Need of the hour – Super Top-up Policy

This is a guest post by Priyanka Khandelwal who is heading eBusiness vertical  at MediManagea specialist health insurance advisory service for Individuals, Families and Corporates. Know more about Medimanage’s free advisory services here

Life is full of risk and unpredictable most of the time. A sudden situation might arise and end up making you physically, emotionally & financially stressed.

One grave example is the fact of not buying an additional cover & relying only on your company insurance. It is often believe that the coverage provided by the employer is sufficient to take care of any unforeseen medical expenses which may arise. Let us look at 2 important facts to get a clear understanding as to why we require a supplementary cover.

  • The average medical cover that a company insurance offers ranges from Rs. 2 to 4 lakhs.
  • In the last 5yrs the medical cost has increased making it difficult for a common man to borne the expenses from his pocket. Let us look at the cost of few medical treatments in India:-
Procedures 2008 2013 Increase %
Heart Valve Replacement Rs. 1,75,415 Rs. 3,43,145 52%
Knee Replacement Rs. 2,70,220 Rs. 4,36,730 61%
Cataract Removal Rs. 16,000 Rs. 25,000 56%
Angiography Rs. 14,000 Rs. 22,000 57%
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Rs. 1,65,000 Rs. 2,40,000 45%
Appendectomy Rs. 28,000 Rs. 47,000 66%
Gall Bladder Removal Rs. 32,000 Rs. 59,000 84%
Angioplasty (PTCA) with 2 Stents Rs. 1,75,000 Rs. 2,65,000 51%

Please Note: Rates are as per the approximate cost of treatment.

Looking at the above figures, do you still feel that your coverage is sufficient enough ?The answer will be “NO”.

It is also important to note that along with the cost of the medical expenses the premium rates may also inflate Thus, it may not be practically possible to either enhance the current cover or buy an additional cover. So in such situation, what should be the solutions?

The answer is Super Top-up policies.

In this article, let us understand – What is a super Top-up Policy? How will this be beneficial? We will also be providing a detailed comparison between 2 notch products available in the market for your reference .

What is a Super Top-up Policy?

A Super Top-up Policy is a unique type of health insurance policy available which offers an additional coverage, beyond the “ Aggregate Threshold Limit”. Thus it acts as a cushion & comes in to action when you have exhausted the exisiting cover.

Let us understand with an Example:-

Let’s say if you have an individual Policy of Rs. 5Lac and a Super Top-up Policy of 10lac with 5 Lac Threshold Limit.

Incase there is a claim for 7Lakh, your individual health insurance policy will pay Rs. 5Lakh and the remaining claim amount of Rs. 2 Lakh will be paid by your Super Top-up Policy.

Now if there is another claim of 4Lakh in the same policy year, then the entire 4Lakh claim shall be paid by the super top-up policy. Because your aggregate threshold limit of 5 lakhs is crossed. This claim will be paid upto the limit of sum insured.

When you buy Super top-up, consider the below points:-

  • While buying a super Top-up policy it is not mandatory to have an existing health insurance cover
  • The threshold limit is applicable for each policy year
  • The threshold limit is the mandatory deductible, which needs to be take care by the customer either by way of a corporate policy or any other individual policy. You can also pay this from your pocket.
  • An aggregate threshold limit is sum total of all hospitalization expenses in a policy year.

 

Let us also look at the comparison – L&T Medisure Classic & Apollo Munich – Optima Super

ELIGIBILITY DETAILS:

Insurance Company L&T – Medisure – Super Top-up Apollo Munich – Optima Super
Sum Insured SI 3Lac & 8Lac – 2Lac Deductible
SI – 7 & 12Lac – 3Lac Deductible
SI – 6, 11 & 16Lac – 4Lac Deductible
SI – 5,10,15 & 20Lac – 5Lac Deductible
SI – 5Lac, 7Lac & 10Lac
Deductible – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 10Lac
Min Entry Age Adult – 18yrs
Child – 91days
Adult – 18yrs
Child – 91 days
Max Entry Age Adult – 65yrs
Child – 23yrs
Adult – 65yrs
Child – 21yrs
Renewal Age Lifelong Lifelong
Pre Acceptance Medical Checkup 55yrs 45yrs
Cost of Medical On acceptance of proposal, 50% of the cost of medicals will be re-imbursed. On acceptance of proposal, 100% of the cost of medicals will be re-imbursed.
Family Defination Individual Cover – Self, Spouse, Children, Parents, Parent-in-laws, Siblings, Grandparents, Daughter-in-law, Son-in-Law, Nephew, Niece, Grand children.
Floater Cover – Self, Spouse, 2 Children (Parents & Parent-in-Laws can also be covered as a separate cover)
Individual – Spouse, dependent children and dependent parents (Max 4Adults & 5Children)
Floater – Self, Spouse, 2 Children (Max 2 Adults & 2 Children)
Parent-in-law – If financially dependant.
Family Discount 2 or more family members are enrolled 10% Discount 2 or more family members are enrolled 10% Discount
Policy Tenure 1 & 2yrs 1 & 2yrs
Tenure Discount 5% discount on premium 7.5% Discount on premium

 

BENEFITS:-

Insurance Company L&T – Medisure – Super Top-up Apollo Munich – Optima Super
Room Rent Upto the Sum Insured Upto the Sum Insured
ICU Rent Upto the Sum Insured Upto the Sum Insured
Doctor’s fees and related charges, Other Medical Charges Upto the Sum Insured Upto the Sum Insured
Ambulance Charges Not Covered Rs. 2000 per Hospitalisation
Per & Post Hospitalization 30Days Pre & 60Days Post Hosptialization 60 Days Pre & 90Days Post
Day Care Procedures Covered – No Static List. Covered. 144 day care procedures
Organ Transplant Not Covered Covered – Only Hospitalization Expenses
Addo-on Benefits Service Guarantee. Cashless hospitalization Response in 6 hrs NA
Co-payment 10% Co-payment for Insured age 80yrs & above. No Co-payment

 

EXCLUSIONS & WAITING PERIOD:

Insurance Company L&T – Medisure – Super Top-up Apollo Munich – Optima Super
Waiting Period for Accident None None
Waiting Period for Specific Ailments 24months 24months
Joint Replacement Waiting Period 24months 24months
Cataract – Limitation None None
Limitation on Major Illness None None
Waiting Period for Pre-Existing Diseases 36months 48months

 

Let us also look at an example – Mr. Rao wants to enhance his existing Health Insurance of cover.

Age: 35yrs                      Existing Health Insurance: 5Lac  Required Super Top Up Cover: 10Lac

How much premium will be charged to Mr. Rao?

Insurance Company L&T – Medisure – Super Top-up Apollo Munich – Optima Super
Premium Rs. 1,236 Rs. 2,475

Please Note: L&T Premium is Inclusive of ST & other companies Premium is exclusive of ST.

Our Opinion:

Super Top-up Policy are the best way to enhance your basic sum insured. If we look at the comparison both the products are good but there are few points where L&T – Medisure Classic takes an upper hand. Let us look at those points:

  1. In terms of premium, it is lighter on the pocket.
  2. Service Guarantee: Cashless hospitalization response in 6hrs.
  3. No Pre-Acceptance medical check up till the age of 55yrs.
  4. Option to add more extended family members under one policy (Customer has the choice of adding Grandparents, Siblings, Grandchildren, etc.)
  5. Family Discount of 10% in case you add 2 or more members in an Individual policy.
  6. The customer has the option of paying 2yrs premium at one shot and avail additional 5% discount.
  7. No Sub Limits on Room Rent, ICU, Nursing, Doctor’s expenses, medical bills, etc.
  8. Day Care procedures are covered without any static list.
  9. Pre-existing diseases covered after 36months.
  10. Under a single policy multiple relationships can be covered.

When you buy a policy always keep in mind the medical inflation while selecting the sum insured. Cost should not only be the deciding factor in choosing the Best Health Insurance plan. The ability of the plan to function when required should be the core of selection.

If you want to speak to Priyanka’s team of expert advisors for a one-to-one discussion on your requirements, post your inquiry here.

 

Site restored to normal

A quick note to let you know that as far as we can tell, the site has been restored to normal and you won’t see any more spammy posts.

What happened was a person, script or machine had somehow gotten access to one of the passwords that is associated to an account here that has publishing rights. Posts were getting published through that account, and it took a while to narrow down the problem to that account.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the person or system had just guessed the password to that account because I had kept it ridiculously simple.

The lesson is to make all your passwords complicated, and the way to do that is to use pass-phrases instead of passwords because they are easily remembered and harder to guess or crack. For example: “$DinosaurBirdBrain457#” I believe is easily remembered and harder to crack.

Apologies for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience.

Site Attacked: Ignore the daily email from June 23 2015

I noticed three posts titled ‘cheap oakley posts’ and similar variants on the site yesterday, and promptly deleted them, as well as changed passwords etc.

Three more posts like this appeared a few hours later, and then two more. I am working to get this issue resolved, but I wasn’t able to stop the daily emails from sending out these spammy posts.

Please ignore the email from today, and if you would like to unsubscribe because of this nuisance, you can scroll down to the bottom of the email and click on the unsubscribe link.

I’ll send out a further update when the issue is resolved.

Investing in International Mutual Funds: Overview, Benefits & Risk Factors

This post is written by Mr. Santanu Debnath, who runs a Multi-Niche Blog – MyDailyLifeTips.com.

Are you investing in Mutual funds regularly? Have you heard about International mutual funds?

If yes, then do you know why you should start investing today? If you are a regular follower of any personal finance blog or a stock market news channel, then you might have noticed everyday analysis of stock markets of various countries like Dow Jones of United States, Brazil Bovespa Stock Index, Canada S&P/TSX 60 etc. Now, one can invest on those markets as well with the help of International Mutual funds.

In this article I will share a basic overview of international mutual fund, why one should invest on such funds and what are the other facts one should know before investing in such funds.

What is International Mutual Fund

If you know the definition of Mutual fund, then the meaning of International fund is also very simple. In this fund the accumulated money will be in stock markets of other countries like USA, Brazil etc.

International mutual funds are the portfolio of equities, bonds, and money market securities traded in foreign market. Because of the diversification they offer, these funds are gaining more and more popularity.

 

Why one should invest in International Mutual Fund

India is a developing nation which is currently attracting many foreign investors. There are many such countries in the world, where one can invest via overseas funds and get a good exposure.

There are many benefits associated with them; like introduction to emerging markets, commodities boom, or business cycle of different markets.

If you understand the meaning of portfolio diversification, then these funds will add huge value to your portfolio. Whenever your domestic market is down, other markets may perform better and in this way your net asset will stay positive in the long run.

According to last one year’s data, the top 10 international mutual funds has shown huge returns ranging from 26% to 50%.

Investment Benefits

There are various benefits of investment in international mutual fund. If chosen wisely, your return from these are much higher compared to domestic markets.

Better Returns than other MFs: An international mutual fund provides much better returns than any other type of MFs. To avail better returns, you can have few foreign funds from different international markets.

Growth of your Principal Amount: Foreign fund investment can expand or grow your initial capital to a great extent. In case of international MF, you can choose between funds of various overseas markets. So chances are more that your amount will grow significantly.

Better Investment Portfolio: Foreign funds are mainly ideal for those investors who want a diversified investment portfolio. To get optimal returns from investment in foreign mutual funds, Investment in those funds should not have much link with the domestic market.

Risk of Investment

Besides general mutual fund knowledge, one must know few more facts before investing in these Mutual Funds.

Although by investing in Mutual funds, one actually minimizes the tension of tracking individual company’s track record; still people can’t track those companies which are based outside India. In case of International mutual fund, you may find it difficult to get information how the companies linked with those funds are performing, are there any regulatory or change in business plan happening etc. So the upcoming markets can be affected with the economical and political changes of those countries.

I believe, almost everyone invest in mutual funds after analyzing the track records of that fund. As international mutual funds are new in Indian market, you may not find enough historical data for few of them.

In stock market, any crucial news related to a company play a huge role. You might have noticed that before declaration of national election result or any company’s new policies or budget; market reacts either in a positive or negative way. As the time zone of international market is completely different from ours, there will be a risk of missing such timely updates.

Fluctuations in the currency rate of different countries can affect your investment very significantly, as it is very difficult to know the financial stability of any country. This thing completely depends up on how the local currency is trading with the international currency. E.g. if you invest in any USA based fund and you have received a return now then definitely it is better compared to what you would have received 2 years back.

Anyway, these points may not be applicable for an investor who invests for a long term point of view, rather tracking the fund performance on a regular basis.

Income tax rules on International Mutual funds

The tax liabilities will be similar to debt mutual funds only. Means a long term capital gain tax will be applicable as per below rules:

  • Without Indexation – 10% tax on capital gains
  • With Indexation – 20% tax on capital gains

Examples of International Mutual Funds

So what are the foreign funds available now? Below are examples of few mutual funds that are available currently in the international market.

  • ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity Fund
  • DSP BlackRock US Flexible Equity Fund
  • Mirae Asset India-China Consumption Fund
  • DWS Global Thematic Offshore Fund Growth
  • JPMorgan JF Asean Equity Off-shore

Conclusion

To conclude the article, I will say that international mutual fund will open new investment options in mutual fund segment which will provide more diversification as well as a better return. To make wise investment decision, one should do a detailed research about the international market that they consider to include in their investment portfolio.

International mutual funds are a useful way of reducing the overall risk of one’s portfolio and we can hope that these will be seriously considered by all the investors in coming days. But one should try to follow the thumb rule of 70:30 or 75:25 for domestic & international market from the mutual fund portion of their investment portfolio.

Hope you find this article useful. Share your thoughts and query related to this topic.

Use Paytm to pay your phone bills

I paid my Airtel postpaid phone bill using Paytm today, and got a Rs. 50 cashback in the Paytm wallet by using a CASH150 promo code.

The deal is that you get 10% or Rs. 50 off (whichever is higher) on phone recharges using the code above, and is valid till June 10 2015.

I believe this is a simple and useful deal because almost everyone has a prepaid or postpaid connection; this deal works on both, and the only thing you have to do is instead of paying from the regular cellphone website using your credit card, use the Paytm wallet.

If you don’t have the Paytm wallet then it’s perhaps not worth your while to get one just to do this but a lot of people have these mobile wallets and in that case there’s really no reason to NOT do this.

This deal is available frequently enough which means that it is not a matter of saving fifty bucks one time, but rather saving this every month, well at least till they decide to withdraw it, and it neither adds time nor effort to an activity you would do anyway.

When the Paytm coupon on this recharge expires, I’ll update this post with the new coup0n code, and in the meantime, if there is a better way to do this then please leave a comment.

New Simplified Tax Return Forms for 2015

The Finance Ministry issued a circular earlier today about tax return forms, and for a change, it is good news all around.

They have made six announcements and they are all positive ones. They have stated that they won’t be asking people to furnish details of their foreign travel along with tedious details of how much money they spent etc. This was something that was proposed last month and would have been quite a burden on everyone.

They  have however asked for your passport number in the tax return, and I think this is only fair. You already give your PAN out obviously, and giving out your passport number in addition to that should not be a problem at all, not to those who have paid taxes properly anyway.

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The number of people who under report their incomes or don’t pay taxes at all is ridiculously high in India, and I can imagine the tax department running some simple reports on this data to find people who are under reporting their income.

The other exciting news is the simplification of the form themselves. The new forms haven’t been shared yet but they are supposed to the simpler than the existing ones, I will write about this in detail when the forms are actually out. Since the forms aren’t out and the software to process these forms isn’t ready either, the deadline to file taxes have been extended to 31st August.

Finally, there was a proposal to ask people to give details of their bank accounts along with the money in them but now they have reduced that to say you can just mention your bank account numbers and that is a fair ask as well.

I think these changes are a win for the people who gave their feedback to the ministry on the things like the foreign travel requirements, and raised a ruckus on social media as well.