice.

Option	Description
1	Pay the due premium(s) within the notice period
2	Revive the policy at any time within a revival period of two years from the date of discontinuance or upto the date of maturity, whichever is earlier
3	Complete withdrawal from the policy without any insurance cover
4	Convert the policy into paid-up policy, or
No option selected		Treatment will be as if Option 3 were selected

i)      If Policyholder exercises Option (1) i.e. pays the due premium(s) during the notice period, then the policy shall continue as inforce policy.

ii)    If Policyholder exercises Option (2), then during the revival period the policy shall be treated as inforce and charges as specified in Para 3 shall continue to be deducted.

In case the Policyholder revives the policy during the revival period then the policy shall be revived as specified in Para 19.(ii) below.

In case the Policyholder does not revive the policy during the revival period, then the policy shall be terminated on the completion of revival period or date or maturity whichever earlier and the balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund shall be refunded to the Policyholder.

iii)   If Policyholder exercises Option (3), then the policy shall be terminated on the date of intimation for complete withdrawal and the balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund shall be refunded to the Policyholder.

iv)   If Policyholder exercises the option (4), then in such case the policy shall subsist as a paid-up policy and the treatment of such policy shall be as specified in Para 9 below.

v)     If Policyholder does not exercise any of the options within the period of 30 days of receipt of notice, then the policy shall be terminated on the date of expiry of the notice period and the balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund shall be refunded to the Policyholder.

7.    METHOD OF CALCULATION OF MONETARY AMOUNT AND PROCEEDS OF THE DISCONTINUED POLICY:

a)     The conversion to monetary amount shall be as under:

The NAV as on the date of application for surrender or as on the date of discontinuance of the policy (in case of discontinuance of the policy before the 5 years’ lock-in-period), as the case may be, multiplied by the number of units in the Policyholder’s Fund (i.e. after deduction of Discontinuance Charge, if any) as on that date, will be the monetary amount.

b)    Transferring the monetary amount into the Discontinued Policy Fund

The monetary amount calculated as above shall be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund by converting the monetary amount into the units. The number of units transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be the monetary amount divided by the NAV of the Discontinued Policy Fund as on the date of transfer.

c)     The Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy shall be calculated as under:

The Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be higher of Discontinued Policy Fund Value or the Guaranteed Monetary Amount. The Guaranteed Monetary Amount is the accumulation of monetary amount transferred into the Discontinued Policy Fund at the guaranteed interest rate. The guaranteed interest rate shall accrue from the date when the monetary amount is transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund to the date when the policy exits from the Discontinued Policy Fund either by death, surrender, revival, complete withdrawal, or at the end of 5 years’ lock-in-period, or on completion of 2 year revival period (if revival period extend beyond the 5 years’ lock-in-period), whichever is applicable.

           

Currently this guaranteed interest rate is 4% p.a. and shall be subject to change from time to time as declared by IRDAI.

8.    SURRENDER VALUE AND SURRENDER CHARGE:

If all due premium have been paid and the policy is surrendered, the surrender value, if any, is payable as under:

i)    If the policy is Surrendered on or before the expiry of the 5 years’ lock-in-period:

If a Policyholder applies for surrender of the policy on or before the expiry of the 5 years’ lock-in-period, then the Policyholder’s Fund Value after deducting the Discontinuance Charge as specified in Para 3.(IV).e) shall be converted into monetary terms as specified in Para 7.a) above. This monetary amount shall be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund as specified in Para 7.b) above. The Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund, as specified in Para 7.c) above, shall be payable on completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period. However, if Policyholder subsequently requests for revival of the policy while the policy is revivable or within 5 years’ lock-in-period, whichever is earlier, then the policy shall be revived.

In case of death of the Life Assured after the date of surrender but on or before the expiry of the 5 years’ lock-in-period, the Proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable to the nominee/ legal heir immediately.

ii)  If the policy is Surrendered after the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period:

If a Policyholder applies for surrender of the policy after the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period, then the Policyholder’s Fund Value as on the date of surrender shall be payable.

9.    Convert the policy into Paid-up policy:

If the Policyholder exercises the option to convert the policy into the paid-up policy, then in such case the policy shall subsist as a paid-up policy and no premiums shall be payable thereafter. The Basic Sum Assured shall be reduced to such a sum called Paid-up Sum Assured and shall bear the same ratio to the Basic Sum Assured as the number of premiums paid bears to the total number of premiums payable i.e. Basic Sum Assured * (no. of premiums paid / no. of premiums payable). The reduced risk cover and hence the Mortality Charges in respect of the Paid-up Sum Assured shall be applicable from the next policy month following the date of intimation regarding conversion of policy into paid-up policy. Further, all other charges as specified in Para 3 shall also continue to be deducted.

Under a paid-up policy, in case of death of the Policyholder, higher of Paid-up Sum Assured or Policyholder’s Fund value shall be payable and in case of surrender of the policy or on maturity, balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund Value as on the date of surrender / date of maturity, as the case may be, shall be payable.

If the balance in the Policyholder’s Fund Value, at any time is not sufficient to recover the relevant charges then the policy shall compulsorily be terminated and the balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund Value, if any, shall be refunded to the Policyholder.

No Accident Benefit cover shall be available under paid-up policy.

10.  Compulsory termination:

If the policy has run for at least 5 years provided 5 full years’ premiums have been paid and the balance in the Policyholder’s Fund is not sufficient to recover the relevant charges, the policy shall be compulsorily terminated and the balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund, if any, shall be refunded to the Policyholder. This shall be applicable irrespective of whether the policy is inforce or paid-up or during the revival period.

11.  ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS AND FEATURES:

For Basic Plan

a)   Basic Sum Assured:

(10* Annualized Premium) or (105% of the total premiums paid), whichever is higher.

b)  Minimum Premium:  

Mode                            Amount   

Yearly                           Rs. [20,000]                             

Half-Yearly                    Rs. [13,000]                             

Quarterly                       Rs. [8,000]                               

      Monthly (ECS)              Rs. [3,000]

c)   Maximum Premium:  No limit

Annualized Premiums shall be payable in multiple of Rs. 1,000 for all modes other than ECS monthly. For monthly (ECS), the premium shall be in multiples of Rs. 250/-

                                                                                   

d)  Minimum Entry Age:                    [90] Days (completed)

e)   Maximum Entry Age:                   [50] years (nearest birthday)

f)   Policy Term :                              [10 to 20] years

g)  Premium Paying Term:                Same as Policy Term

h)   Minimum Maturity Age:                [18] years (completed)

i)    Maximum Maturity Age:              [60] years (nearest birthday)

Age at entry for the policyholder is to be taken as age nearest birthday except for the minimum age at entry i.e. 90 days.

For LIC’s Linked Accident Benefit Rider

a) Minimum Entry Age:                    [18] years (completed)

b) Maximum Entry Age:                   [55] years (nearest birthday)

c) Maximum Maturity Age:               [60] years (nearest birthday)

d) Minimum Accident Benefit Sum Assured: Rs.10, 000/-

e) Maximum Accident Benefit Sum Assured: 10 times of Annualized Premium subject to the maximum aggregate limit of Accident Benefit Sum Assured under all policies including policies with in-built Accident Benefit taken with Life Insurance Corporation of India under individual policies as well as group policies on the same life shall not in any event exceed Rs.100 lakhs of Accident Benefit Sum Assured

Accident Benefit Sum Assured shall be in multiples of Rs. 5000/- only

Date of Commencement of Risk

In case the age at entry of the Life Assured is less then 8 years, the risk under this plan will commence either one day before the completion of 2 years from the date of commencement of policy or one day before the policy anniversary coinciding with or immediately following the completion of 8 years of age, whichever is earlier.

In case the age at entry of Life Assured is 8 years or more, risk will commence immediately.

Date of Vesting (Applicable only if the Life Assured is below 18 years on the date of commencement of policy): If the policy is inforce and the Life Assured is alive on the vesting date and if a request in writing for surrendering the policy has not been received by Corporation before such vesting date from the person entitled to the policy moneys, this policy shall automatically vest in the Life Assured on such vesting date i.e. on the policy anniversary coinciding with or immediately following the completion of 18 years of age and shall on such vesting be deemed to be a contract between the Corporation and the Life Assured..

12.   ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

A)    Switching: The Policyholder can switch between any fund types during the policy term.  On switching the entire amount is switched to the new Fund opted for. Within a given policy year, 4 switches will be allowed free of charge. Subsequent switches shall be subject to a Switching Charge of Rs.100 per switch.

On receipt of the Policyholder’s valid application for a switch from one fund type to another, the Policyholder’s Fund Value after deducting Switching Charge, if applicable, shall be transferred to the New Fund type opted for by the Policyholder and shall be utilized to allocate Fund Units at the NAV under the new Fund type on the said date of switch. If a valid application is received up to a particular time (presently 3 p.m.) by the servicing branch the closing NAV of the same day shall be applicable and in respect of the applications received after such time by the servicing branch the closing NAV of the next business day shall be applicable.

The timing given is as per the existing guidelines and changes in this regard shall be as per the instruction from IRDAI from time to time.

             

B)    Top-up: No Top-up premiums shall be allowed under the plan.

C)    Increase / Decrease in Benefits: No increase/decrease of benefits will be allowed                         under the plan. Under an inforce policy, the policyholder can, however, cancel the LIC’s Linked Accidental Benefit Rider at anytime during the policy term.  However, once the rider is cancelled, the same cannot be subsequently restored.

D)    Settlement Option: The Policyholder may exercise “Settlement Option” atleast one month prior to the date of maturity.

In case this option is exercised, the maturity claim under the policy shall not be paid in lump sum. The Policyholder, in that case, shall encash the amounts from the Policyholder’s Fund in regular (half-yearly / yearly instalments) spread over a period of not more than five years from the date of maturity. He/she shall be required to inform how he/she shall receive the maturity proceeds. The instalment shall be the total number of units as on the date of maturity divided by total number of instalments (i.e. 5 and 10 for yearly and half-yearly instalments in 5 year period respectively). The Policyholder’s Fund will continue to be invested as per the fund type existing as on the Date of Maturity. The number of units arrived at in respect of each instalment will be multiplied by the NAV of the applicable fund type as on the date of instalment payment. The first payment will be made corresponding to the date of maturity and thereafter based on the mode opted by the Policyholder i.e. every six months or annual from the date of maturity, as the case may be. However, at any time during the settlement period the Policyholder can completely withdraw the outstanding amount in the Policyholder’s Fund.

During the Settlement Period no charges other than the Fund Management Charge shall be deducted. There shall not be any insurance cover during this period. The value of instalment payable on the date specified shall be subject to investment risk i.e. the NAV may go up or down depending upon the performance of the fund.

On death of Life Assured after the commencement of Settlement Period, the value of outstanding units held in Policyholder’s Fund shall become payable to the nominee / legal heir in lumpsum.

No partial withdrawal or switching of fund shall be allowed after commencement of Settlement Period.

E)    Partial Withdrawals: A Policyholder can partially withdraw the units at any time after the fifth policy anniversary and provided all due premiums till date of partial withdrawal have been paid,  subject to the following:

                i.  In case of minors, partial withdrawals shall be allowed only after Life Assured is aged 18 years or above.

               ii.  Partial withdrawals may be in the form of fixed amount or in the form of fixed number of units.

              iii.  Partial Withdrawal Charge as specified in Para 3.(IV) f),  shall be deducted from the Policyholder’s Fund Value.

              iv.  Partial withdrawal will be allowed subject to a minimum balance of:

·         From 6^th to 10^th  policy year: 3 annualized premiums or 50% of Policyholders’ Fund value as on the date of withdrawal, whichever is higher

·         From 11^th to 20^th policy year: 3 annualized premiums or 25% of Policyholders’ Fund value as on the date of withdrawal, whichever is higher

If partial withdrawal has been made then for two years’ period immediately from the date of withdrawal, the Basic Sum Assured or Paid-up Sum Assured, whichever is applicable, shall be reduced to the extent of the amount of partial withdrawals made. On completion of two years’ period from the date of withdrawal the original Basic Sum Assured/Paid-up Sum Assured shall be restored.

13.      MODES OF PREMIUM PAYMENT:

Regular premium can be paid throughout the Policy Term either in yearly, half yearly, quarterly or monthly installments. Monthly installments will be allowed through ECS only.

There will be no mode specific charges.

14.      CEIS REBATE:

Policy completed under Corporation’s Employee Insurance Scheme (CEIS) is eligible for the CEIS rebate provided policy is not taken through any intermediary. No rebate on premium is allowed to Corporation Employees.

However, for direct business in respect of Corporation Employees there will not be Premium Allocation Charge.

   All other charges shall be as specified in Para 3.II) to 3.IV).

15.      LOANS: No loan facility shall be available under this plan.

16.       UNDERWRITING:

 Instructions will be issued separately by Underwriting and Reinsurance Department.

17.      DAYS OF GRACE:

A grace period of 30 days will be allowed for payment of yearly or half-yearly or quarterly premiums and 15 days for monthly (through ECS) premiums. If the death of Life Assured occurs within the grace period but before the payment of premium then due, the policy will still be valid and the death benefits shall be paid after deduction of all the relevant charges, if not recovered.

If the premium is not paid within the days of grace, the benefits shall be paid as per details given in Para 6 under Discontinuance of premiums.

18.      REVIVALS:

If due premium is not paid within the Grace Period then a notice shall be sent to the Policyholder as specified in Para 6 above.

In case the Policyholder opts to revive the policy during the revival period i.e. the period of two consecutive years from the date of discontinuance of the policy:

i)  If premium is discontinued before the expiry of 5 years’ lock-in-period:

If the Policyholder exercises the option to revive the policy at any time during the Revival Period of two years, then the Policyholder’s Fund Value after deducting the Discontinuance Charge as specified in Para 3.(IV).e), shall be converted into monetary terms as specified in Para 7.a) above. This monetary amount shall be transferred to the Discontinued Policy Fund.

If the Policyholder revives the policy within the Revival Period then the policy shall be revived subject to the following:

·      The revival shall be allowed on submission of proof of continued insurability on payment of all the arrears of premium without interest.

·      The Discontinuance Charge deducted from the Policyholder’s Fund, if any, along with the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be added back to the Policyholder’s Fund.

·      All outstanding applicable Policy Administration Charges, Premium Allocation Charges and Service Tax Charges due since the date of discontinuance shall be deducted from the Policyholder’s Fund.

·      Units of the segregated fund originally chosen by the Policyholder or as chosen in the last switch, or the fund chosen at the time of revival, as the case may be, shall be allotted based on the NAV as on the date of revival.

In case the Policyholder does not revive the policy during the Revival Period then the policy shall be terminated on the expiry of the Revival Period or on the completion of 5 years’ lock-in-period, whichever is later and the proceeds of the Discontinued Policy Fund shall be payable.

The Corporation reserves the right to accept at original terms, accept with modified terms or decline the revival of a discontinued policy. The revival of a discontinued policy shall take effect only after the same is approved by the Corporation and is specifically communicated in writing to the Policyholder.

ii) If premium is discontinued after the expiry of the 5 years’ lock-in-period:

If the Policyholder exercises the option to revive the policy during the Revival Period (i.e. two years from the date of discontinuance or upto the date of maturity, whichever is earlier), then the policy shall be treated as inforce with insurance cover as per original terms and conditions of the policy and charges as specified in Para 3 shall continue to be deducted.

If the Policyholder revives the policy, then the policy shall be revived subject to the following:

a.   The revival shall be allowed on payment of all the arrears of premium without interest.

b.  All outstanding Premium Allocation Charges and Service Tax Charges on Premium Allocation Charges since the date of discontinuance shall be deducted.

c.   Units shall be allotted based on the NAV as on the date of revival.

In case the Policyholder does not revive the policy during the Revival Period, then the policy shall be terminated on the completion of the Revival Period and the balance amount in the Policyholder’s Fund shall be refunded to the Policyholder.

Irrespective of what is stated above, if the Policyholder’s Fund Value is not sufficient to recover the charges during the notice/revival period, the policy shall terminate and thereafter revival will not be allowed.

LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider, if opted for, can be revived along with the Basic Policy and not in isolation.

Reinstatement of surrendered policy shall not be allowed.

19.  SUICIDE:  In case of death due to suicide, within 12 months from the date of commencement of policy or from the date of revival of the policy, the nominee or beneficiary of the policyholder shall be entitled to the Policyholder’s Fund Value, as available on the date of death. The Corporation will not entertain any other claim by virtue of this policy and the policy shall terminate.

This clause shall not be applicable in case age at entry of the Life Assured or at the time of revival is below 8 years.

      

20.  TAX: Taxes including Service Tax, if any, shall be as per the Tax laws and the rate of tax shall be as applicable from time to time.

Instructions in this regard shall be issued by F&A Department, Central Office.

21.  COOLING-OFF PERIOD:

If the Policyholder is not satisfied with the “Terms or Conditions” of the policy, he/she may return the policy to the Corporation within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy stating the reason of objections. The amount to be refunded in case the policy is returned within Free Look Period shall be determined as under:

Value of units in the Policyholder’s Fund

     Plus Unallocated premium

     Plus Policy Administration Charge deducted

     Plus Service Tax Charge deducted

Plus proportionate Mortality and Accident Benefit charge, if any, for the balance period from the date of cooling off to the end of policy month for which the respective charges have been deducted

Less Stamp Duty @ Rs.0.20 per thousand Basic Sum Assured and Accident Benefit Sum Assured, if any

     Less Actual cost of medical examination and special reports, if any.

In case the policy is returned during the cooling-off period, Commission shall be recovered from the concerned Agent and the Development Officer’s credit allowed shall be withdrawn.

22.      BACK DATING:

Back dating of policy will not be allowed.

23.      POLICY STAMPING:

Policy Stamping will be at the rate of Rs.0.20 per thousand Basic Sum Assured and Accident Benefit Sum Assured, if LIC’s Linked Accidental Death Benefit Rider, is opted for.

Any updates in this regard shall be issued by Legal Department, Central Office.

24.      ASSIGNMENTS / NOMINATION:

a) Assignments:  Assignment is allowed under this plan as per Section 38 of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015, as amended from time to time.

The notice of assignment should be submitted for registration to the office of the Corporation, where the policy is serviced.

b) Nominations: Nomination by the holder of a policy of life assurance is required as per Section 39 of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015, as amended from time to time.

  The notice of nomination or change of nomination should be submitted for registration to the office of the Corporation, where the policy is serviced. In registering nomination the Corporation does not accept any responsibility or express any opinion as to its validity or legal effect.

25.      NORMAL REQUIREMENTS FOR CLAIM:

The normal documents which the claimant shall submit while lodging the claim in case of death of the Life Assured shall be claim forms, as prescribed by the Corporation, accompanied with original policy document, NEFT mandate from the claimant for direct credit of the claim amount to the bank account, proof of title, proof of death, medical treatment prior to the death, school/ college/ employer's certificate, whichever is applicable, to the satisfaction of the Corporation. If the age is not admitted under the policy, the proof of age of the Life Assured shall also be submitted.

Where the policy results into a maturity claim or the policyholder exercises settlement option or in case of surrender of the policy, the Life Assured shall submit the discharge form along with the original policy document, NEFT mandate from the claimant for direct credit of the claim amount to the bank account besides proof of age, if the age is not admitted earlier.

In case the age is found to be higher than the age under the policy, then the difference in the charges for the correct age shall be deducted with interest at such rate as determined by the Corporation from time to time.

Where policy results into an accidental death claim the applicable statements from the following list may be called to ascertain circumstances under which death took place:-

1)     A certified copy of first information report (FIR).

2)     A certified copy of police inquest report.

3)     Copy of panchanama.

4)     Post mortem report to know the probable cause of death. If viscera is preserved in post mortem, then chemical analyzer report to know the contents i.e. whether Life Assured has consumed liquor, drugs, narcotics or poison.

5)     News paper cuttings where accident is reported.

6)     If death is due to vehicle accident, then copy of driving licence, if Life Assured was driving the vehicle.

7)     Sub-divisional magistrate final verdict about death- this will give classification of death as ‘natural/suicide/accidental’

8)     When accident is not reported to police authorities, like death due to dog or snake bite, then alternate proofs such as statement of eye witness, affidavit of gramsevak or govt. officials, our own enquiry report, attending physician or hospital reports may be sufficient.

9)     Hospital treatment records.

26.      REINSURANCE:

For reinsurance purposes, the retention limits will be those applicable to Term Assurance Plans for the Sum at Risk (i.e. the difference between Basic Sum Assured and Policyholder’s Fund Value in case of inforce policies and the difference between Paid-up Sum Assured and Policyholder’s Fund Value in case of Paid-up policies).

27.      ACCOUNTING OF INCOME AND OUTGO

Instructions regarding the accounting procedure to be followed under the plan shall be issued separately by Finance & Accounts Department, Central office.

28.      UNIT STATEMENT:

At the time of sale, a client specific benefit illustration shall be provided to the Policyholder. Such benefit illustration shall be signed by both the prospective Policyholder and intermediary and shall form the part of the policy document.

Further, Unit statement has to be issued on yearly basis and also as and when a transaction takes place.

29.      PROPOSAL FORM:

The specimen Proposal Form is enclosed in Annexure II.

30.      POLICY DOCUMENT:

The specimen Policy document will be sent by the Corporate Communications Department, Central Office.