Re: help for 100 marks project in insurnace.. guys plzz help!!
ORIGIN:
The story so far...
Almost 4,500 years ago, in the ancient land of Babylonia, traders used to bear risk of the caravan trade by giving loans that had to be later repaid with interest when the goods arrived safely. In 2100 BC, the Code of Hammurabi granted legal status to the practice.
That, perhaps, was how insurance made its beginning.
Life insurance had its origins in ancient Rome, where citizens formed burial clubs that would meet the funeral expenses of its members as well as help survivors by making some payments.
As European civilization progressed, its social institutions and welfare practices also got more and more refined. With the discovery of new lands, sea routes and the consequent growth in trade, Medieval guilds took it upon themselves to protect their member traders from loss on account of fire, shipwrecks and the like.
Since most of the trade took place by sea, there was also the fear of pirates. So these guilds even offered ransom for members held captive by pirates. Burial expenses and support in times of sickness and poverty were other services offered. Essentially, all these revolved around the concept of insurance or risk coverage. That's how old these concepts are, really.
In 1347, in Genoa, European maritime nations entered into the earliest known insurance contract and decided to accept marine insurance as a practice.
The first step...
Insurance as we know it today owes its existence to 17th century England. In fact, it began taking shape in 1688 at a rather interesting place called Lloyd's Coffee House in London, where merchants, ship-owners and underwriters met to discuss and transact business. By the end of the 18th century, Lloyd's had brewed enough business to become one of the first modern insurance companies.
Insurance and Myth...
Back to the 17th century. In 1693, astronomer Edmond Halley constructed the first mortality table to provide a link between the life insurance premium and the average life spans based on statistical laws of mortality and compound interest. In 1756, Joseph Dodson reworked the table, linking premium rate to age.
Enter companies...
The first stock companies to get into the business of insurance were chartered in England in 1720. The year 1735 saw the birth of the first insurance company in the American colonies in Charleston, SC.
In 1759, the Presbyterian Synod of Philadelphia sponsored the first life insurance corporation in America for the benefit of ministers and their dependents.
However, it was after 1840 that life insurance really took off in a big way. The trigger: reducing opposition from religious groups.
The growing years...
The 19th century saw huge developments in the field of insurance, with newer products being devised to meet the growing needs of urbanization and industrialization.
In 1835, the infamous New York fire drew people's attention to the need to provide for sudden and large losses. Two years later, Massachusetts became the first state to require companies by law to maintain such reserves. The great Chicago fire of 1871 further emphasized how fires can cause huge losses in densely populated modern cities. The practice of reinsurance, wherein the risks are spread among several companies, was devised specifically for such situations.
There were more offshoots of the process of industrialization. In 1897, the British government passed the Workmen's Compensation Act, which made it mandatory for a company to insure its employees against industrial accidents.
With the advent of the automobile, public liability insurance, which first made its appearance in the 1880s, gained importance and acceptance.
In the 19th century, many societies were founded to insure the life and health of their members, while fraternal orders provided low-cost, members-only insurance.
Even today, such fraternal orders continue to provide insurance coverage to members as do most labour organizations. Many employers sponsor group insurance policies for their employees, providing not just life insurance, but sickness and accident benefits and old-age pensions. Employees contribute a certain percentage of the premium for these policies.
In India...
Insurance in India can be traced back to the Vedas. For instance, yogakshema, the name of Life Insurance Corporation of India's corporate headquarters, is derived from the Rig Veda. The term suggests that a form of "community insurance" was prevalent around 1000 BC and practised by the Aryans.
Burial societies of the kind found in ancient Rome were formed in the Buddhist period to help families build houses, protect widows and children.
Bombay Mutual Assurance Society, the first Indian life assurance society, was formed in 1870. Other companies like Oriental, Bharat and Empire of India were also set up in the 1870-90s.
It was during the swadeshi movement in the early 20th century that insurance witnessed a big boom in India with several more companies being set up.
As these companies grew, the government began to exercise control on them. The Insurance Act was passed in 1912, followed by a detailed and amended Insurance Act of 1938 that looked into investments, expenditure and management of these companies' funds.
By the mid-1950s, there were around 170 insurance companies and 80 provident fund societies in the country's life insurance scene. However, in the absence of regulatory systems, scams and irregularities were almost a way of life at most of these companies.
As a result, the government decided nationalise the life assurance business in India. The Life Insurance Corporation of India was set up in 1956 to take over around 250 life companies.
For years thereafter, insurance remained a monopoly of the public sector. It was only after seven years of deliberation and debate - after the RN Malhotra Committee report of 1994 became the first serious document calling for the re-opening up of the insurance sector to private players -- that the sector was finally opened up to private players in 2001.
The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority, an autonomous insurance regulator set up in 2000, has extensive powers to oversee the insurance business and regulate in a manner that will safeguard the interests of the insured.
ROLE:
Risks and uncertainties are part of life's great adventure -- accident, illness, theft, natural disaster - they're all built into the working of the Universe, waiting to happen.
Role 1: Life insurance as "Investment"
Insurance is an attractive option for investment. While most people recognize the risk hedging and tax saving potential of insurance, many are not aware of its advantages as an investment option as well. Insurance products yield more compared to regular investment options, and this is besides the added incentives (read bonuses) offered by insurers.
You cannot compare an insurance product with other investment schemes for the simple reason that it offers financial protection from risks, something that is missing in non-insurance products.
In fact, the premium you pay for an insurance policy is an investment against risk. Thus, before comparing with other schemes, you must accept that a part of the total amount invested in life insurance goes towards providing for the risk cover, while the rest is used for savings.
In life insurance, unlike non-life products, you get maturity benefits on survival at the end of the term. In other words, if you take a life insurance policy for 20 years and survive the term, the amount invested as premium in the policy will come back to you with added returns. In the unfortunate event of death within the tenure of the policy, the family of the deceased will receive the sum assured.
Now, let us compare insurance as an investment options. If you invest Rs 10,000 in PPF, your money grows to Rs 10,950 at 9.5 per cent interest over a year. But in this case, the access to your funds will be limited. One can withdraw 50 per cent of the initial deposit only after 4 years.
The same amount of Rs 10,000 can give you an insurance cover of up to approximately Rs 5-12 lakh (depending upon the plan, age and medical condition of the life insured, etc) and this amount can become immediately available to the nominee of the policyholder on death.
Thus insurance is a unique investment avenue that delivers sound returns in addition to protection.
Role 2: Life insurance as "Risk cover"
First and foremost, insurance is about risk cover and protection - financial protection, to be more precise - to help outlast life's unpredictable losses. Designed to safeguard against losses suffered on account of any unforeseen event, insurance provides you with that unique sense of security that no other form of investment provides. By buying life insurance, you buy peace of mind and are prepared to face any financial demand that would hit the family in case of an untimely demise.
To provide such protection, insurance firms collect contributions from many people who face the same risk. A loss claim is paid out of the total premium collected by the insurance companies, who act as trustees to the monies.
Insurance also provides a safeguard in the case of accidents or a drop in income after retirement. An accident or disability can be devastating, and an insurance policy can lend timely support to the family in such times. It also comes as a great help when you retire, in case no untoward incident happens during the term of the policy.
With the entry of private sector players in insurance, you have a wide range of products and services to choose from. Further, many of these can be further customized to fit individual/group specific needs. Considering the amount you have to pay now, it's worth buying some extra sleep.
Role 3: Life insurance as "Tax planning"
Insurance serves as an excellent tax saving mechanism too. The Government of India has offered tax incentives to life insurance products in order to facilitate the flow of funds into productive assets. Under Section 88 of Income Tax Act 1961, an individual is entitled to a rebate of 20 per cent on the annual premium payable on his/her life and life of his/her children or adult children. The rebate is deductible from tax payable by the individual or a Hindu Undivided Family. This rebate is can be availed upto a maximum of Rs 12,000 on payment of yearly premium of Rs 60,000. By paying Rs 60,000 a year, you can buy anything upwards of Rs 10 lakh in sum assured. (depending upon the age of the insured and term of the policy) This means that you get a Rs 12,000 tax benefit. The rebate is deductible from the tax payable by an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family.
TYPES:
Most of the products offered by Indian life insurers are developed and structured around these "basic" policies and are usually an extension or a combination of these policies. So, what are these policies and how do they differ from each other?Term Insurance Policy
A term insurance policy is a pure risk cover for a specified period of time. What this means is that the sum assured is payable only if the policyholder dies within the policy term. For instance, if a person buys Rs 2 lakh policy for 15-years, his family is entitled to the money if he dies within that 15-year period.
What if he survives the 15-year period? Well, then he is not entitled to any payment; the insurance company keeps the entire premium paid during the 15-year period.
So, there is no element of savings or investment in such a policy. It is a 100 per cent risk cover. It simply means that a person pays a certain premium to protect his family against his sudden death. He forfeits the amount if he outlives the period of the policy. This explains why the Term Insurance Policy comes at the lowest cost.
Whole Life Policy
As the name suggests, a Whole Life Policy is an insurance cover against death, irrespective of when it happens.
Under this plan, the policyholder pays regular premiums until his death, following which the money is handed over to his family.
This policy, however, fails to address the additional needs of the insured during his post-retirement years. It doesn't take into account a person's increasing needs either. While the insured buys the policy at a young age, his requirements increase over time. By the time he dies, the value of the sum assured is too low to meet his family's needs. As a result of these drawbacks, insurance firms now offer either a modified Whole Life Policy or combine in with another type of policy
Endowment Policy
Combining risk cover with financial savings, endowment policies is the most popular policies in the world of life insurance.
In an Endowment Policy, the sum assured is payable even if the insured survives the policy term.
If the insured dies during the tenure of the policy, the insurance firm has to pay the sum assured just as any other pure risk cover.
A pure endowment policy is also a form of financial saving, whereby if the person covered remains alive beyond the tenure of the policy, he gets back the sum assured with some other investment benefits.
In addition to the basic policy, insurers offer various benefits such as double endowment and marriage/ education endowment plans. The cost of such a policy is slightly higher but worth its value.
Money Back Policy
These policies are structured to provide sums required as anticipated expenses (marriage, education, etc) over a stipulated period of time. With inflation becoming a big issue, companies have realized that sometimes the money value of the policy is eroded. That is why with-profit policies are also being introduced to offset some of the losses incurred on account of inflation.
A portion of the sum assured is payable at regular intervals. On survival the remainder of the sum assured is payable.
In case of death, the full sum assured is payable to the insured.
The premium is payable for a particular period of time.
Annuities And Pension
In an annuity, the insurer agrees to pay the insured a stipulated sum of money periodically. The purpose of an annuity is to protect against risk as well as provide money in the form of pension at regular intervals.
Over the years, insurers have added various features to basic insurance policies in order to address specific needs of a cross section of people.