Posts Tagged ‘Life’
Social Media Helps Insurance Aggregator
January 4, 2012
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Online polls used to generate interest within Internet communities.
Insurance Networking News, January 3, 2012
Online Insurance Marketplace, an online community for educated consumers to shop and access quotes for insurance plans from various companies, has taken its social media efforts to a new level, promoting life insurance on its Facebook page by offering a simple poll question.
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The question: “How Important is Life Insurance to You?” resulted in unanimous results, notes the company. In the poll, the possible answers were: very important, important, not that important, and I don’t care. Although the aggregator’s Facebook page counts 40,485 people among those that “like” it, the Facebook page notes that five respondents actually took the poll.
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Though responses are few, this latest poll is one of a series of Facebook promotions the company has used to garner client interest. Previous Facebook entries include “what is your stress level?”; “what do you think is the best way to lose weight?”; “should you get life insurance if you do not have children?”; and “if you could afford only one insurance policy, which one would be most important to you?”
From the company’s site, individuals interested in where to buy term life insurance can read about the company, and then can choose to ‘like’ the Facebook Platform page in order to follow the company’s news, or mention the company in one of their posts. On this site, clients have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.
The site also makes “call a live agent” available to those who would like to speak to a real person.
For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:
- Customer Service
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Kansas insurance commissioner urges soldiers returning from Iraq to review …
January 2, 2012
TOPEKA, Kan. — The top insurance regulator in Kansas says military personnel returning from Iraq should review their life insurance coverage
Praeger says veterans who want to supplement that coverage or move to private coverage need to examine whether policies exclude coverage for war-related deaths or deaths that occur in traveling on noncommercial aircraft.
Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger (PRAY’-guhr) also is offering tips to military families in case they consider altering their coverage. For example, she notes that people soliciting insurance sales on military bases must have permission from the U.S. Defense Department.
The U.S. Veterans Administration already offers low-cost life insurance coverage of up to $400,000 to service members on active duty, and it allows them to switch that coverage to a different program for veterans after they leave active duty.
Praeger says veterans who want to supplement that coverage or move to private coverage need to examine whether policies exclude coverage for war-related deaths or deaths that occur in traveling on noncommercial aircraft.
Pastor explains Revelation 3:5
December 31, 2011
Question: Does Revelation 3:5 imply that we may lose our salvation?
- Reggie Newcomb,
Chesterfield, Va.
Answer: Revelation 3:5 says, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life …” Many people have mistakenly believed that verse suggests we may lose our salvation. They say that if Jesus said he won’t erase one person’s name, then there’s the possibility that he might erase other people’s names.
Yet, the New Testament’s overall teaching is the security of our salvation. If a person truly commits his or her soul to Jesus believing in his promise to save them, they can rest in the assurance that they won’t lose their salvation. John 3:16 promises that whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life and will never perish. Jesus said in Luke 21:18, “There shall not an hair of your head perish.” John 10:28 quotes Jesus as proclaiming, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish.”
Our salvation is secure because it’s God who saves us; not our good works. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). If Jesus saves us he can keep us saved. In John 5:24 Jesus said, “He who hears my word and believes on him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation.”
Believing the above, then, we must resolve the question arising from Revelation 3:5. Some teachers suggest there may be two books keeping the records of our faith, or lack of it. Perhaps the “Book of Life” (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5, etc.) is a register of all who have ever lived. If so, those choosing to reject Jesus as their Savior will have their name removed because they were never alive spiritually. But, those in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 13:8; 21:27) will never have their names blotted out because they are written indelibly by the blood of Christ. While that may be true, I think the best solution is the simplest one: The Greek word “oume” translated “not” in the King James is a double negative combining “not” and “absolutely not.” It’s simply a guarantee from Jesus that he will not, absolutely not, remove the names of those who trust in him.
At the beginning of a new year let us rest in the assurance that, “He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). At the end of the age he promises to present all who believe in him as being without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27). All this is because of his amazing grace!
- Dr. Tom Lovorn is Pastor of God’s Storehouse Baptist Church in Richmond, and writes a weekly column on religion for The Progress-Index.
Posted in Life Assurance Information | 
Tags: Assurance, blood of christ, ephesians 2, everlasting life, gift of god, Life, Life Assurance, new testament, person, raiment, Revelation, revelation 13, salvation john
Marken Appoints New Head Of Global Quality Assurance
December 28, 2011
Pharma Veteran Steve Roese will play a crucial role in Marken’s new investments.
Marken announced recently that Steve Roese is named Vice President of Marken’s Global Quality Assurance organization, which will support Marken’s continued investment in their expanding network of pharmaceutical service depots around the world. Marken is now accelerating construction of several new depot facilities in Europe, Asia and the US, which will supplement existing locations in Singapore, Mexico and Argentina.
Steve Roese comes to Marken with more than 30 years experience in quality operations at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (now Pfizer) which included global operations in the consumer health and nutritional products divisions. He has extensive experience in both clinical and commercial manufacturing, packaging and distribution and has routinely interacted with the world’s most important regulatory agencies. Prior to Wyeth, Mr. Roese worked with Perrier / Nestle, Abbott Laboratories and General Foods in various quality and operations roles.
“We are excited to welcome Steve to the company”, commented Wes Wheeler, CEO of Marken. “Given our emphasis on clinical storage and distribution of drug product, Steve’s responsibilities will be a critically important priority for us. Quality has been, and will remain, a key part of our strategy in the future, and Steve’s experience in the pharma will enable us to take quality to a whole new level”.
About Marken
Marken is the leading global clinical supply chain service provider dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, supporting over 6,000 investigator sites in more than 100 countries. With decades of experience in the logistics, transport and distribution of temperature sensitive life saving pharmaceuticals, clinical trial supplies and specimen collection; Marken integrates Depot and Logistics services into solutions that extend the reach of clinical trials to even the most remote treatment naïve geographies. Our team members and network of facilities bridge the distance between patients and the essential resources of life science companies.
SOURCE: Marken
DTC changes may impact life insurance products
December 25, 2011
The new Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010, if implemented in the proposed form, will be detrimental to the interests of individual insurance policy-holders.
The Direct Tax Code (DTC) is proposed to be introduced as a Bill in Parliament’s winter session. The proposed DTC, if passed, will replace the existing Income-Tax act of 1961 and will come into force from April 1, 2012. However, the proposed new Direct Taxes Code Bill 2010, if implemented in the proposed form, will be detrimental to the interests of individual policy-holders in insurance companies.
Under the proposed DTC Bill 2010, deduction for payment towards a typical life insurance cover is allowed if the premium paid in any of the years during the policy term does not exceed 5 per cent of the capital sum assured under the policy.
This proposed cap of 5 per cent will deny benefits to large number of policyholders. For an individual aged 30, the minimum term will be around 21- 22 years and for 40 years and above, the term will be 28 years or more.
This will lead to inequity, as for the same term and sum assured, the tax exemption would be available to, say, a 30-year-old person, but not to 40-year-ld person because of higher term insurance content.
Thus, a policyholder of higher age will be forced to pay premiums beyond his working age.
To ensure that life insurance products are long term, there is a minimum lock-in period of five years. The IRDA, in its recommendation to the CBDT, has suggested that only those policies should be allowed for deductions which have a minimum maturity period of 10 years.
Hence, it will be prudent to revise the minimum term of policies to 10 years irrespective of the frequency of premium paid during the term.
Shared allocation
In DTC Bill 2010, a separate window of a much lower amount of Rs 50,000 has been prescribed for life insurance premiums, tuition fees and health insurance premiums.
With increasing costs of education and healthcare services, much of this small limit would be utilised, leaving little space for life insurance premium. Thus, this shared allocation, actually tries to further undermine the importance of life insurance as an asset class and deprive the benefit of social security to the policyholders.
However, the proposed Bill provides a total exemption up to Rs 1 lakh for investments in long-term savings such as Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and New Pension System (NPS) with no prescribed minimum holding period for investment in these instruments.
It will be desirable to provide a limit of Rs 1,00,000 for life insurance premiums/annuities too.
Also, there are now approximately 31 crores of in-force policies and the persons holding these policies would be substantially affected if the proposed Bill is implemented in its current form, since DTC Bill 2010 does not specify grandfathering of existing policies.
Need for parity
Under the current tax regime, Section 80CCC of the Income-Tax Act 1961 provides for deduction in respect of premiums paid under IRDA approved pension fund/annuity plan. This deduction is allowed up to the aggregate limit of Rs 100,000, considering deduction under Section 80C as well.
However, under the proposed tax regime (DTC), only that amount received under NPS, which is used to buy an annuity plan, will not be taxable in the year of such receipt.
Similar provision needs to be inserted for annuity received by the policyholder from a life insurance company so as to bring parity in long term saving products.
One does get a feeling that the thinkers in the tax planning divisions feel that long-term savings through life insurance is less important for the economy than savings through Employee Provident fund, Public Provident fund and the New Pension Scheme, with the latter being incentivised through fiscal incentives.
(The author is Secretary General of Life Insurance Council. The views are personal.)
Some compelling reasons to buy life and health insurance – PR
December 25, 2011
Posted in Life Assurance Information | Tags: Health, health insurance, insurance, Life, Life Assurance
Should NRIs buy life insurance in India?
December 24, 2011
Life insurance has been a traditional investment favorite in India and most Indians are likely to hold at least one, if not more, life insurance policies. If you are a Non Resident Indian (NRI), you may have bought a policy while you were a Resident Indian or you may be considering buying one as an NRI. Let’s take a look at the rules relating to buying life insurance in India. The rules regarding insurance are governed by Exchange Control Manual.
Can an NRI buy life insurance in India? Yes, NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) (as defined by FEMA) who are resident abroad are allowed to buy life insurance in India. Thus, all persons of Indian origin, whether citizens of India or not are allowed to take a life insurance policy in India.
Does the NRI have to be present in India at the time of buying the policy? No, the NRI can purchase the policy from overseas through written communication with the insurance company in India. There may be certain additional costs in such case. For instance, if you purchase the policy from abroad, you would have to do the medical examination and send the report to the insurance company in India. You would have to bear the costs of this medical examination yourself. However if you purchase the policy in India, you would not have to bear this cost as it would be inbuilt in the cost of your policy.
How can premiums be paid? An NRI can pay premiums by any of these modes: 1. Remittance in foreign currency 2. NRO bank account 3. NRE/ FCNR bank account Elizabeth Venkataraman, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance says, “Insurance companies are allowed to issue policies denominated in either Indian rupees or foreign currency to NRIs. If the policy is foreign currency denominated, the premiums are to be collected in foreign currency from abroad or out of NRE/FCNR accounts of the insured or insured’s family members held in India. For rupee denominated policies issued to NRIs, funds held in NRO accounts are to be used to pay premiums.” However, do remember that not all insurance companies offer foreign currency denominated polices.
Are premiums higher for NRIs as compared to resident Indians? Are there any limits on the sum assured? “No,” says Surat based VK Virani, an agent of the Life Insurance Corporation and an MDRT ‘Court of Table’ member. “The premiums are the same for residents and non residents. However, if NRIs are living in countries where risks are higher, premiums maybe higher.”
As for the sum assured, Virani explains, “In case of LIC policies, if the NRI chooses to conduct his medical examination in the foreign country, the sum assured will be limited to Rs 1 crore. If the NRI has his medical examination done on a visit to India, then he can get a higher cover.”
What are the rules regarding death and maturity proceeds? The insurance policy purchased in India will cover death that occurs anywhere in the world. Maturity and death proceeds are repatriable to the extent of premium paid in foreign currency in relation to the total premium paid. If premiums are paid fully in Indian rupees through the NRO account, the death or maturity proceeds will not be repatriable. If policy was taken before becoming NRI, Venkataraman explains, “This does not affect the status of the policy and the proceeds remain repatriable to the extent of premium paid in foreign currency in relation to the total premium paid. ”
Should an NRI buy life insurance in India? Having seen the rules and regulations of buying life insurance in India, it is important for NRIs to evaluate if they should indeed buy life insurance in India. There are a few things to consider here:
1. Cost Will the policy be cheaper in the country of residence? As a broad benchmark, a healthy 40-year-old man who buys a 20-year level term policy in the US, which has a fixed annual premium, might pay about $800 a year to secure a $500,000 death benefit. The same policy, that is, 20 year term policy with a sum assured of Rs 2.5 crore will cost over Rs 1 lakh per annum.
2. Tax regulations In India, benefits from a life insurance policy, including earnings, whether on death or maturity are treated as tax-free. However, since an NRI will have to pay tax on his global income in his country of residence and the taxability of this global income would be on the basis of the tax laws prevailing in the country of his residence, he must look closely at tax provisions in his country of residence. In the US for instance, taxation of life insurance proceeds is quite complicated. Death benefits are tax-free to the extent of the sum assured or life cover. Any amount over and above the sum assured, such as bonuses will be taxed. Similarly, there are certain rules regarding withdrawals from a policy. The cash value of life insurance is allowed to grow on a tax deferred basis, that is, earnings are taxed only on withdrawal. In certain cases withdrawals maybe tax free to the extent of premiums paid till date of withdrawal.
To sum up, Venkataraman says, “The choice is entirely personal. However, NRIs are advised to take into consideration, tax laws in force at the location where they are currently resident before buying a policy in India.”
Phoenix loses Finance Director
December 24, 2011
LONDON (ShareCast) – Phoenix Group said its Finance Director, Jonathan Yates, is to leave the closed life assurance fund consolidator at the end of February of next year.
Yates, who has been appointed Chief Executive at Guardian Financial Services, has been with Phoenix for 18 months.
His deputy, Paul Miles, will take over on an acting basis with immediate effect while the board searches for a permanent replacement.
The company said it is set to generate around £800m of cash at the operating company level in 2011, slap bang in the middle of its stated target range, and up from last year’s £734m.
“As a closed life fund company, cash generation is our key metric,” said Phoenix Chief Executive Clive Bannister, as he hailed the achievement of generating £800m as a “significant achievement”.
Phoenix, consolidates closed life funds and then manages them through its subsidiary Ignis Asset Management. It currently has £68bn under management.
Phoenix shares have fallen by 17% so far this year.
BS/JH
Merry-go-round among top life insurers seen
December 20, 2011
MANILA, Philippines – There is a strong possibility that the top five players of the country’s life insurance industry will change places in 2011, in terms of total premium income.
Last year, the top five players were the Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life), the Sun Life Financial Philippines (Sun Life), AXA Philippines Inc. (AXA), Prulife of the UK (Philippines) Inc. (Pru Life), and Insular Life Assurance Corp. (Insular Life).
The top five registered a combined total premium income worth P44.731 billion, or roughly 60 percent of the industry’s total premium income worth P70.7 billion last year.
However, a look at the unofficial first year premium (FYP) reports in the first nine months of 2011 make for a good trending platform.
FYP are the premium due during the first year the policy is in force. Premiums paid in subsequent years are known as renewal premiums.
In an annuity, first year premiums are any payments used to initially purchase the policy or that are paid during the first year.
It is a good gauge for estimating how much new business or policies written in a given year. This is added to renewal premiums resulting, in theory, to total premium income.
Philam Life’s first-year premium was reportedly at P2.9 billion end September this year, better than the P1.5 billion in the same period in 2010. However, it is not expected to increase dramatically since traditionally the last quarter of the year is weak for Philam Life.
Total premiums in 2010 amounted to P11.2 billion from P10.8 billion in 2009, for roughly four-percent growth rate. FYP in 2010 was P2.6 billion.
Sun Life, meanwhile, reported first-year premiums of P3.4 billion end September this year, or more than double the P1.5 billion in 2009.
Total premiums amounted to P10.6 billion in 2010, or the first time in awhile that the gap between Philam Life and the next insurer has shrunk to less than a billion pesos.
Sun Life officials said that the second semester generally performs better than the first six months in terms of new business for the Vancouver-based insurer.
The situation is similar in the third and fourth spots.
In 2010, AXA was ranked third in terms of total premium income, which amounted to P8.3 billion.
In the first nine months of 2011, first-year premiums reportedly reached P5.6 billion from a mere P3.9 billion in the same period in 2010.
Pru Life reported total premium income of P7.8 billion last year, which fortified its hold of fourth spot among the country’s 34 life insurers.
At the end of September this year, its first-year premiums ballooned to P6.3 billion or nearly double the P3.5 billion in new business in the same period in 2010.
AXA banners its strong bancassurance alliance with the Metropolitan Bank Trust Co. (Metrobank) while Pru Life relies mainly on its agency force and broker relations with several banks. Both are also reputed to deliver a strong punch in the second half of any given year.
Insular Life was a solid fifth in 2010 with total premium income of P7.1 billion while BPI Philam Life (the joint venture between the Bank of the Philippine Islands, or BPI, and Philam Life) reported total premiums of P5.6 billion.
But in the first nine months of the year, Insular Life reportedly wrote first-year premiums amounting to P2.6 billion while BPI Philam Life was reported to have generated first-year premiums worth P4.4 billion.
Surprises are also expected to occur between insurers occupying the seventh to 10th slot, which includes Manulife Financial Philippines (Manulife), the United Cocolife Assurance (Cocolife), Grepalife Financials, and Generali Pilipinas.
Total industry premium income in 2010 was valued at P70.7 billion, the highest ever in recorded life insurance history. All industry players are optimistic that it will grow by double-digits this year to record another historic high. It grew by a little over 23 percent when compared with the P57.2 billion in 2009.
SIEFERS v. PACIFICARE LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY
December 20, 2011
2. Nevada courts apply contract rules of interpretation to insurance policies. See, e.g., Fed. Ins. Co. v. Am. Hardware Mut. Ins. Co., 184 P.3d 390, 393 (Nev. 2008). Evidence that serves to defeat a contract, and not to vary its terms, may be considered by a court even if the evidence was not part of the contract when the contract was created. See, e.g., Friendly Irishman, Inc. v. Ronnow, 330 P.2d 497, 498-99 (Nev. 1958) (finding that parol evidence rule did not apply to exclude evidence that “demonstrated fraud in the procurement of the [car sale] instrument and served to defeat the instrument and not to vary its terms”).