A reader asks, “I am 35 years old and presently have a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) cover for myself and my family (wife and daughter) on account of my Central Government job. Considering that the possibility of switching jobs is negligible and that CGHS can be extended to cover me and my wife post-retirement…
Continue reading →A reader wishes to know, “What is the ideal base health insurance plus super top-up combination?” If you are confused about which health insurance policy to buy, check out the free resources at the end of this article. There is no ideal base + super top-up combo. We will have to decide what is suitable…
Continue reading →Unit Linked Insurance Policy is a life insurance policy that has components of both investment and insurance and is linked to a unit as defined in regulation 3(ee) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Unit Linked Insurance Products) Regulations, 2019, governed by section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act 1961. About the…
Continue reading →Many individuals close to retirement are unfamiliar with buying government bonds vis RBI Retail Direct and how it differs from purchasing a life insurance pension plan*. We discuss the essential differences in this article. In this article, a life insurance pension plan refers to an immediate annuity plan, not a deferred one. Always avoid deferred…
Continue reading →A reader wants to know how a term insurance payout should be invested for the family’s welfare upon his demise. As is well known, a term insurance plan only pays out on the insured’s death (usually a breadwinner). First, we (the insured) must ensure that the (bereaved) family typically does not need to dip into…
Continue reading →In this article, Sunil explains how he contested a health insurance claim rejection with the Insurance Ombudsman (Bima Lokpal portal) and won. Sunil prefers that the health insurance company not be named in the article (the editorial team at Freefincal is also unaware of this). The procedure followed matters more to the reader, as it…
Continue reading →In this article, Lakshman shares how he bought a health insurance policy for his family. We are grateful to the members of the freefincal community for generously sharing their research with all of us. Note: Health insurance is an extremely personalized purchase. Please do your extensive research before buying. I started learning about personal finance…
Continue reading →I’m a 35-year-old married man with one child. While I’m already covered by a health insurance policy worth 5 lakhs through my current employer, I also purchased a personal family floater Mediclaim Insurance worth 5 lakhs last year. Recently, after reading various posts and blogs, I’ve come to realize that relying solely on a health…
Continue reading →If you are travelling on a Schengen Visa, travel insurance is mandatory. In this article, Anoop shares his experience of buying Schengen travel insurance. Note: My limited understanding is that, in principle, it may be possible for Indian residents (without any sponsors in Europe) to buy Schegne insurance from European insurers, but it won’t be…
Continue reading →In this article, SEBI registered fee-only advisor Ajay Pruthi explains how to choose a health insurance policy. About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only SEBI registered investment advisor. He can be contacted via his website plnr.in. Ajay is part of the freefincal list of fee-only advisors and fee-only India. Do you think there’s no need for personal health insurance…
Continue reading →I wrote an article on the investment options if a person is moving to the USA. You can read it here – What should I do with my investments if I wish to move to the U.S.? The article gave me the idea of writing an article if the person is moving to Middle Eastern countries….
Continue reading →Recently, some media reports have claimed that the age limit on health insurance purchases has been removed. Is this true? If yes, will this benefit a large segment of the population? The IRDAI circular dated 20th March 2024, F. No. IRDAI/Reg/8/202/2024 (thanks to Kamlesh Rao for sharing it on the Facebook group Asan Ideas for…
Continue reading →Have you ever pondered over how life insurance companies manage to settle substantial death claims? Let’s begin by delving into the fundamental concept of insurance and then transition to reinsurance. While reinsurance is a vast subject, I’ll provide an overview of its basic principles. About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only SEBI registered investment advisor….
Continue reading →This article explains how the co-payment (co-pay) clause works for health insurance policies. It originates from an email exchange with a reader about base policy co-pay limits and super top-up applicability. This article would not have been possible but for the expert guidance of Ajay Pruthi, a fee-only SEBI registered investment advisor. He can be…
Continue reading →It should be evident to most of us that those with a non-permanent or corporate job should not rely on their group health insurance or group life insurance because they can lose the job anytime and become uninsured. I have heard stories of those who became hospitalised the day after they left the job or…
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