11 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
10 Temmuz 2012 Salı
Bush is in the Holy Lands...making promises while stating,"If I were an Israeli"
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9 Temmuz 2012 Pazartesi
Video: Bush is greeted by Isreali children singing "over the raindow"
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Really? Are things "so rosy" over there? Bush is in "fantasyland". He has to be. Israel is probably the only place in the world where children "welcome" his presence on their soil. I hope they're getting a good education and proper health care. We all know if they relied on him..they'd be SCREWED.
..and on the other side...
From Reuters,
Same Players. Different Scandal.
..and on the other side...
From Reuters,
"Thousands protest in Gaza against "vampire" Bush"Why don't they post that video?
Some 20,000 members of the Islamist group, shunned by the West for refusing to renounce violence, set U.S. and Israeli flags alight. Bush was a "butcher" whose first presidential visit to the Holy Land was skewed towards helping Israel, they said.
.....
Protesters in Gaza, which Hamas seized in June after routing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah forces, waved green Hamas flags as well as posters with pictures of Bush as a vampire drinking from a cup marked "Muslim blood".
Same Players. Different Scandal.
Michigan GOP chair is an A$$..calls Obama... "pet rock of the election" What an A-Hole
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I'll take a pet rock any day over any of these GOP swine. A "pet rock" will never lie, cheat, steal, or subvert the American people unlike the "compassionate conservatism" of the GOP.
From The Trail,
Same Players. Different Scandal.
I'll take a pet rock any day over any of these GOP swine. A "pet rock" will never lie, cheat, steal, or subvert the American people unlike the "compassionate conservatism" of the GOP.
From The Trail,
"pet rock", Sad..first they called him "intellectually lazy", now it's "pet rock". Lil' hint...surrender the fantasy GOP. Next, you'll be calling him Mr. President! WE, Obama and Edwards are coming to town! It's time for CHANGE!No Obamamania from Michigan GOP Chair
By Juliet Eilperin
TAYLOR, Mich. -- Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis has a new nickname for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.): "pet rock."
Speaking to a gathering of GOP stalwarts tonight, Anuzis conceded the presidential hopeful was loveable and popular. But that just makes him, in Anuzis' eyes, "the pet rock of the 2008 campaign."
"At the end of the day, we're going to figure out it's just a rock," Anuzis told the crowd, prompting a few laughs. "He's just another typical liberal senator who wants to be president of the United States."
No telling which Democratic presidential candidate will earn the nickname "Chia Pet" in the days to come.
Same Players. Different Scandal.
List of Private Sector Banks in India
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In one of our previous posts List of Banks in India we had taken a look at all the Banks that operate in India and are registered with RBI to provide Banking Services to the Citizens of India. As you might be aware, banks can be classified into 3 categories: Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks and Foreign Banks. The purpose of this article is to list down the Private Sector or Privately Owned Banks in India.
List of Foreign Owned Banks in India
List of Public Sector Banks in India
In one of our previous posts List of Banks in India we had taken a look at all the Banks that operate in India and are registered with RBI to provide Banking Services to the Citizens of India. As you might be aware, banks can be classified into 3 categories: Public Sector Banks, Private Sector Banks and Foreign Banks. The purpose of this article is to list down the Private Sector or Privately Owned Banks in India.
1. Axis Bank
2. Catholic Syrian Bank
3. City Union Bank
4. Development Credit Bank
5. Dhanalakshmi Bank
6. Federal Bank
7. HDFC Bank
8. ICICI Bank
9. IndusInd Bank
10. ING Vysya Bank
11. Jammu & Kashmir Bank
12. Karnataka Bank Limited
13. Karur Vysya Bank
14. Kotak Mahindra Bank
15. Lakshmi Vilas Bank
16. South Indian Bank
17. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited
18. Yes Bank
List of Foreign Owned Banks in India
List of Public Sector Banks in India
A New Source of Income for Senior Citizens - Reverse Mortgage Loans
To contact us Click HERE
Before we begin, this article is dedicated to all those Senior Citizens who are facing financial hardships in their old age. Dear Grandpa's and Grandma's this article is for you...
This article is about a new source of income that is available for all Senior Citizens who own a house. It is called "Reverse Mortgage". This is a very popular scheme in the United States and has recently been introduced in India.
What is a Reverse Mortgage?
A Reverse Mortgage is similar to a Home Loan with a small difference. Instead of us repaying the bank monthly EMIs the Bank will pay us a Monthly Amount for as long as the Customer (Senior Citizen) is alive. After the demise of the Senior Citizen or end of loan tenure whichever is earlier, the bank will take possession of the house, sell it to collect the amount the customer owed them and pay the remaining to the survivor of the customer.
The great thing about this loan is the fact that, the customer can continue to stay/reside in the property during the loan tenure.
Sounds an Interesting Proposition, doesnt it?
Who can Use this Reverse Mortgage Loan?
Any Senior Citizen who is older than 60 years of age and owns a property in his/her name is eligible to apply for this Reverse Mortgage Loan. The amount we get every month depends on the value of the property we own.
How will this Reverse Mortgage be useful?
Funding their expenses post retirement when there is no regular monthly income is the single biggest concern in India. Especially since we do not have a well-established Social Security kind of System in India. So, citizens are left to fend for themselves. A majority of Senior Citizens in India do not have much savings and are entirely dependent on their children for their survival.
Lack of Financial Independence is something that no elderly individual in our country must go through. But, unfortunately the harsh reality is the fact that almost 80% of the Senior Citizen population in this country are Financial Dependent on their Children and hence all the trouble.
Can We Repay this Reverse Mortgage Loan?
Yes. If the Survivor of the customer or the customer himself wishes to close the loan, they can settle the whole amount due (including the Interest) to the bank and reclaim the property.
Some Terms & Conditions Reg. this Reverse Mortgage Loans
1. Any house owner over 60 years of age is eligible for a Reverse Mortgage
2. The Maximum Amount that can be borrowed is up to 60% of the property value. The Exact amount varies from bank to bank
3. The Maximum period of property mortgage is 15-20 years depending on the Bank
4. The borrower can opt for monthly/quarterly/half yearly/annual or lumpsum payments at any point as per their wish
5. The Bank will conduct a Revaluation of the property once every 5 years
6. The amount received from the bank is considered a Loan and not an Income. So, it is not taxable
7. Banks offer both Fixed & Floating Rate Interest options on the loan. The customer can choose the scheme that suits them best
Banks in India that Offer Reverse Mortgage
Almost all major banks in India offer this scheme. Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India are some of the top names that offer this Scheme.
A Sample Example Calculation
Let us say Mr. Mahesh a senior citizen in my locality owns a Flat in Chennai that is worth 75 lakhs in todays market price. So, he is eligible for a Reverse Mortgage Loan of up to 45 lakhs.
What will be his monthly income if he chooses a Loan Tenure of 10, 15 or 20 years?
For 10 years - Rs. 21,375/- per month (At Rs. 475 per lakh for 45 lakhs)
For 15 years - Rs. 10,340/- per month (At Rs. 230 per lakh for 45 lakhs)
For 20 years - Rs. 5,625/- per month (At Rs. 120 per lakh for 45 lakhs)
Does this Scheme have any Negatives?
As pointed out by one of our blog readers Mr. MN, this scheme too has a drawback.
If the borrower outlives the loan duration, the bank will still take possession of the house and try to sell it to collect the money the borrower owes them. So, this is something every senior citizen must keep in mind before signing up for this loan.
Verdict:
Our beloved Senior Citizens have worked for more than 40 years of their lives to support their children. Post retirement, they must not have to face financial hardships just because they arent earning. Schemes like this Reverse Mortgage are a boon to these people to meet their monthly cash requirements. Even in todays cost of living 10,000 rupees is a significant amount of money that should be sufficient to meet the cash requirement of two people who have no Rental commitments to pay.
All in all, this is an excellent proposition for all Senior Citizens who are looking for a second source of Income.
Before we begin, this article is dedicated to all those Senior Citizens who are facing financial hardships in their old age. Dear Grandpa's and Grandma's this article is for you...
This article is about a new source of income that is available for all Senior Citizens who own a house. It is called "Reverse Mortgage". This is a very popular scheme in the United States and has recently been introduced in India.
What is a Reverse Mortgage?
A Reverse Mortgage is similar to a Home Loan with a small difference. Instead of us repaying the bank monthly EMIs the Bank will pay us a Monthly Amount for as long as the Customer (Senior Citizen) is alive. After the demise of the Senior Citizen or end of loan tenure whichever is earlier, the bank will take possession of the house, sell it to collect the amount the customer owed them and pay the remaining to the survivor of the customer.
The great thing about this loan is the fact that, the customer can continue to stay/reside in the property during the loan tenure.
Sounds an Interesting Proposition, doesnt it?
Who can Use this Reverse Mortgage Loan?
Any Senior Citizen who is older than 60 years of age and owns a property in his/her name is eligible to apply for this Reverse Mortgage Loan. The amount we get every month depends on the value of the property we own.
How will this Reverse Mortgage be useful?
Funding their expenses post retirement when there is no regular monthly income is the single biggest concern in India. Especially since we do not have a well-established Social Security kind of System in India. So, citizens are left to fend for themselves. A majority of Senior Citizens in India do not have much savings and are entirely dependent on their children for their survival.
Lack of Financial Independence is something that no elderly individual in our country must go through. But, unfortunately the harsh reality is the fact that almost 80% of the Senior Citizen population in this country are Financial Dependent on their Children and hence all the trouble.
Can We Repay this Reverse Mortgage Loan?
Yes. If the Survivor of the customer or the customer himself wishes to close the loan, they can settle the whole amount due (including the Interest) to the bank and reclaim the property.
Some Terms & Conditions Reg. this Reverse Mortgage Loans
1. Any house owner over 60 years of age is eligible for a Reverse Mortgage
2. The Maximum Amount that can be borrowed is up to 60% of the property value. The Exact amount varies from bank to bank
3. The Maximum period of property mortgage is 15-20 years depending on the Bank
4. The borrower can opt for monthly/quarterly/half yearly/annual or lumpsum payments at any point as per their wish
5. The Bank will conduct a Revaluation of the property once every 5 years
6. The amount received from the bank is considered a Loan and not an Income. So, it is not taxable
7. Banks offer both Fixed & Floating Rate Interest options on the loan. The customer can choose the scheme that suits them best
Banks in India that Offer Reverse Mortgage
Almost all major banks in India offer this scheme. Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India are some of the top names that offer this Scheme.
A Sample Example Calculation
Let us say Mr. Mahesh a senior citizen in my locality owns a Flat in Chennai that is worth 75 lakhs in todays market price. So, he is eligible for a Reverse Mortgage Loan of up to 45 lakhs.
What will be his monthly income if he chooses a Loan Tenure of 10, 15 or 20 years?
For 10 years - Rs. 21,375/- per month (At Rs. 475 per lakh for 45 lakhs)
For 15 years - Rs. 10,340/- per month (At Rs. 230 per lakh for 45 lakhs)
For 20 years - Rs. 5,625/- per month (At Rs. 120 per lakh for 45 lakhs)
Does this Scheme have any Negatives?
As pointed out by one of our blog readers Mr. MN, this scheme too has a drawback.
If the borrower outlives the loan duration, the bank will still take possession of the house and try to sell it to collect the money the borrower owes them. So, this is something every senior citizen must keep in mind before signing up for this loan.
Verdict:
Our beloved Senior Citizens have worked for more than 40 years of their lives to support their children. Post retirement, they must not have to face financial hardships just because they arent earning. Schemes like this Reverse Mortgage are a boon to these people to meet their monthly cash requirements. Even in todays cost of living 10,000 rupees is a significant amount of money that should be sufficient to meet the cash requirement of two people who have no Rental commitments to pay.
All in all, this is an excellent proposition for all Senior Citizens who are looking for a second source of Income.
A Humble Request: Not many people know about this Reverse Mortgage Scheme. It would be a good idea to share this information with all your friends so that they can pass on this valuable piece of information to help out the needy Senior Citizen population of our country. If even 100 Senior Citizens of our country benefit out of learning about Reverse Mortgage Scheme by reading this blog, I would consider it a fantastic success... Best Wishes!!!
Should the Government of India Bailout Air India
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This is probably the most discussed topics in social and economic forums in India including the Indian Parliament. Recently the Government of India has announced a bailout package worth 30,000 crores of rupees over the next 9 years which begins with an immediate bailout package of Rs. 6,750 crores. This article is going to be my take on “Should the Government of India bailout Air India” from its current financial mess…
About Air India
Air India is India’s National Carrier and this is something you know already. If you read my previous article on “What is wrong with Air India” you would also know that Air India is in dire financial situation. Poor Management Decisions, with careless staff performance and inferior customer service, India’s National Carrier is on the verge of a painful collapse. We also covered in great detail about some of the reasons which I feel have contributed to Air India’s current state of affairs.
What is a Bailout?
Do you know what a Bailout is? The first article in my blog was about this. A bailout in economic parlance is a financial aid that helps someone or some organization prevent declaring bankruptcy.
Government of India’s Bailout package for Air India in 2012
Last month, the Government of India has announced a bailout package worth 30,000 crores over the next 9 years. There will be an immediate cash influx of 6,750 crores which Air India is going to utilize for its day to day working capital cash requirements.
30,000 CRORES – A lottt of money – Isn’t it??
Is this the first Bailout Package received by Air India?
Do you want to make a blind guess and say “I don’t think so”???
If you did, you were 100% correct my friend. This is not the first and most probably not the last bailout package the ailing Indian National Carrier from the Government of India.
Actually speaking – this is the 4th bailout package that Air India is receiving from the Indian Government. The details are:
What is the Justification for this Bailout?
The Proposed Justifications on the part of both Air India & the Indian Government for this massive bailout package are:
Where does this Bailout Money come from?
Where else – From our Taxes. The Tax Money paid by the citizens of India is being spent to bailout Air India.
Do I think this Bailout is going to work?
From my Heart I want this Bailout to work. Air India performing in such a poor manner hurts the image of India across the globe.
From my Brain – I don’t think that this Bailout will work.
Reasons:
Do I need to say more???
Should the Government Bailout Air India?
What can the Government Do to Fix the Situation?
Well, this one is easy. The government can do either or all of the below:
1. Sell the Airline to a Private Player – This means a private company is going to own the airline and unless the management & staff of Air India are going to mend their erroneous ways, the new owner is going to kick their rear ends to get them to work. If I were to invest thousands of Crores to buy this airline, will I allow the staff to be as lethargic and careless towards customers as they are now?
2. Tighten the Noose around the Top Management of Air India – The Government must set performance targets and guidelines which must be like – Increase Operating Profit for 10% in the next 12 months, Increase Customer Satisfaction index to at least 6 out of 10 in the next 12 months and so on… If you cannot meet all these targets in the next 18 months (with a buffer of 6 months) we will sell the airline to a private player or shutdown the services. None of you will have your jobs if you fail to perform.
This sounds pretty harsh but unfortunately spending thousands of crores of public money on the airline which is continuing to perform poorly is a waste of time and this money could rather be spent on useful causes to help the common man who is paying this tax money
Hope things take a turn for the better in Air India!!!
This is probably the most discussed topics in social and economic forums in India including the Indian Parliament. Recently the Government of India has announced a bailout package worth 30,000 crores of rupees over the next 9 years which begins with an immediate bailout package of Rs. 6,750 crores. This article is going to be my take on “Should the Government of India bailout Air India” from its current financial mess…
About Air India
Air India is India’s National Carrier and this is something you know already. If you read my previous article on “What is wrong with Air India” you would also know that Air India is in dire financial situation. Poor Management Decisions, with careless staff performance and inferior customer service, India’s National Carrier is on the verge of a painful collapse. We also covered in great detail about some of the reasons which I feel have contributed to Air India’s current state of affairs.
What is a Bailout?
Do you know what a Bailout is? The first article in my blog was about this. A bailout in economic parlance is a financial aid that helps someone or some organization prevent declaring bankruptcy.
Government of India’s Bailout package for Air India in 2012
Last month, the Government of India has announced a bailout package worth 30,000 crores over the next 9 years. There will be an immediate cash influx of 6,750 crores which Air India is going to utilize for its day to day working capital cash requirements.
30,000 CRORES – A lottt of money – Isn’t it??
Is this the first Bailout Package received by Air India?
Do you want to make a blind guess and say “I don’t think so”???
If you did, you were 100% correct my friend. This is not the first and most probably not the last bailout package the ailing Indian National Carrier from the Government of India.
Actually speaking – this is the 4th bailout package that Air India is receiving from the Indian Government. The details are:
1. In 2009 the Government Injected Rs. 5500 Crores to keep the airline flying. This was the first bailout
2. In February 2010, the Government funded around 2000 crores
3. In August 2011 the Government gave another 1200 crores to help Air India meet its cash requirements
4. Now in 2012, it has approved an additional 30,000 crores of which 6750 crores will be given immediately
What is the Justification for this Bailout?
The Proposed Justifications on the part of both Air India & the Indian Government for this massive bailout package are:
1. To Meet its working capital requirementsThey claim that, with all this capital infusion and radical management strategies, Air India will become a profit making entity by the year 2018.
2. To Improve Safety Features & Requirements in all its fleet aircrafts
3. To Increase the airlines on-time performance to 90% (It is 71% now which is one of the lowest in the world)
4. To purchase new aircrafts (Boeing Dreamliner’s)
Where does this Bailout Money come from?
Where else – From our Taxes. The Tax Money paid by the citizens of India is being spent to bailout Air India.
Do I think this Bailout is going to work?
From my Heart I want this Bailout to work. Air India performing in such a poor manner hurts the image of India across the globe.
From my Brain – I don’t think that this Bailout will work.
Reasons:
1. The Management is not going to mend its erroneous ways
2. The Staff is not going to mend its careless ways
3. The Government is going to continue to bailout Air India no matter how poorly they perform
Do I need to say more???
Should the Government Bailout Air India?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Definitely NOT. Why must the government spend the tax payer’s money on a lost cause? Does this bailout package include any performance based clauses? Will the government pull the plug if Air India is going to continue to make losses? Of course not. So, as long as they are going to get paid their salaries & get bailouts every one or two years to cover for their losses, I don’t think the Air India Management will even take half-hearted steps to revive the airline.What can the Government Do to Fix the Situation?
Well, this one is easy. The government can do either or all of the below:
1. Sell the Airline to a Private Player – This means a private company is going to own the airline and unless the management & staff of Air India are going to mend their erroneous ways, the new owner is going to kick their rear ends to get them to work. If I were to invest thousands of Crores to buy this airline, will I allow the staff to be as lethargic and careless towards customers as they are now?
2. Tighten the Noose around the Top Management of Air India – The Government must set performance targets and guidelines which must be like – Increase Operating Profit for 10% in the next 12 months, Increase Customer Satisfaction index to at least 6 out of 10 in the next 12 months and so on… If you cannot meet all these targets in the next 18 months (with a buffer of 6 months) we will sell the airline to a private player or shutdown the services. None of you will have your jobs if you fail to perform.
This sounds pretty harsh but unfortunately spending thousands of crores of public money on the airline which is continuing to perform poorly is a waste of time and this money could rather be spent on useful causes to help the common man who is paying this tax money
Hope things take a turn for the better in Air India!!!
8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar
Idaho House State Affairs Committee Prints Bill To Prohibit Camping At Capitol
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Occupy Boise has been camped out for several months at the old Ada County Courthouse, which is now part of the Idaho state capitol mall. Rep. Scott Bedke presented a bill to prohibit camping on state grounds, but excepting lands normally designated for camping by State Parks and Rec. Rep. Lynn Luker indicated that this was an issue that should have a public hearing, and made a motion to print the bill with a language change to clarify who is authorized to dispose of personal property left in violation of the proposed prohibition. The motion passed with one dissent by Democrat Phylis King.
http://chumly.com/n/f9a79f
http://chumly.com/n/f9a79f
Idaho House Local Government Committee Prints Home Owner Exemption Bill
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Representative Lynn Luker (R) presented a bill to protect home owners from loosing their homestead tax exemption while they serve in the military or are temporarily away from home providing humanitarian or religious service. The committee voted unanimously to print the bill, which will be set for a public hearing at a later date. One of Representative Luker's constituents lost his exemption while away temporarily serving in the Peace Corps. Reports from other home owners with like experiences have surfaced. Last year a similar bill sponsored by Rep. Luker passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
http://chumly.com/n/fa028e
http://chumly.com/n/fa028e
Bill Preserving Home Owner Tax Exemption For Military And Service Volunteers Moves Forward
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Public hearing on HB 387 sponsored by Rep. Lynn Luker was held in the House Revenue and Tax Committee on Wednesday. The bill was favorably received, but was sent to the amending order for some technical changes. The bill seeks to ensure that Idaho home owners may keep their primary residence tax exemption while away serving in the military, or providing humanitarian or religious service. Once prepared, the amendments will be presented on the House floor, and then the full bill considered by the House.
http://chumly.com/n/fdfe8f
http://chumly.com/n/fdfe8f
Idaho Scholarship Bill HB 386 Called Back After Problem Flagged By Rep. Luker
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Yesterday, Feb 6, the Idaho House passed amendments to a scholarship program over the objection of Rep. Lynn Luker, who stated that the bill appeared to require funding though supplement appropriations each year rather than funding up front. Although the bill passed 61-8, Rep. Dennis Lake late gave notice of intent to reconsider the bill. Today, Feb7, the reconsideration request was made, and the bill was called back and send to the amending order to correct the problem.
http://chumly.com/n/105fac6
http://chumly.com/n/105fac6
Rep. Luker Introduces Bill To Exempt Current Military and Veterans From Hunter's Education
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If it seems strange that past and present members of the armed forces are required to pass a hunter's education course before obtaining an Idaho hunting license, Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, thought so too. Today he introduced a bill before the House Resources and Conservation Committee to exempt current members of the military and veterans from the hunters ed requirement. The committee voted unanimously to print the bill and put it on course for a public hearing.
http://chumly.com/n/10658aa
http://chumly.com/n/10658aa
7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi
Keeping Automobile Insurance Premiums in Check
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Do you own a bike or a car? If so, you would’ve definitely purchased some sort of Motor Insurance on your vehicle. How did you purchase that Insurance? The dealer from whom you bought your bike/car had tie-ups with some XYZ Insurance Co and added the policy by default to the on-road price of your vehicle. Dint he? And from the subsequent year, you just paid the policy renewal premium amount that was sent to you by the Insurance Co without spending much time on this whole Vehicle Insurance fiasco…
If this is what happened to you, you must definitely read this post which will help you bring down your Automobile Insurance Premium.
What is Automobile Insurance?
Well, you all know what this is. In the event of any accident, the Insurance Company will pay for the damages & repair to your vehicle. Also, if you had third-party insurance, the Insurance Co will also pay the accident victim. For this facility, you pay an annual premium depending on the car you own. Owners of high-end luxury cars like a BMW or a Mercedes usually pay annual premiums that workout to approximately the price of a small hatchback :-). Nonetheless, the price of your car plays a big role in the annual insurance premium you pay. Irrespective of the car you own, the following ideas will help bring down your Insurance Cost…
Idea No. 1 – Buy only what is required by Law
As per the Indian motor vehicle regulations, there are certain minimum insurance requirements you need to purchase. There is a Mandatory Limited Liability requirement which every vehicle owner must purchase. Obviously you could buy a higher cover but this will also drive up your annual insurance premium. So, keeping all the liability requirements to the mandatory minimum will keep your premium amount to the minimum levels as well.
Idea No. 2 – Drive Safely
There is no better idea than this. Every year that passes by, where the customer does not make any claims on the insurance policy, he is eligible for a No-Claims Bonus or NCB. NCB will help reduce your annual premium by around 10 to 20% if you are a safe driver and haven’t made any claims in the previous year. For ex: If your annual insurance premium was Rs. 10,000/- last year and you did not make any claims, in all probabilities, the renewal premium amount this year will be around Rs. 8,000/- to Rs. 9,000/- because of the No-Claims Bonus.
An important point to note here is that, this NCB amount differs from one Insurance Company to another. As a general average, you can expect your premium to go down in the range of 10-20% every year if you don’t make any claims against your Insurance Policy.
Idea No. 3 – Opt for a Higher Deductible
The Deductible amount here is the amount you will pay towards the vehicle repair. For ex: let’s say you opt to pay 20% of the cost in case your vehicle meets with an accident, the Insurance company will have to pay only the remaining 80% which means lesser liability for them and hence lesser premiums for you. A point to note here is that depending on the Insurer, this deductible amount you can choose will vary. Always try to go for the higher deductible if you are confident of your driving skills. 5 years of accident free driving will save you more than enough money to fund the 20% cost of your vehicles repair if it happens. So, follow Idea 2 and drive safely and follow Idea 3 to bring down your insurance premium considerably
Idea No. 4 – Don’t buy unnecessary Add-On Covers
These Insurance Agents try to sell you almost anything and everything you just don’t need. When I was buying the Insurance Policy for my car, the Insurance agent was giving me add-on covers like hospital cash, emergency roadside assistance and so on.
Do you think he is going to give these things for free? Absolutely NOT. He is going to charge me additional premium for all these facilities. Here for ex: My Car Dealer offered free road-side emergency assistance for the first 5 years on the model of car I bought. So, taking this emergency roadside assistance add-on was overkill for me. I had medical insurance and they will take care of my cash requirements in the event of an unfortunate injury. So, the hospital cash add-on too was overkill for me. By avoiding these add-ons I avoided paying a few hundred bucks extra as premium.
So, think carefully before selecting these Add-on covers. Buy only what you need. Remember Idea No. 1?
Idea No. 5 – Install an Anti-Theft device approved by the ARAI (Automobile Research Association of India) in your vehicle
Most Insurers offer a small discount on the Insurance Premium if you have installed an anti-theft device approved by the ARAI. Not only is this device going to help you in the event of your vehicle being stolen, it will also help reduce your yearly premium as well. So, check if your Insurer offers this benefit and if so use it. Otherwise, go ahead and install the device and switch over to an Insurer who offers you this discount.
Idea No. 6 – Try to Buy your Policy Online
Online Policy Purchases are usually cheaper than in-person purchases because, the Insurer doesn’t have to pay any fee/commission to the Insurance Agent/Salesman. In turn, they pass on this saving to the customer by means of a lower premium.
But, an important point to note here is that, while buying online, make sure you read every single detail reg. the policy. Going behind lower premiums, we wouldn’t want any surprises in the unfortunate event of our vehicle meeting with an accident
Idea No. 7 – Don’t Rush to Make Claims
I know certain people prefer to make Claims against their Insurance policy even for minor damages on their vehicles. For ex: My colleague had parked his car just beside a Coconut Tree in a Restaurant in East Coast Road in Chennai during one of our Project Party outings. A coconut fell on his car bonnet and caused a dent. It was a simple accident and my friend had to shell out Rs. 1000/- to fix the dent on his car. He filed an Insurance Claim along with all necessary documentary proof and claimed Rs. 900/- after the 10% deductible and was boasting about it. His rationale was, “Why am I paying Rs. 25,000/- as premium every year on this car? Let the Insurer pay at least this 1000 rupees”
What did he do wrong here?
Do you remember Idea No. 2 about driving safely and the No Claims Bonus? Since my colleague made a claim of Rs. 1,000/- he will not be eligible for the No Claims Bonus this year. Assuming he hadn’t claimed this 1,000 rupees he would’ve been eligible for the NCB. Assuming a minimum 10% premium reduction (Actual might be even more) he would have saved Rs. 2,500/- in next year’s premium. By claiming this Rs. 1,000/- he missed out on saving Rs. 2,500/- in annual premium.
Which option would’ve been wiser? Claiming Rs. 1,000/- or Saving Rs. 2,500/- in insurance premium? I would go with option 2 and am sure so will you…
Idea No. 8 – Always Renew Your Policy on Time
Most Insurance Cos will let your policy lapse if you do not pay your policy renewal premium within a certain no. of days after the policy’s expiry date. If the policy lapses, you will be asked to go for a fresh policy which will cost you more than what it would if you renewed your policy.
A couple of years back, I forgot to renew my bike’s insurance policy. The previous year my premium was Rs. 850/- and I got a letter than this year’s premium was Rs. 700/- after the NCB. I thought of taking care of it later and totally forgot about it. The due date passed and the policy lapsed. The Insurer forced me to buy a new policy as my earlier policy lapsed and I had to pay him Rs. 800/- for the same policy. I had to pay Rs. 100/- extra because this was a new policy and not a policy renewal. Had I been more careful, I would’ve saved this extra 100 rupees. Though 100 rupees might sound like a small amount, imagine the loss if I owned a Car instead of a Bike and my premium was Rs. 8,500/- instead of Rs. 850/-
Hope you will use all these ideas to reduce your Automobile Insurance Premium…
Happy Insuring Your Vehicles!!!
Do you own a bike or a car? If so, you would’ve definitely purchased some sort of Motor Insurance on your vehicle. How did you purchase that Insurance? The dealer from whom you bought your bike/car had tie-ups with some XYZ Insurance Co and added the policy by default to the on-road price of your vehicle. Dint he? And from the subsequent year, you just paid the policy renewal premium amount that was sent to you by the Insurance Co without spending much time on this whole Vehicle Insurance fiasco…
If this is what happened to you, you must definitely read this post which will help you bring down your Automobile Insurance Premium.
What is Automobile Insurance?
Well, you all know what this is. In the event of any accident, the Insurance Company will pay for the damages & repair to your vehicle. Also, if you had third-party insurance, the Insurance Co will also pay the accident victim. For this facility, you pay an annual premium depending on the car you own. Owners of high-end luxury cars like a BMW or a Mercedes usually pay annual premiums that workout to approximately the price of a small hatchback :-). Nonetheless, the price of your car plays a big role in the annual insurance premium you pay. Irrespective of the car you own, the following ideas will help bring down your Insurance Cost…
Idea No. 1 – Buy only what is required by Law
As per the Indian motor vehicle regulations, there are certain minimum insurance requirements you need to purchase. There is a Mandatory Limited Liability requirement which every vehicle owner must purchase. Obviously you could buy a higher cover but this will also drive up your annual insurance premium. So, keeping all the liability requirements to the mandatory minimum will keep your premium amount to the minimum levels as well.
Idea No. 2 – Drive Safely
There is no better idea than this. Every year that passes by, where the customer does not make any claims on the insurance policy, he is eligible for a No-Claims Bonus or NCB. NCB will help reduce your annual premium by around 10 to 20% if you are a safe driver and haven’t made any claims in the previous year. For ex: If your annual insurance premium was Rs. 10,000/- last year and you did not make any claims, in all probabilities, the renewal premium amount this year will be around Rs. 8,000/- to Rs. 9,000/- because of the No-Claims Bonus.
An important point to note here is that, this NCB amount differs from one Insurance Company to another. As a general average, you can expect your premium to go down in the range of 10-20% every year if you don’t make any claims against your Insurance Policy.
Idea No. 3 – Opt for a Higher Deductible
The Deductible amount here is the amount you will pay towards the vehicle repair. For ex: let’s say you opt to pay 20% of the cost in case your vehicle meets with an accident, the Insurance company will have to pay only the remaining 80% which means lesser liability for them and hence lesser premiums for you. A point to note here is that depending on the Insurer, this deductible amount you can choose will vary. Always try to go for the higher deductible if you are confident of your driving skills. 5 years of accident free driving will save you more than enough money to fund the 20% cost of your vehicles repair if it happens. So, follow Idea 2 and drive safely and follow Idea 3 to bring down your insurance premium considerably
Idea No. 4 – Don’t buy unnecessary Add-On Covers
These Insurance Agents try to sell you almost anything and everything you just don’t need. When I was buying the Insurance Policy for my car, the Insurance agent was giving me add-on covers like hospital cash, emergency roadside assistance and so on.
Do you think he is going to give these things for free? Absolutely NOT. He is going to charge me additional premium for all these facilities. Here for ex: My Car Dealer offered free road-side emergency assistance for the first 5 years on the model of car I bought. So, taking this emergency roadside assistance add-on was overkill for me. I had medical insurance and they will take care of my cash requirements in the event of an unfortunate injury. So, the hospital cash add-on too was overkill for me. By avoiding these add-ons I avoided paying a few hundred bucks extra as premium.
So, think carefully before selecting these Add-on covers. Buy only what you need. Remember Idea No. 1?
Idea No. 5 – Install an Anti-Theft device approved by the ARAI (Automobile Research Association of India) in your vehicle
Most Insurers offer a small discount on the Insurance Premium if you have installed an anti-theft device approved by the ARAI. Not only is this device going to help you in the event of your vehicle being stolen, it will also help reduce your yearly premium as well. So, check if your Insurer offers this benefit and if so use it. Otherwise, go ahead and install the device and switch over to an Insurer who offers you this discount.
Idea No. 6 – Try to Buy your Policy Online
Online Policy Purchases are usually cheaper than in-person purchases because, the Insurer doesn’t have to pay any fee/commission to the Insurance Agent/Salesman. In turn, they pass on this saving to the customer by means of a lower premium.
But, an important point to note here is that, while buying online, make sure you read every single detail reg. the policy. Going behind lower premiums, we wouldn’t want any surprises in the unfortunate event of our vehicle meeting with an accident
Idea No. 7 – Don’t Rush to Make Claims
I know certain people prefer to make Claims against their Insurance policy even for minor damages on their vehicles. For ex: My colleague had parked his car just beside a Coconut Tree in a Restaurant in East Coast Road in Chennai during one of our Project Party outings. A coconut fell on his car bonnet and caused a dent. It was a simple accident and my friend had to shell out Rs. 1000/- to fix the dent on his car. He filed an Insurance Claim along with all necessary documentary proof and claimed Rs. 900/- after the 10% deductible and was boasting about it. His rationale was, “Why am I paying Rs. 25,000/- as premium every year on this car? Let the Insurer pay at least this 1000 rupees”
What did he do wrong here?
Do you remember Idea No. 2 about driving safely and the No Claims Bonus? Since my colleague made a claim of Rs. 1,000/- he will not be eligible for the No Claims Bonus this year. Assuming he hadn’t claimed this 1,000 rupees he would’ve been eligible for the NCB. Assuming a minimum 10% premium reduction (Actual might be even more) he would have saved Rs. 2,500/- in next year’s premium. By claiming this Rs. 1,000/- he missed out on saving Rs. 2,500/- in annual premium.
Which option would’ve been wiser? Claiming Rs. 1,000/- or Saving Rs. 2,500/- in insurance premium? I would go with option 2 and am sure so will you…
Idea No. 8 – Always Renew Your Policy on Time
Most Insurance Cos will let your policy lapse if you do not pay your policy renewal premium within a certain no. of days after the policy’s expiry date. If the policy lapses, you will be asked to go for a fresh policy which will cost you more than what it would if you renewed your policy.
A couple of years back, I forgot to renew my bike’s insurance policy. The previous year my premium was Rs. 850/- and I got a letter than this year’s premium was Rs. 700/- after the NCB. I thought of taking care of it later and totally forgot about it. The due date passed and the policy lapsed. The Insurer forced me to buy a new policy as my earlier policy lapsed and I had to pay him Rs. 800/- for the same policy. I had to pay Rs. 100/- extra because this was a new policy and not a policy renewal. Had I been more careful, I would’ve saved this extra 100 rupees. Though 100 rupees might sound like a small amount, imagine the loss if I owned a Car instead of a Bike and my premium was Rs. 8,500/- instead of Rs. 850/-
Hope you will use all these ideas to reduce your Automobile Insurance Premium…
Happy Insuring Your Vehicles!!!
Should you Exit your ULIPs Now?
To contact us Click HERE
The title is a Million Dollar question isn’t it? The economic uncertainty in the Euro Zone and USA has affected the Stock Markets worldwide. Markets like India which attract a significant portion of foreign investors are highly sensitive to cash inflows & outflows from the markets. The past 2-3 years have been very strenuous on the Indian Stock Markets. We have witnessed multiple corrections & dips along with a few bursts of growth as well. At this Juncture, many of you, who had bought ULIPs in the past few years, might be wondering what to do with these products. Are you one of them? If so, this article is just for you…
Should you Exit your ULIPs now?
Well, this questions can’t be answered in a simple Yes or No across the board. We are going to split our investor population into two groups and answer this question depending on the situation they are in.
Category 1 – ULIP is less than 5 years old
These are the relatively new investors who have been investing in ULIPs only in the past few years. ULIPs as you might be aware are long term investment options and they also include high fees & charges during the first 2 – 3 years of its life. So, even if the stock market performs very well, a well-managed ULIP will reach the break-even point only around the 5 year mark. For ex: If you were investing 1 lakh every year, in all probabilities your investment will be worth around 5-6 lakhs by the end of 5 years even if the ULIP is performing exceptionally well.
In the last couple of years, the market has witnessed severe corrections and hence the value of your investment right now will be at least 10 to 20% or more lesser than what you had invested.
Moreover, Insurance Cos charge penalties if we withdraw our investments within the first 5 years (3 or 7 in some cases). So, at this point when the market is very volatile, exiting the investment would mean incurring losses. It would be advisable to stay invested and continue for at least a few more years and then reconsider your decision when your investment is 7 years old.
A 1 lakh investment every year will be worth the following amounts if it were to grow at different rate: (Invested Amount = 7 lakhs)
As you can see, if your investment grows at an average of 6% p.a rate of interest for those 7 years it will be worth 8.9 lakhs.
If you are in need of the money and your investment has grown by at least 6% on an average, it would be a good idea to exit the investment. But, until then, staying invested would be the best way to go.
Category 2 – ULIPs are More than 5 years Old
These are the Seasoned Investors who have been investing regularly for more than 5 years and by now are sitting on a handsome corpus (Assuming that their ULIP scheme has performed well). They have most probably crossed the mandatory holding period and can exit the investment anytime they want.
In the current market scenario exiting would make sense if:
1. You have some plans for the money you will get – Either to spend it on some cause (like children’s education, buying a home etc.) or to invest in some other instrument (like Bank FDs, PPF etc.)
2. Your Investment has grown at at least 6-8% or more on an average
Let’s take the same example where we invest 1 lakh every year. If our investment were to grow at 8% per annum it will be worth the following amounts:
What about cases where we have crossed 5 years but the Investment isn’t worth even the amount we invested?
Did you think about asking me this??
Well, if so, the answer is – Stay Invested but do not make any fresh investments. Let’s say you have invested 1 lakh each year for 7 years and your ULIPs value right now is 6.5 lakhs, then don’t exit right now. You are at a loss of 50k and there is no point in exiting at a loss. So, you can do the following:
A General Suggestion to all ULIP Investors
Irrespective of which category you fall into, whether you want to exit your investment or stay invested, whether you are going to make fresh investment contributions or not, the following suggestion will have a big impact on your funds risk/return ratio.
Most ULIPs give you options to switch between various investment options. At the given market scenario, being heavily exposed to the stock market is not a good idea. At the same time, too little exposure would be bad too because the market is sure to rebound and if you are in defensive mode when the market gets back on its feet, you will not get the growth or returns you want.
Switch Over to a Balanced Fund Option that invests equally in both Equities & Debt Instruments.
So, go for a Balanced fund option that invests around 50% or so in Equities and Debt Instruments. This way, at least 50% of your corpus is set up to be safe and the remaining 50% can help you attain good returns once the market recovers.
Happy Investing!!!
The title is a Million Dollar question isn’t it? The economic uncertainty in the Euro Zone and USA has affected the Stock Markets worldwide. Markets like India which attract a significant portion of foreign investors are highly sensitive to cash inflows & outflows from the markets. The past 2-3 years have been very strenuous on the Indian Stock Markets. We have witnessed multiple corrections & dips along with a few bursts of growth as well. At this Juncture, many of you, who had bought ULIPs in the past few years, might be wondering what to do with these products. Are you one of them? If so, this article is just for you…
Should you Exit your ULIPs now?
Well, this questions can’t be answered in a simple Yes or No across the board. We are going to split our investor population into two groups and answer this question depending on the situation they are in.
Category 1 – ULIP is less than 5 years old
These are the relatively new investors who have been investing in ULIPs only in the past few years. ULIPs as you might be aware are long term investment options and they also include high fees & charges during the first 2 – 3 years of its life. So, even if the stock market performs very well, a well-managed ULIP will reach the break-even point only around the 5 year mark. For ex: If you were investing 1 lakh every year, in all probabilities your investment will be worth around 5-6 lakhs by the end of 5 years even if the ULIP is performing exceptionally well.
In the last couple of years, the market has witnessed severe corrections and hence the value of your investment right now will be at least 10 to 20% or more lesser than what you had invested.
Moreover, Insurance Cos charge penalties if we withdraw our investments within the first 5 years (3 or 7 in some cases). So, at this point when the market is very volatile, exiting the investment would mean incurring losses. It would be advisable to stay invested and continue for at least a few more years and then reconsider your decision when your investment is 7 years old.
A 1 lakh investment every year will be worth the following amounts if it were to grow at different rate: (Invested Amount = 7 lakhs)
1. Growth @ 5% p.a = 8.5 lakhs
2. Growth @ 6% p.a = 8.9 lakhs
3. Growth @ 8% p.a = 9.6 lakhs
As you can see, if your investment grows at an average of 6% p.a rate of interest for those 7 years it will be worth 8.9 lakhs.
If you are in need of the money and your investment has grown by at least 6% on an average, it would be a good idea to exit the investment. But, until then, staying invested would be the best way to go.
Category 2 – ULIPs are More than 5 years Old
These are the Seasoned Investors who have been investing regularly for more than 5 years and by now are sitting on a handsome corpus (Assuming that their ULIP scheme has performed well). They have most probably crossed the mandatory holding period and can exit the investment anytime they want.
In the current market scenario exiting would make sense if:
1. You have some plans for the money you will get – Either to spend it on some cause (like children’s education, buying a home etc.) or to invest in some other instrument (like Bank FDs, PPF etc.)
2. Your Investment has grown at at least 6-8% or more on an average
Let’s take the same example where we invest 1 lakh every year. If our investment were to grow at 8% per annum it will be worth the following amounts:
a. At the end of year 6 = 7.9 lakhs (Investment = 6 lakhs)So, if your investment has grown to approximately the amounts mentioned above, it would be a good idea to exit the investment right now. If your investment has only grown to be less than this, then the judgement call is yours. You can decide to exit the fund based on the current returns it has offered or opt to stay invested.
b. At the end of year 7 = 9.6 lakhs (Investment = 7 lakhs)
c. At the end of year 8 = 11.4 lakhs (Investment = 8 lakhs)
d. At the end of year 9 = 13.4 lakhs (Investment = 9 lakhs)
e. At the end of year 10 = 15.6 lakhs (Investment = 10 lakhs)
What about cases where we have crossed 5 years but the Investment isn’t worth even the amount we invested?
Did you think about asking me this??
Well, if so, the answer is – Stay Invested but do not make any fresh investments. Let’s say you have invested 1 lakh each year for 7 years and your ULIPs value right now is 6.5 lakhs, then don’t exit right now. You are at a loss of 50k and there is no point in exiting at a loss. So, you can do the following:
1. Stop making fresh investment contributions. Let us now add more money on a fund that hasn’t performed so well in the past 7 years or so
2. Don’t exit the fund. Let the investment of 7 lakhs stay as it is.
3. Switch your units to a Balanced option that invests equally (around 50%) in both Equities & Debt instruments to cushion & minimize further losses
4. Keep track of the ULIPs performance on a regular basis – say every month. Wait for the time when your investment breaks-even.
5. Give the fund another 6 months to 1 year to generate returns for you and the moment your investment is grown by at least 7-8% on a year-on-year basis exit the investment
A General Suggestion to all ULIP Investors
Irrespective of which category you fall into, whether you want to exit your investment or stay invested, whether you are going to make fresh investment contributions or not, the following suggestion will have a big impact on your funds risk/return ratio.
Most ULIPs give you options to switch between various investment options. At the given market scenario, being heavily exposed to the stock market is not a good idea. At the same time, too little exposure would be bad too because the market is sure to rebound and if you are in defensive mode when the market gets back on its feet, you will not get the growth or returns you want.
Switch Over to a Balanced Fund Option that invests equally in both Equities & Debt Instruments.
So, go for a Balanced fund option that invests around 50% or so in Equities and Debt Instruments. This way, at least 50% of your corpus is set up to be safe and the remaining 50% can help you attain good returns once the market recovers.
Happy Investing!!!
Is It a Good Idea to go for a Medical Check Up before taking a Life Insurance Policy?
To contact us Click HERE
Have you ever taken a life insurance policy? If you have, then you must have invariably heard these words from your Insurance Agent “Sir, if you take a policy for less than 10 lakhs, there is no need for a medical check-up and so, it is easier and faster for you”
Have you heard these words? If so, this article is just for you…
What is a Medical Check-Up for an Insurance Policy?
A Medical Check-up while taking an Insurance Policy is just another medical check-up that is done by a doctor authorized by the Insurance Company to ensure that you are hale & healthy at the time of taking the life insurance policy. This is usually mandatory for high value policies because, for the Insurance Company, selling this policy is a business and they don’t want to shell out huge sums of money as compensation when an unhealthy individual takes a policy and dies soon after. So, they take the cautious approach and have a doctor examine your physical health before they actually give you the policy.
Is taking this Medical Check-up a good idea?
Of Course yes. Do you remember the earlier articles I have written on Life Insurance? I have always suggested that we be insured for at least 5 or even preferably 10 times what our annual income is so that our family does not encounter any financial hardships in our absence. So, if you want to ensure your families wellbeing and take a policy that is adequate, going for this Medical Check-up might not be an option but a Mandatory Requirement.
Most importantly, if anything unfortunate happens to us after a few years, proof that we were healthy at the time of signing up for the policy will come in very handy during the Claim Settlement and there will be minimal delays in money reaching our family.
Why do Insurance Agents Say Such a Thing?
What else did you expect???
So, to avoid spending money out of their pocket and to ensure that they get paid for the policy they sold us, agents advise customers against taking policies for large amounts.
What is the Alternative Agents Advise us?
If our health check comes up with some issues, the Insurance Co will most probably reject our policy and in turn reject the commission to the Agent. So, to ensure that they get paid on the policy sale, they try to convince us that taking multiple policies is a better idea than taking one single policy.
Actually speaking, let’s say you have 3 policies worth 10 lakh each instead of one policy for 30 lakhs, in all probabilities, the claim settlement will get delayed because, from the Insurance cos perspective, the amount they are going to settle to our survivors is the same. If they club up all these policies and see that there has been no medical check-up done at the time of policy sale, they might delay the claim settlement. The whole purpose of us taking these policies will be defeated if our wife or children can’t have access to the funds after our time. Doesn’t it?
Verdict
As I have said numerous times in the past, including articles like "I will not blindly trust my Insurance or Investment Advisor" always be cautious and careful while buying Insurance Policies. Most of these insurance agents are devious fellows who are more concerned about making a quick buck at our expense than actually selling us a good insurance product.
So, be cautious and do what is best for you and your family. After all, we are taking these insurance policies to ensure the well-being of our family after we are gone. Isn’t it? So, we must ensure that this main purpose of taking the insurance policy isn’t defeated at any cost and for any reason.
Happy Insuring Yourselves!!!
Have you ever taken a life insurance policy? If you have, then you must have invariably heard these words from your Insurance Agent “Sir, if you take a policy for less than 10 lakhs, there is no need for a medical check-up and so, it is easier and faster for you”
Have you heard these words? If so, this article is just for you…
What is a Medical Check-Up for an Insurance Policy?
A Medical Check-up while taking an Insurance Policy is just another medical check-up that is done by a doctor authorized by the Insurance Company to ensure that you are hale & healthy at the time of taking the life insurance policy. This is usually mandatory for high value policies because, for the Insurance Company, selling this policy is a business and they don’t want to shell out huge sums of money as compensation when an unhealthy individual takes a policy and dies soon after. So, they take the cautious approach and have a doctor examine your physical health before they actually give you the policy.
Is taking this Medical Check-up a good idea?
Of Course yes. Do you remember the earlier articles I have written on Life Insurance? I have always suggested that we be insured for at least 5 or even preferably 10 times what our annual income is so that our family does not encounter any financial hardships in our absence. So, if you want to ensure your families wellbeing and take a policy that is adequate, going for this Medical Check-up might not be an option but a Mandatory Requirement.
Most importantly, if anything unfortunate happens to us after a few years, proof that we were healthy at the time of signing up for the policy will come in very handy during the Claim Settlement and there will be minimal delays in money reaching our family.
Why do Insurance Agents Say Such a Thing?
Money…
What else did you expect???
First and foremost, for the Insurance Agent, the more policies he sells, the more commission (income) he gets.
Secondly, this commission will be paid out only if the Policy is finalized by both parties. If the Insurance Company rejects the policy for whatever reason it may be, the commission is not paid to the agent. So, even if our health check-up fails, the agent isn’t going to be paid even a penny.
Thirdly, this doctor fee is usually borne by the Agent as part of his job.
So, to avoid spending money out of their pocket and to ensure that they get paid for the policy they sold us, agents advise customers against taking policies for large amounts.
What is the Alternative Agents Advise us?
If our health check comes up with some issues, the Insurance Co will most probably reject our policy and in turn reject the commission to the Agent. So, to ensure that they get paid on the policy sale, they try to convince us that taking multiple policies is a better idea than taking one single policy.
Actually speaking, let’s say you have 3 policies worth 10 lakh each instead of one policy for 30 lakhs, in all probabilities, the claim settlement will get delayed because, from the Insurance cos perspective, the amount they are going to settle to our survivors is the same. If they club up all these policies and see that there has been no medical check-up done at the time of policy sale, they might delay the claim settlement. The whole purpose of us taking these policies will be defeated if our wife or children can’t have access to the funds after our time. Doesn’t it?
Verdict
As I have said numerous times in the past, including articles like "I will not blindly trust my Insurance or Investment Advisor" always be cautious and careful while buying Insurance Policies. Most of these insurance agents are devious fellows who are more concerned about making a quick buck at our expense than actually selling us a good insurance product.
So, be cautious and do what is best for you and your family. After all, we are taking these insurance policies to ensure the well-being of our family after we are gone. Isn’t it? So, we must ensure that this main purpose of taking the insurance policy isn’t defeated at any cost and for any reason.
Happy Insuring Yourselves!!!
HDFC Bank Customers - Beware of the Latest Phishing Email
To contact us Click HERE
Yesterday I received an email from HDFC Bank (Or so I thought) that said that they have done some security upgrades and as a result I had to do something. I am usually suspicious of such emails and so the first thing I did was check the email id from which the email was sent and it said “Securedbanking@hdfc.com”. Wow, sounds legit as well right???
But, what the email said and what it wanted us to do made me slightly suspicious. Read on to find out how smart and intelligent hackers and spammers have become. The email was so legit that if I hadn’t been careful some moron hacker would’ve got my hdfc bank netbanking id, password and all other authentication information.
What the email looked like:
That looks perfectly legit right? The Logo, the email address etc??
Things that Raised Suspicion:
Did I stop?
Of course not. Though I was suspicious, I thought this would be an opportunity to find out how smart hackers have become and most importantly to share such malicious emails with my beloved blog readers…
The Attachment Read as below: (Again with all legit HDFC Bank logo)
When I clicked on the link it took me to a page that looked exactly like the HDFC Bank’s net banking web-page. My first reaction was plain and simple “Freaking WOW!!!” see it to believe it…
Can you spot the difference??? The website reads srfeliu.es and not hdfcbank.com…
Ok… I did not stop here. I went ahead and entered 12345678 for the 8 digit customer id in this page. Guess what happened?
It took me to a page that looks exactly like the next page that comes up when you login to your hdfc bank account. To make things interesting the Customer Id field is now “Undefined”. An unsuspecting customer might think that this is because his account is suspended and quickly enter the password and hit continue… I knew this was a fake and so entered some random password and hit continue…
You wont believe what happened next. It took me to a page that asks me to enter my bank account number, my ATM card number, the PIN number, the expiry date and my phone number. All the info that is needed for someone to use your account information right??? I gladly entered some non-sense information in the website and clicked continue…
Remember – no bank will ask you to enter all this information in their website. They already have it. Think this way – if you were a bank and issued debit cards and bank accounts to customers, will you ask them to enter them again and again everytime there is some upgrade in your system? Most importantly why should I enter my ATM pin and card expiry date? All these are red-flags that you must think of before you enter any personal information in any website.
You will never believe what happened next… I was taken to a page with the same stupid URL but looked exactly like HDFC Banks home page, perfect with all those flashing animations on the home page that were added just a few weeks ago… see it to believe it.
Do you know the best part??? If I click on NetBanking and hit the login button in this page, it is taking me to actual HDFC Bank’s internet banking login website. I checked the URL of the page and it read “hdfcbank.com”. if I had entered my details in that page and logged in, the system would’ve let me login because after all it is the actual hdfc bank website and as a customer I would’ve been relieved that after I entered my details the system let me login. But the point here is, the hacker now has all the information he needs to drain our account of all the money we have…
I did not enter my details in that page. I cleared my browser cache and temporary internet files to ensure that even if this random URL had placed some cookies to track my browsing, they will be cleaned up.
If you receive any emails like this (irrespective of the bank you have an account with) please delete them immediately. Do not click on any of the links in the email. Unless you are extra careful & cautious, it is extremely easy for hackers to gain possession of valuable information that can prove extremely costly for us…
Things to check & do
Last but not the least, forward the link to this article to all your friends and relatives who may or may not have an HDFC Bank account. They definitely need to know that such a spam email is doing rounds so that they can safeguard their hard earned money…
Take care!!!
But, what the email said and what it wanted us to do made me slightly suspicious. Read on to find out how smart and intelligent hackers and spammers have become. The email was so legit that if I hadn’t been careful some moron hacker would’ve got my hdfc bank netbanking id, password and all other authentication information.
What the email looked like:
That looks perfectly legit right? The Logo, the email address etc??
Things that Raised Suspicion:
1. If the bank upgrades its security server, it does not mean that the security information entered by existing users will be lost. I work for a Bank and I know this for a fact. Whenever any upgrade happens on the bank’s side, none of the existing customer information can/will be lost or missed. Even in the remote probability that you are the one-among-the-billion bad luck guy whose information was lost, the bank will call you by phone and ask you to visit the branch to get it fixed. They will NEVER and I mean NEVER send such one-sided emails that ask you to update some info in some random website.
2. Why follow an attached email? Why not place details in the same email?
3. No Bank can suspend services to the customer unless and until there has been legitimate illegal activities on the bank account. Unless you are a smuggler or a drug dealer this “Account being Suspended” cannot be done without proper reasons. Even in such cases, a hard copy letter will be sent to the customer’s residence address with steps to follow which you must do by visiting the branch. Even in this internet-age where everything can be done via computers, banks still expect the customer to visit the branch for certain critical activities and “Our account being on the verge of Suspension” is one of them…
4. The Attachment was not a document or an email as claimed. It was a .html file.
Did I stop?
Of course not. Though I was suspicious, I thought this would be an opportunity to find out how smart hackers have become and most importantly to share such malicious emails with my beloved blog readers…
The Attachment Read as below: (Again with all legit HDFC Bank logo)
Dear Customer,
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please kindly click on “NetBanking Instant Update” below to update your account
NetBanking Instant Update
NOTE: You are strictly advised to match your information correctly to avoid service suspension.
Thank you for banking with us
Online Security Team
HDFC Bank
When I clicked on the link it took me to a page that looked exactly like the HDFC Bank’s net banking web-page. My first reaction was plain and simple “Freaking WOW!!!” see it to believe it…
Can you spot the difference??? The website reads srfeliu.es and not hdfcbank.com…
Ok… I did not stop here. I went ahead and entered 12345678 for the 8 digit customer id in this page. Guess what happened?
It took me to a page that looks exactly like the next page that comes up when you login to your hdfc bank account. To make things interesting the Customer Id field is now “Undefined”. An unsuspecting customer might think that this is because his account is suspended and quickly enter the password and hit continue… I knew this was a fake and so entered some random password and hit continue…
You wont believe what happened next. It took me to a page that asks me to enter my bank account number, my ATM card number, the PIN number, the expiry date and my phone number. All the info that is needed for someone to use your account information right??? I gladly entered some non-sense information in the website and clicked continue…
Remember – no bank will ask you to enter all this information in their website. They already have it. Think this way – if you were a bank and issued debit cards and bank accounts to customers, will you ask them to enter them again and again everytime there is some upgrade in your system? Most importantly why should I enter my ATM pin and card expiry date? All these are red-flags that you must think of before you enter any personal information in any website.
You will never believe what happened next… I was taken to a page with the same stupid URL but looked exactly like HDFC Banks home page, perfect with all those flashing animations on the home page that were added just a few weeks ago… see it to believe it.
Do you know the best part??? If I click on NetBanking and hit the login button in this page, it is taking me to actual HDFC Bank’s internet banking login website. I checked the URL of the page and it read “hdfcbank.com”. if I had entered my details in that page and logged in, the system would’ve let me login because after all it is the actual hdfc bank website and as a customer I would’ve been relieved that after I entered my details the system let me login. But the point here is, the hacker now has all the information he needs to drain our account of all the money we have…
I did not enter my details in that page. I cleared my browser cache and temporary internet files to ensure that even if this random URL had placed some cookies to track my browsing, they will be cleaned up.
If you receive any emails like this (irrespective of the bank you have an account with) please delete them immediately. Do not click on any of the links in the email. Unless you are extra careful & cautious, it is extremely easy for hackers to gain possession of valuable information that can prove extremely costly for us…
Things to check & do
1. NEVER click on links in such emails
2. ALWAYS type the website/URL of your bank in the browser yourself. Be it icicibank or hdfcbank or some tomdickandharrrybank. Make sure you enter it yourself
3. ALWAYS check if the website prefix is https and not http. If you check the URL in this hoax website it is http because getting a security certificate for a hoax website is not that easy. If the website is your banks legit internet banking website, it will have the https prefix
4. NEVER enter your personal information like bank account number, ATM card number, Credit Card number, card PIN numbers, CVV numbers, Expiry dates etc in any website that wants you to enter them for some random confirmation or verification. Even if it is a legit website, they will never ask for your ATM Pin number. Legit payment transaction websites ask for card number, cvv number and expiry date but that is perfectly legal and they will not mis-use the info you enter. So, be careful when you enter such information.
5. ALWAYS update your anti-virus signatures and definitions to ensure that malware and spyware will be caught & taken care of by the anti-virus software before they do any actual damage…
Last but not the least, forward the link to this article to all your friends and relatives who may or may not have an HDFC Bank account. They definitely need to know that such a spam email is doing rounds so that they can safeguard their hard earned money…
Take care!!!
Tough Times Ahead for Gold Loan Companies
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How many of you have actually noticed the fact that companies that issue loan against gold like Manappuram or Muthoot have been sprouting up in almost every single locality in your city? Over the past 5 years, these companies have grown in leaps and bounds. The sky-rocketing price of gold and easy access to cash without much of a hassle if customers pledge gold has fuelled the growth of these companies and they have grown to such an extent that, they have even gone public and issued Equity Shares. Though this might sound an Amazing Growth Story, the future for these companies doesn’t look like it will be as fast paced as it has been over the past few years. The purpose of this article is to analyse on that aspect…
How Does a Gold Loan Work?
This is something almost 99% of you would know, but for the sake completeness, I am writing this section.
The company (or Bank) take possession of customer’s gold (Jewellery) and grant loans of around 70% or more of the value of the current value of Gold as loan. The customer will pay a monthly interest (around 2-3% of the sum borrowed) and can take their gold back when they settle the entire amount due (principal borrowed + interest).
If I fail to repay the interest for a period of 3 consecutive months (depends on the company) they have the right to sell my gold and offset their loan cost and reduce their losses
What is a Gold Loan Company?
A Gold Loan Company is one that is into the business of lending money against Gold. Though Banks also lend money against gold, they also accept deposits and provide bank accounts to customers. These Companies do not provide such services. The only service they provide customers is loan against gold jewellery. As a result some people even refer to them as NBFC’s (Non-Banking Financial Companies)
Tough Times Ahead for Gold Loan Cos
You might be wondering if what I have put in the title is true… Are you?
If you are, I wouldn’t be surprised and in fact that is a good start for the both of us. The following are some reasons as to why the following few months (or maybe even years) are going to be tough for these companies.
Reason 1: Regulatory Concerns
Seeing the super-fast growth of these companies (partly due to very little regulations) the Reserve Bank of India has starting setting up guidelines for these companies. Though the RBI Governs all Banks in India, these gold loan cos were not entirely under the RBI’s jurisdiction. Now, the RBI has started setting up some rules. As a result, these cos will be facing some uncertain times in the near future at least until there is some clear cut clarity on the kind of regulations they are expected to follow.
A Full list of the recent regulatory changes for gold loan cos is available at the end of this article.
Reason 2 – Explosive Growth is not permanent
Any new industry fancies customer interest for a few quick years and then starts to stabilize. These gold loan cos too are part of that cycle. The arrival of these companies that offer much higher amounts against Gold sparked customer interest and over the past few years, these companies have grown at super-duper speeds. However, now things are starting to stabilize.
I am not saying that there will be no growth. All I am saying is, the growth will not be as spectacular as it was in the past 2 to 3 years.
Reason 3 – Competition
With the arrival of multiple Gold Loan Lenders, competition is pretty heavy. Newer entrants are offering much lower interest rates than the veterans. As a result, customers in need of a better bargain are flocking towards the new entrants because the interest they are paying is comparatively lesser. Due to heavy competition, all these lenders are forced to cut their rates which in a way is good for the customers.
Reason 4 – Growth in Gold Loan Lending by Commercial Banks
A few years back, only a few select private banks offered loan against jewellery. But, things have changed and almost all banks these days are offering loans against gold jewellery. With no upper limit on Loan-to-value ratio (like Gold Loan Cos) banks can lend a much higher value loans for the same quantum of gold to customers. So, customers might choose to borrow from banks instead of these gold loan cos.
Recent RBI Rulings that might affect Goal Loan Cos
Ruling No. 1:
The RBI came up with a new ruling on 21st March 2012 which prohibits exceeding a 60% Loan-To-Value Ratio. This means, the RBI prohibits Gold Loan Cos from lending more than 60% of the value of Gold Pledged by the customer (It was 75% earlier).
Impact:
Ruling No. 2:
The Tier-I Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement has been increased to 12% (It was 10% earlier). This will be effective April 1st 2014.
Impact:
Ruling No. 3:
RBI has prevent Gold Loan Cos from granting loans against Bullion
Impact:
Future for Gold Loan Cos?
An RBI Constituted working committee is working on formulating a list of rules & regulations for these gold loan lenders. This is expected to be released by July or August of 2012. So, until then, times will be uncertain for these guys. Even after the rules are made public, these companies will be forced to make radical changes in their operations which might affect their profits for at least one or two years. So, if you are an investor looking to invest in these gold loan cos, it would be a good idea to wait until end of this year to see how things work out for these companies before investing in them.
How many of you have actually noticed the fact that companies that issue loan against gold like Manappuram or Muthoot have been sprouting up in almost every single locality in your city? Over the past 5 years, these companies have grown in leaps and bounds. The sky-rocketing price of gold and easy access to cash without much of a hassle if customers pledge gold has fuelled the growth of these companies and they have grown to such an extent that, they have even gone public and issued Equity Shares. Though this might sound an Amazing Growth Story, the future for these companies doesn’t look like it will be as fast paced as it has been over the past few years. The purpose of this article is to analyse on that aspect…
How Does a Gold Loan Work?
This is something almost 99% of you would know, but for the sake completeness, I am writing this section.
The company (or Bank) take possession of customer’s gold (Jewellery) and grant loans of around 70% or more of the value of the current value of Gold as loan. The customer will pay a monthly interest (around 2-3% of the sum borrowed) and can take their gold back when they settle the entire amount due (principal borrowed + interest).
If I fail to repay the interest for a period of 3 consecutive months (depends on the company) they have the right to sell my gold and offset their loan cost and reduce their losses
What is a Gold Loan Company?
A Gold Loan Company is one that is into the business of lending money against Gold. Though Banks also lend money against gold, they also accept deposits and provide bank accounts to customers. These Companies do not provide such services. The only service they provide customers is loan against gold jewellery. As a result some people even refer to them as NBFC’s (Non-Banking Financial Companies)
Tough Times Ahead for Gold Loan Cos
You might be wondering if what I have put in the title is true… Are you?
If you are, I wouldn’t be surprised and in fact that is a good start for the both of us. The following are some reasons as to why the following few months (or maybe even years) are going to be tough for these companies.
Reason 1: Regulatory Concerns
Seeing the super-fast growth of these companies (partly due to very little regulations) the Reserve Bank of India has starting setting up guidelines for these companies. Though the RBI Governs all Banks in India, these gold loan cos were not entirely under the RBI’s jurisdiction. Now, the RBI has started setting up some rules. As a result, these cos will be facing some uncertain times in the near future at least until there is some clear cut clarity on the kind of regulations they are expected to follow.
A Full list of the recent regulatory changes for gold loan cos is available at the end of this article.
Reason 2 – Explosive Growth is not permanent
Any new industry fancies customer interest for a few quick years and then starts to stabilize. These gold loan cos too are part of that cycle. The arrival of these companies that offer much higher amounts against Gold sparked customer interest and over the past few years, these companies have grown at super-duper speeds. However, now things are starting to stabilize.
I am not saying that there will be no growth. All I am saying is, the growth will not be as spectacular as it was in the past 2 to 3 years.
Reason 3 – Competition
With the arrival of multiple Gold Loan Lenders, competition is pretty heavy. Newer entrants are offering much lower interest rates than the veterans. As a result, customers in need of a better bargain are flocking towards the new entrants because the interest they are paying is comparatively lesser. Due to heavy competition, all these lenders are forced to cut their rates which in a way is good for the customers.
Reason 4 – Growth in Gold Loan Lending by Commercial Banks
A few years back, only a few select private banks offered loan against jewellery. But, things have changed and almost all banks these days are offering loans against gold jewellery. With no upper limit on Loan-to-value ratio (like Gold Loan Cos) banks can lend a much higher value loans for the same quantum of gold to customers. So, customers might choose to borrow from banks instead of these gold loan cos.
Recent RBI Rulings that might affect Goal Loan Cos
Ruling No. 1:
The RBI came up with a new ruling on 21st March 2012 which prohibits exceeding a 60% Loan-To-Value Ratio. This means, the RBI prohibits Gold Loan Cos from lending more than 60% of the value of Gold Pledged by the customer (It was 75% earlier).
Impact:
The amount that customers can borrow will come down. In other words, a customer has to pledge more gold in order to get the same loan amount as to what he/she got just a few months back.
Ruling No. 2:
The Tier-I Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement has been increased to 12% (It was 10% earlier). This will be effective April 1st 2014.
Impact:
CAR is nothing but the amount of liquid cash these companies have to maintain as a ratio of the loans in their books. For ex: If XYZ Gold Finance Co has granted gold loans worth 10 crores, they had to keep liquid cash worth at least 1 crore to meet the Tier I CAR. As a result of this new ruling they have to keep 1.2 crores (additional 20 lakhs) for the same loan amount of 10 crores.
This will be a huge dent in their books. Instead of using surplus cash to lend more loans and increase revenue, they will be forced to keep the money to meet capital adequacy requirements. Moreover, this 10 crores is probably the amount of loans a big gold finance co might grant in a week or even less. So, if we consider the amount of liquid cash they need to keep to maintain the CAR Ratio, the number might run into a few hundred Crores.
Ruling No. 3:
RBI has prevent Gold Loan Cos from granting loans against Bullion
Impact:
Customers who have gold bars (bullion) will not be able to borrow money against it. Only Jewellery can be used to borrow money. This will affect the small minority that use bullion to take loans.
Future for Gold Loan Cos?
An RBI Constituted working committee is working on formulating a list of rules & regulations for these gold loan lenders. This is expected to be released by July or August of 2012. So, until then, times will be uncertain for these guys. Even after the rules are made public, these companies will be forced to make radical changes in their operations which might affect their profits for at least one or two years. So, if you are an investor looking to invest in these gold loan cos, it would be a good idea to wait until end of this year to see how things work out for these companies before investing in them.
5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe
Rep. Lynn Luker (R-Boise) Will Run For Re-Election to House Seat 15-A
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Announcement by Representative Lynn Luker: "For the past 3 terms, I have enjoyed the privilege of serving my fellow neighbors and citizens as one of your state representatives in District 15. Following reapportionment, I remain within the modified boundaries of District 15, which is west Boise, but now farther west. I am the only legislative incumbent in the modified district. Over the past few months I have been asked quite a number of times whether I would run for the Senate. I have responded that I enjoy the House, the committees on which I have served, and the work that I have been able to accomplish there. Although I feel that I have a great working relationship with my colleagues in both chambers, given my experience and tenure in the House, I believe that I can be most productive by continuing in the House. Therefore, I will again be running for House Seat-A in District 15. While I have made this known to any who have asked privately, it is time to publicly announce that decision, so that other interested candidates may make their plans accordingly. I appreciate all of the support that I have received over the past three terms, and am committed to continue working to keep Idaho a fiscally sound state where citizens may safely raise their families, and enjoy the liberty and natural beauty for which Idaho is known."
http://chumly.com/n/10a2017
http://chumly.com/n/10a2017
Bill Preserving Home Owner Tax Exemption For Military And Service Volunteers Passes House
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Rep. Lynn Luker R-Boise presented HB 387a today on the floor of the Idaho House. The bill seeks to ensure that Idaho home owners can keep their primary residence tax exemption while away serving in the military, or providing humanitarian or religious service. The bill was approved unanimously, and now goes to the Senate where it is co sponsored by Sen. Bert Brackett R-Rogerson.
http://chumly.com/n/10abd72
http://chumly.com/n/10abd72
Rep. Lynn Luker Files Again For Idaho House Seat 15-A
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Today is the beginning of the two week filing period for the Idaho state legislature. I filed this morning to seek re-election to House Seat 15-A. It has been a great experience and privilege to serve, and I hope to be able to continue to provide thoughtful and experienced representation for the citizens in District 15. I am committed to keeping Idaho a fiscally sound state where citizens may safely raise their families, and enjoy the liberty and natural beauty for which Idaho is known.
http://chumly.com/n/1114bf5
http://chumly.com/n/1114bf5
Rep. Lynn Luker Presents Four Bills Today
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It was a busy day at the capitol for me today. In addition to attending the State Affairs committee and floor session, I present four bills which were passed on to the House Floor. The first two were in the Revenue & Tax Committee. HB593 places some limitations on the CID taxing district law enacted in 2007. Those limitations will protect property owners. HB591 restores personal property rights in unclaimed property where the owner's identity is known but whose location is not. Currently, Idaho is one of only two states which irrevocably keep the property. HB 496 exempts members of the armed forces and veterans from hunters education requirements. HB 573 allows state employees to voluntarily opt out of group insurance, and instead set up a Health Savings Account with a high deductible policy. The state would place the difference in cost into the employee's HSA. That bill is co sponsored with Rep. Steve Thayne, and will encourage more consumer involvement in controlling medical expenses and provide more flexibility in choosing insurance coverage.
http://chumly.com/n/1135ba5
http://chumly.com/n/1135ba5
Longer Hours On The Floor As The Idaho Legislative Session Draws To A Close
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Today the House tackled bills beginning at 9:30 am through 12:15, and then from 2:30 to 6 pm. The House State Affairs and Education Committees are still meeting in the mornings, beginning at 8 am. Tomorrow brings more of the same. While many bills on the floor moved quickly, longer debates today dealt with tanning bed and texting while driving restrictions, eliminating capital gains on U.S. gold and silver coinage, tax credits for new Ag related businesses, and limiting prescriptive easement rights for counties. I presented HB 639 strengthening rights to have contract disputes heard in Idaho courts instead of elsewhere, which passed unanimously. All of the above bills passed, except the silver and gold coinage bill which died on a tie vote. I voted against the tanning bed and tax credit bills. Tomorrow morning I'll be in State Affairs again, 8 a.m. sharp.
http://chumly.com/n/11d0b40
http://chumly.com/n/11d0b40
4 Temmuz 2012 Çarşamba
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Thanks For The Primary Votes -- Now It's Time To Look Toward November: Congratulations to all who participated in the Idaho Primary Election, especially to those who voted. Voters keep us accountable and our nation free. I picked up campaign signs today, and now we can look to November. Time has shown that Republican efforts to keep Idaho on a fiscally conservative path have been successful during our times of economic challenge. Although it was painful, and despite Democrat cries that we should spend reserves more quickly and not match our spending to our revenue, the proof is in the pudding. While other states still struggle (California is Exhibit A), Idaho has a balanced budget and a surplus, while still having provided income tax relief. Lower taxes mean higher productivity. Restored reserves and cash surplus means greater fiscal stability and flexibility including support for education. Let the debate begin.
https://chumly.com/n/1369f49
https://chumly.com/n/1369f49
Milton Friedman's Response to Obamacare? The "Economics of Medical Care" from 1978 at Mayo
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The genius of Milton Friedman is that his economic insights are as powerful as they are timeless. Despite the fact that these comments were made more than thirty years ago in 1978 at the Mayo Clinic, they ring as true today as they did then. Milton Friedman's six-part video series below on the economics of medical care is especially timely, in light of the fact that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Obamacare this week and Milton Friedman predicted in this lecture that increased government involvement in health care would lead inevitably to completely socialized medicine. This Mayo Clinic lecture is also a testament to Milton Friedman's effectiveness at delivering the message of individual liberty and limited government in a convincing and non-threatening way, as Milton explains diplomatically to an audience of physicians how the "power of organized medicine" led to significant restrictions on entry to their profession through the American Medical Association's control over occupational licensing for physicians, which has contributed to the rising costs of medical care.
Milton Friedman: "I’m going to talk today about the economics of medical care. This in an area, in which we all know there has been a trend toward ever-greater government involvement. One step in this area inevitably leads to another. We have had an expansion of government involvement in the spending of money – Medicare, Medicaid funds, expenditures by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for other medical purposes have been growing by leaps and bounds. They have gone from a very tiny portion of the total national expenditures on medical care to a substantial portion. If this trend continues, it inevitably leads to completely socialized medicine. I believe that this trend is very much against the interest of patients, physicians, and other health care personnel. And in the brief time I have to today, I want to explain why I believe the trend is so much against their interest, why it has occurred, and what, if anything can be done about it."
Milton Friedman: "I’m going to talk today about the economics of medical care. This in an area, in which we all know there has been a trend toward ever-greater government involvement. One step in this area inevitably leads to another. We have had an expansion of government involvement in the spending of money – Medicare, Medicaid funds, expenditures by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare for other medical purposes have been growing by leaps and bounds. They have gone from a very tiny portion of the total national expenditures on medical care to a substantial portion. If this trend continues, it inevitably leads to completely socialized medicine. I believe that this trend is very much against the interest of patients, physicians, and other health care personnel. And in the brief time I have to today, I want to explain why I believe the trend is so much against their interest, why it has occurred, and what, if anything can be done about it."
AMA: The Strongest Trade Union in the U.S.A.
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As a follow-up to the post below on Milton Friedman's Mayo Clinic talk on the "economics of medical care," I present the two charts above.
The top chart shows the number of annual graduates from U.S. medical schools (AMA data here) per 100,000 U.S. population, from 1962 to 2011. Between about 1970 and 1984, there was a significant increase in medical school graduates that pushed the number of new physicians from 4 per 100,000 Americans in 1970 to almost 7 per 100,000 by 1984. Since 1984, the number of medical school graduates has been relatively flat (see red line in bottom chart), while the population has continued to grow, causing the number of new physicians per 100,000 population to decline to only 5.3 per 100,000 by 2008, the same ratio as back in 1974. Over the last few years the number of medical school graduates has increased slightly, and the ratio of graduates per 100,000 increased to 5.56 last year, the highest in a decade.
The bottom chart compares the actual number of medical school graduates (red line) to the projected number of graduates if the number of new physicians had keep pace with U.S. population increases, i.e. the ratio of graduates per 100,000 Americans had stayed at the 1984 level of 6.91. In that case, we would now be graduating close to 22,000 new doctors annually, and the cumulative increase in medical school graduates from a rate of 6.91 per 100,000 population over the last 27 years would mean that we would have 84,000 additional physicians today.
In most professions, as the population grows and the demand for those occupations increase, we would expect to see an increase in the number of people employed in those professions. Over the last 25 years, the U.S. population has both increased in size, and gotten significantly older on average due to increasing life expectancy, which would both put upward pressure on the demand for physicians. But in the case of medicine, the supply of students entering medical schools has been restricted relative to the growing population, leading to an insufficient supply of doctors, and higher-than-market wages. This restriction on the supply of doctors relative to a growing population is one example of the "power of organized medicine" that Milton Friedman talks about in his lecture at the Mayo Clinic.
Also, in his classic 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Dr. Friedman describes the American Medical Association (AMA) as the "strongest trade union in the United States" and documents the ways in which the AMA vigorously restricts competition. For example, the "Council on Medical Education and Hospitals" of the AMA approves both medical schools and hospitals. By restricting the number of approved medical schools and the number of applicants to those schools, the AMA effectively limits the supply of physicians, which increases their wages, and raises the overall cost of medical care.
As a follow-up to the post below on Milton Friedman's Mayo Clinic talk on the "economics of medical care," I present the two charts above.
The top chart shows the number of annual graduates from U.S. medical schools (AMA data here) per 100,000 U.S. population, from 1962 to 2011. Between about 1970 and 1984, there was a significant increase in medical school graduates that pushed the number of new physicians from 4 per 100,000 Americans in 1970 to almost 7 per 100,000 by 1984. Since 1984, the number of medical school graduates has been relatively flat (see red line in bottom chart), while the population has continued to grow, causing the number of new physicians per 100,000 population to decline to only 5.3 per 100,000 by 2008, the same ratio as back in 1974. Over the last few years the number of medical school graduates has increased slightly, and the ratio of graduates per 100,000 increased to 5.56 last year, the highest in a decade.
The bottom chart compares the actual number of medical school graduates (red line) to the projected number of graduates if the number of new physicians had keep pace with U.S. population increases, i.e. the ratio of graduates per 100,000 Americans had stayed at the 1984 level of 6.91. In that case, we would now be graduating close to 22,000 new doctors annually, and the cumulative increase in medical school graduates from a rate of 6.91 per 100,000 population over the last 27 years would mean that we would have 84,000 additional physicians today.
In most professions, as the population grows and the demand for those occupations increase, we would expect to see an increase in the number of people employed in those professions. Over the last 25 years, the U.S. population has both increased in size, and gotten significantly older on average due to increasing life expectancy, which would both put upward pressure on the demand for physicians. But in the case of medicine, the supply of students entering medical schools has been restricted relative to the growing population, leading to an insufficient supply of doctors, and higher-than-market wages. This restriction on the supply of doctors relative to a growing population is one example of the "power of organized medicine" that Milton Friedman talks about in his lecture at the Mayo Clinic.
Also, in his classic 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom, Dr. Friedman describes the American Medical Association (AMA) as the "strongest trade union in the United States" and documents the ways in which the AMA vigorously restricts competition. For example, the "Council on Medical Education and Hospitals" of the AMA approves both medical schools and hospitals. By restricting the number of approved medical schools and the number of applicants to those schools, the AMA effectively limits the supply of physicians, which increases their wages, and raises the overall cost of medical care.
Invest Wisely in Bank Fixed Deposits
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Investing in Bank Fixed Deposits is something that has been covered in this blog time and again. But, the purpose of this article is the direct result of a meeting I had with a friend during my most recent India Trip last week. To give you a hint – This article is about something we need to be very careful about while opening Bank Fixed Deposits.
What Happened in India?
I met a long-time friend just outside a Bank near my house and we went off to the nearby coffee shop for some chit chat. He had a receipt in his hand which looked like Fixed Deposit Receipts issued by the bank. Coincidentally I had just put up some Fixed Deposit in the same bank and the topic of our discussion touched upon the rate of interest. He had deposited Rs. 1,00,000/- at 7.25% per annum rate of interest for a period of 9 months and I had done Rs. 50,000/- for 1 year at the same rate.
I said, how come for two different tenures, the rate of interest is the same? Usually longer tenures have a higher interest rate and so we both went back to the Bank and asked the guy (Teller) at the counter for the Interest Rates list. He hesitated for just a quick second and then gave it to us.
The rates card looked as follows:
Both our initial reaction was what the ****!!!
Usually customers go to the bank with a predetermined duration in mind and the most common durations for the deposits is 6 months, 9 months, 1 year and so on. In this case my friend chose 9 months and I had chosen 1 year. The problem here is – neither of us cared to look at the rates card and if we had, we would’ve got an additional 0.75% rate of interest on our deposits.
What Went Wrong Here?
This situation can be attributed to 3 reasons which are as follows:
In this case, the biggest blame lies on us because, it is our money and we should’ve been more prudent and wise in our decisions. From a banks perspective, the lesser interest they pay us, the better it is for them. From a teller’s perspective, he is only set targets on how much deposits he needs to mobilize and not the rate of interest. So, both reasons 2 & 3 are ethically Mistakes but Legally Not.
Remember the saying “If you don’t think about what is good for you, Nobody else will” This is totally apt with respect to all Money Related Transactions anywhere in the world.
My friend needed money for his son’s school fee next April, so he could’ve afforded to choose the 9 month 16 days scheme instead of the 9 month scheme he selected thereby getting an additional 0.75%.
He is going to get Rs. 5,437/- as Interest on his 1 lakh deposit at the end of 9 months while he could have gotten Rs. 6,333/- (Rs. 896/- more) for the same deposit amount if the deposit duration was an additional 16 days.
Lesson Learnt:
Always ask for the Rate of Interest offered by the bank for various deposit durations and choose what is best for you. Even if the bank has not displayed it prominently in their premises or if the Teller doesn’t offer you one when you inquire about Fixed deposits, you can DEMAND to see it before you invest your hard earned money.
Nobody and I mean NOBODY can deny you your right to take a look at the rate of interest offered by the bank for various deposit durations before you take your investment decision.
Alternately, you can check out the website of your respective banks and check out the interest rate beforehand and decide on the tenure before you actually visit the bank.
So, be cautious and make the best investment decision.
Verdict:
The whole idea of Fixed Income Investments is Safety of the money deposited & Guaranteed Returns. If the same amount will earn us a higher rate of interest, then we would rather choose that instead of something else.
After my experience as above, I did some digging and found that almost all banks had some sort of difference in rate of interest with some rare date combination like 444 days or 9 months and 16 days or something on those lines getting higher rate of interest than the regular 1 year or 2 year deposit durations. So, please be cautious and careful while making fixed deposit investments.
Happy Investing!!!
Investing in Bank Fixed Deposits is something that has been covered in this blog time and again. But, the purpose of this article is the direct result of a meeting I had with a friend during my most recent India Trip last week. To give you a hint – This article is about something we need to be very careful about while opening Bank Fixed Deposits.
What Happened in India?
I met a long-time friend just outside a Bank near my house and we went off to the nearby coffee shop for some chit chat. He had a receipt in his hand which looked like Fixed Deposit Receipts issued by the bank. Coincidentally I had just put up some Fixed Deposit in the same bank and the topic of our discussion touched upon the rate of interest. He had deposited Rs. 1,00,000/- at 7.25% per annum rate of interest for a period of 9 months and I had done Rs. 50,000/- for 1 year at the same rate.
I said, how come for two different tenures, the rate of interest is the same? Usually longer tenures have a higher interest rate and so we both went back to the Bank and asked the guy (Teller) at the counter for the Interest Rates list. He hesitated for just a quick second and then gave it to us.
The rates card looked as follows:
6 month 17 days to 9 month 15 days – 7.25% p.a
9 month 16 days – 8% p.a
9 month 17 days to 1 year – 7.25%
Both our initial reaction was what the ****!!!
Usually customers go to the bank with a predetermined duration in mind and the most common durations for the deposits is 6 months, 9 months, 1 year and so on. In this case my friend chose 9 months and I had chosen 1 year. The problem here is – neither of us cared to look at the rates card and if we had, we would’ve got an additional 0.75% rate of interest on our deposits.
What Went Wrong Here?
This situation can be attributed to 3 reasons which are as follows:
Reason 1: Neither of us cared to look at the interest rates card that the bank offered for various deposit periods.
Reason 2: The Interest Rate Card was not displayed prominently in the Bank. Though it was stuck to a pillar in some corner of the bank, it wasn’t in a place where every customer could easily see it.
Reason 3: The Teller did not suggest we look at the various deposit periods and choose the one that would best suit us.
In this case, the biggest blame lies on us because, it is our money and we should’ve been more prudent and wise in our decisions. From a banks perspective, the lesser interest they pay us, the better it is for them. From a teller’s perspective, he is only set targets on how much deposits he needs to mobilize and not the rate of interest. So, both reasons 2 & 3 are ethically Mistakes but Legally Not.
Remember the saying “If you don’t think about what is good for you, Nobody else will” This is totally apt with respect to all Money Related Transactions anywhere in the world.
My friend needed money for his son’s school fee next April, so he could’ve afforded to choose the 9 month 16 days scheme instead of the 9 month scheme he selected thereby getting an additional 0.75%.
He is going to get Rs. 5,437/- as Interest on his 1 lakh deposit at the end of 9 months while he could have gotten Rs. 6,333/- (Rs. 896/- more) for the same deposit amount if the deposit duration was an additional 16 days.
Lesson Learnt:
Always ask for the Rate of Interest offered by the bank for various deposit durations and choose what is best for you. Even if the bank has not displayed it prominently in their premises or if the Teller doesn’t offer you one when you inquire about Fixed deposits, you can DEMAND to see it before you invest your hard earned money.
Nobody and I mean NOBODY can deny you your right to take a look at the rate of interest offered by the bank for various deposit durations before you take your investment decision.
Alternately, you can check out the website of your respective banks and check out the interest rate beforehand and decide on the tenure before you actually visit the bank.
So, be cautious and make the best investment decision.
Verdict:
The whole idea of Fixed Income Investments is Safety of the money deposited & Guaranteed Returns. If the same amount will earn us a higher rate of interest, then we would rather choose that instead of something else.
After my experience as above, I did some digging and found that almost all banks had some sort of difference in rate of interest with some rare date combination like 444 days or 9 months and 16 days or something on those lines getting higher rate of interest than the regular 1 year or 2 year deposit durations. So, please be cautious and careful while making fixed deposit investments.
Happy Investing!!!
HDFC Bank Customers - Beware of the Latest Phishing Email
To contact us Click HERE
Yesterday I received an email from HDFC Bank (Or so I thought) that said that they have done some security upgrades and as a result I had to do something. I am usually suspicious of such emails and so the first thing I did was check the email id from which the email was sent and it said “Securedbanking@hdfc.com”. Wow, sounds legit as well right???
But, what the email said and what it wanted us to do made me slightly suspicious. Read on to find out how smart and intelligent hackers and spammers have become. The email was so legit that if I hadn’t been careful some moron hacker would’ve got my hdfc bank netbanking id, password and all other authentication information.
What the email looked like:
That looks perfectly legit right? The Logo, the email address etc??
Things that Raised Suspicion:
Did I stop?
Of course not. Though I was suspicious, I thought this would be an opportunity to find out how smart hackers have become and most importantly to share such malicious emails with my beloved blog readers…
The Attachment Read as below: (Again with all legit HDFC Bank logo)
When I clicked on the link it took me to a page that looked exactly like the HDFC Bank’s net banking web-page. My first reaction was plain and simple “Freaking WOW!!!” see it to believe it…
Can you spot the difference??? The website reads srfeliu.es and not hdfcbank.com…
Ok… I did not stop here. I went ahead and entered 12345678 for the 8 digit customer id in this page. Guess what happened?
It took me to a page that looks exactly like the next page that comes up when you login to your hdfc bank account. To make things interesting the Customer Id field is now “Undefined”. An unsuspecting customer might think that this is because his account is suspended and quickly enter the password and hit continue… I knew this was a fake and so entered some random password and hit continue…
You wont believe what happened next. It took me to a page that asks me to enter my bank account number, my ATM card number, the PIN number, the expiry date and my phone number. All the info that is needed for someone to use your account information right??? I gladly entered some non-sense information in the website and clicked continue…
Remember – no bank will ask you to enter all this information in their website. They already have it. Think this way – if you were a bank and issued debit cards and bank accounts to customers, will you ask them to enter them again and again everytime there is some upgrade in your system? Most importantly why should I enter my ATM pin and card expiry date? All these are red-flags that you must think of before you enter any personal information in any website.
You will never believe what happened next… I was taken to a page with the same stupid URL but looked exactly like HDFC Banks home page, perfect with all those flashing animations on the home page that were added just a few weeks ago… see it to believe it.
Do you know the best part??? If I click on NetBanking and hit the login button in this page, it is taking me to actual HDFC Bank’s internet banking login website. I checked the URL of the page and it read “hdfcbank.com”. if I had entered my details in that page and logged in, the system would’ve let me login because after all it is the actual hdfc bank website and as a customer I would’ve been relieved that after I entered my details the system let me login. But the point here is, the hacker now has all the information he needs to drain our account of all the money we have…
I did not enter my details in that page. I cleared my browser cache and temporary internet files to ensure that even if this random URL had placed some cookies to track my browsing, they will be cleaned up.
If you receive any emails like this (irrespective of the bank you have an account with) please delete them immediately. Do not click on any of the links in the email. Unless you are extra careful & cautious, it is extremely easy for hackers to gain possession of valuable information that can prove extremely costly for us…
Things to check & do
Last but not the least, forward the link to this article to all your friends and relatives who may or may not have an HDFC Bank account. They definitely need to know that such a spam email is doing rounds so that they can safeguard their hard earned money…
Take care!!!
But, what the email said and what it wanted us to do made me slightly suspicious. Read on to find out how smart and intelligent hackers and spammers have become. The email was so legit that if I hadn’t been careful some moron hacker would’ve got my hdfc bank netbanking id, password and all other authentication information.
What the email looked like:
That looks perfectly legit right? The Logo, the email address etc??
Things that Raised Suspicion:
1. If the bank upgrades its security server, it does not mean that the security information entered by existing users will be lost. I work for a Bank and I know this for a fact. Whenever any upgrade happens on the bank’s side, none of the existing customer information can/will be lost or missed. Even in the remote probability that you are the one-among-the-billion bad luck guy whose information was lost, the bank will call you by phone and ask you to visit the branch to get it fixed. They will NEVER and I mean NEVER send such one-sided emails that ask you to update some info in some random website.
2. Why follow an attached email? Why not place details in the same email?
3. No Bank can suspend services to the customer unless and until there has been legitimate illegal activities on the bank account. Unless you are a smuggler or a drug dealer this “Account being Suspended” cannot be done without proper reasons. Even in such cases, a hard copy letter will be sent to the customer’s residence address with steps to follow which you must do by visiting the branch. Even in this internet-age where everything can be done via computers, banks still expect the customer to visit the branch for certain critical activities and “Our account being on the verge of Suspension” is one of them…
4. The Attachment was not a document or an email as claimed. It was a .html file.
Did I stop?
Of course not. Though I was suspicious, I thought this would be an opportunity to find out how smart hackers have become and most importantly to share such malicious emails with my beloved blog readers…
The Attachment Read as below: (Again with all legit HDFC Bank logo)
Dear Customer,
We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please kindly click on “NetBanking Instant Update” below to update your account
NetBanking Instant Update
NOTE: You are strictly advised to match your information correctly to avoid service suspension.
Thank you for banking with us
Online Security Team
HDFC Bank
When I clicked on the link it took me to a page that looked exactly like the HDFC Bank’s net banking web-page. My first reaction was plain and simple “Freaking WOW!!!” see it to believe it…
Can you spot the difference??? The website reads srfeliu.es and not hdfcbank.com…
Ok… I did not stop here. I went ahead and entered 12345678 for the 8 digit customer id in this page. Guess what happened?
It took me to a page that looks exactly like the next page that comes up when you login to your hdfc bank account. To make things interesting the Customer Id field is now “Undefined”. An unsuspecting customer might think that this is because his account is suspended and quickly enter the password and hit continue… I knew this was a fake and so entered some random password and hit continue…
You wont believe what happened next. It took me to a page that asks me to enter my bank account number, my ATM card number, the PIN number, the expiry date and my phone number. All the info that is needed for someone to use your account information right??? I gladly entered some non-sense information in the website and clicked continue…
Remember – no bank will ask you to enter all this information in their website. They already have it. Think this way – if you were a bank and issued debit cards and bank accounts to customers, will you ask them to enter them again and again everytime there is some upgrade in your system? Most importantly why should I enter my ATM pin and card expiry date? All these are red-flags that you must think of before you enter any personal information in any website.
You will never believe what happened next… I was taken to a page with the same stupid URL but looked exactly like HDFC Banks home page, perfect with all those flashing animations on the home page that were added just a few weeks ago… see it to believe it.
Do you know the best part??? If I click on NetBanking and hit the login button in this page, it is taking me to actual HDFC Bank’s internet banking login website. I checked the URL of the page and it read “hdfcbank.com”. if I had entered my details in that page and logged in, the system would’ve let me login because after all it is the actual hdfc bank website and as a customer I would’ve been relieved that after I entered my details the system let me login. But the point here is, the hacker now has all the information he needs to drain our account of all the money we have…
I did not enter my details in that page. I cleared my browser cache and temporary internet files to ensure that even if this random URL had placed some cookies to track my browsing, they will be cleaned up.
If you receive any emails like this (irrespective of the bank you have an account with) please delete them immediately. Do not click on any of the links in the email. Unless you are extra careful & cautious, it is extremely easy for hackers to gain possession of valuable information that can prove extremely costly for us…
Things to check & do
1. NEVER click on links in such emails
2. ALWAYS type the website/URL of your bank in the browser yourself. Be it icicibank or hdfcbank or some tomdickandharrrybank. Make sure you enter it yourself
3. ALWAYS check if the website prefix is https and not http. If you check the URL in this hoax website it is http because getting a security certificate for a hoax website is not that easy. If the website is your banks legit internet banking website, it will have the https prefix
4. NEVER enter your personal information like bank account number, ATM card number, Credit Card number, card PIN numbers, CVV numbers, Expiry dates etc in any website that wants you to enter them for some random confirmation or verification. Even if it is a legit website, they will never ask for your ATM Pin number. Legit payment transaction websites ask for card number, cvv number and expiry date but that is perfectly legal and they will not mis-use the info you enter. So, be careful when you enter such information.
5. ALWAYS update your anti-virus signatures and definitions to ensure that malware and spyware will be caught & taken care of by the anti-virus software before they do any actual damage…
Last but not the least, forward the link to this article to all your friends and relatives who may or may not have an HDFC Bank account. They definitely need to know that such a spam email is doing rounds so that they can safeguard their hard earned money…
Take care!!!
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