Should You Get A Standalone Cancer Insurance Policy?

One of the causes of death in India is cancer. According to statistics, approximately 10 lakh patients are diagnosed with the disease each year, with 6-7 lakh cases dying as a result. However, the most concerning aspect is that by 2035, the number of patients may increase to 17 lakh, with a death ratio touching 12 lakh, according to a study published in Lancet Oncology. 

As the chances of developing cancer have increased, so has the cost of treatment. With improved technology and better diagnosis, the treatment expense has become unbearable and can drain all of your life savings. It is understandable to be concerned under such circumstances. However, one alternative for coping with the situation is to purchase a standalone cancer insurance policy. 

What is Cancer Insurance?

A standalone cancer plan is a cancer-specific policy that provides full coverage once the disease is confirmed. The plan covers the majority of cancers, including those in their early and advanced stages. When a disease is diagnosed, a part of the sum assured is paid as a lump sum payment, and the balance of the money is given to the policyholder at various stages of treatment. 

Cancer insurance provides substantial protection and covers the costs of disease diagnosis and treatment. This includes hospitalization, chemo, radiation, medicine cost, nursing care, and surgery, among other things. Moreover, you can spend the money to seek treatment from any doctor or hospital of your choice. All of this is available at a reasonable cancer insurance premium. 

Features and Benefits of Cancer Plan

The following are some of the most significant features and benefits of purchasing cancer critical illness insurance. 

• Payout on cancer detection

The standalone cancer policy pays a portion of the money assured in a lump sum when the disease is detected. The payment to the policyholder is made in accordance with the various stages of cancer. This helps you to focus on treatment rather than on accumulating bills. 

• Every stage of cancer is covered.

All stages of cancer are covered under the plan, and a policyholder gets separate payments at each stage. 

• Waiver of Premium

If the disease is detected, some of the best cancer care insurance policies waive off future premiums. 

• Income benefit

Most policyholders are unable to work after being diagnosed with cancer. This is a financial setback that the entire family must bear. This is where a cancer policy can come in handy. The plan pays out a portion of the guaranteed money every quarter for a period. These funds can be used to cover treatment expenditures and day-to-day expenses. 

• Tax benefit

Cancer insurance also provides the insured with tax advantages. The premiums paid are exempt from taxation under Section 80D of the IT Act, 1961. 

Who Should Get Cancer Insurance?

With the disease's alarming rise, purchasing cancer insurance is a must today. Individuals having a family history of the disease, on the other hand, are more at risk of getting it later in life. These people are the ideal candidates for purchasing the plan and securing their financial future. In addition, individuals with lifestyle issues or who work in hazardous industries should also obtain insurance. 

Most people lose hope after being diagnosed with cancer owing to their fear of the disease and the cost of therapy. As a result, purchasing a cancer plan can be a valuable asset in ensuring quality care without worrying about costs.

Factors To Consider Before Buying Cancer Insurance

A cancer plan from a top insurance company is a good idea for several reasons. It ensures simplicity, security, reliability, affordability and flexibility. A cancer plan can eliminate the out-of-pocket costs of radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, nursing care and drugs. There are about 8,00,000 new cancer cases in India per year. In fact, at any given time, this load is about 2,40,000 cases. This statistic shows that there is a rapid proliferation of this disease and why you might want to invest in the best cancer care insurance policy. But how to make the right choice? You may want to consider these factors.

Type of Plan

It should be an individual, non-participating, non-linked health insurance pure risk premium product. Check the inclusions and features of the plan first. For example, the best company offers cancer critical illness insurance that has a choice of three benefit structures, sum assured reset benefit and in-built premium waiver benefit.
You should be able to get a medical second opinion from a panel of medical experts. See if the claim payouts are independent of the expense amount with an easy and hassle-free process. Further, read the coverage details, definitions, waiting period and risk factors thoroughly before applying.

How the Plan Works

The minimum entry age is 6 years for a child and 18 years for an adult. The maximum entry age is 17 years for a child and 65 years for an adult. See if the policy term is up to 30 years with a premium frequency of yearly, half-yearly, quarterly and monthly payments. The premium rates are usually guaranteed for a block of 5 policy years after which it is reviewed.

You should be able to get 1.2% of the sum assured as monthly income for 3 years in lieu of 40% of the sum assured is payable on diagnosis of a major stage of cancer. Applicants can get a 5% discount on cancer insurance premiums if they buy cancer insurance online.

Waiting Period

If you know what is cancer insurance, learn about the related terms as well. For example, the waiting period is when the policyholders cannot claim some or all the benefits of the ongoing insurance. Make sure the waiting period is not more than 180 days from the date of commencement of risk or revival, whichever is later.

Additional Benefits

Added perks can help you make the most of cancer insurance. For example, the best cancer insurance in India can offer simplified issuance with no medical tests. You should also look for tax benefits and make sure the benefits and payouts are independent of health insurance plans held by you. A balance of 100% sum assured less than any benefits paid earlier on minor stage claims can be payable on diagnosis of the major stage.

Exclusions

Certain conditions under minor and major cancers are not covered. For example, tumours described as carcinoma, non-melanoma skin carcinoma and cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia without carcinoma in Situ are usually excluded from the cancer insurance benefits. Nuclear, biological and chemical contaminations are also not eligible for a cover. Read the sales brochure for an informed choice.

Knowing what is cancer insurance and its many benefits keeps you financially prepared to defeat the disease. Calculate the premium online to get an idea of the payments and choose a suited cover for yourself.

 

Understanding Child Insurance Plans

 We are all aware of the value of education in our lives. So, as a parent, what plans have you put in place to ensure your children receive a high-quality education? If you are still unsure about saving for your children's future, child education plans in India can help. 

What Are Child Insurance Plans?

A child policy in India is an investment and insurance plan offered by insurance companies that provide financial security for your child's aspirations and goals. These financial instruments not only help to build a corpus to fulfil all of your child's financial needs, such as education, marriage, and so on but also function as a safety net in your absence. In addition, in the event of the policyholder's premature death, the company pays the remaining premium and ensures that the stipulated maturity amount is paid to the beneficiary. Continue reading if you want to learn more about some of the benefits and features of child plans in India. 

Features And Benefits

Some of the critical features and benefits of the investment plans for children are mentioned below.

• Flexible-Premium Payment

For premium payments, there are two basic alternatives. First, you can choose to pay in a lump sum at the start of the policy's term or in monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, or yearly instalments. 

• Segmented Pay-out

A policyholder can choose whether to get payment in a lump sum or yearly instalments with the suitable child plans in India. This type of arrangement supports the payment of dues such as college tuition, marriage expenses, further education expenses, appropriate money for beginning a business, and so on. 

• Premium Waiver Benefit

In case of the policyholder's untimely death, the sum assured is paid to the beneficiary while future premium payments are waived. The company makes these payments on behalf of the deceased, and the beneficiary receives the entire maturity amount after the policy matures. 

• Riders

With the insurance policy for children, specific riders are also available. There are three primary types: critical illness, waiver, accidental death, and disability. 

• Partial Withdrawal

In a financial emergency, a policyholder may make partial withdrawals from the plan. You can use child plan calculator to calculate your premium and be sure about your decision. 

• Tax Benefits

Every year, a policyholder is eligible for premium payment deductions of up to Rs 1.5 lakh. In addition, under Section 10(10D), maturity and partial withdrawals are tax-free. 

When and How To Buy The Right Child Plan?

A child plan is an investing strategy for the long run. The longer the money is invested, the better the returns will be. As a result, the most significant moment to begin investing in your child's education is when they are born. Because most financial support will be necessary throughout graduation and post-graduate studies, you should have collected a significant corpus by the time your child reaches the age of 18. To select the right child plan, follow the steps mentioned below.

• Step 1: Keep your goal in mind and the age you need the funds.
• Step 2: Investment options. You can select between the guaranteed and ULIPs.
• Step 3: Check the payout methods
• Step 4: Check the past performance of the fund
• Step5: Check the claim settlement and other ratios 

Based on the above parameters, you can select the child plan for education and marriage.

With unpredictable life events happening in front of our eyes, it is a brilliant idea to get a child plan. The plan not only functions as an investment vehicle, but it also secures your child's future even if you are not present.

7 must-visit countries before you get a job

Are you looking for a job and are certain of getting one in a few months? Visit these countries before the professional grind leaves you with little time.

About to join the workforce but there’s still some months to go before the happy event? Everyone will tell you to take it easy, since you will have little time to rest once you start working. But instead of worrying about your job situation, it is better to spend your time more productively – in worldwide travel!

We list the 7 must-visit destinations you can check off before you start working:

1. Sossusvlei, Namibia. The Namib Desert is a must-visit experience for every person – there are very few sights in the world that are as majestic as the sand dunes of the Sossusvlei. These are the highest sand dunes in the world. Head there to watch the sunrise and sunset – the colours of the sky are spectacular during both times, and the sand acquires a luminous tone.
2. Hydra, Greece. Hydra town has been the site for many old Hollywood classics, and it attracts a lot of tourists even today. It has retained its old world charm to such an extent that only water boat transport and carts are available if you want to move around! Some prominent Greeks have bungalows here, while the place is dotted with amphitheatres, beaches and the best Greek architecture.
3. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. Bolivia is uniformly beautiful, but you must particularly visit Salar de Uyuni, which is the world’s largest salt flat. The place is uniformly ‘salty’ – there’s even a hotel made entirely of hard salt! The high incidence of salt is attributed to the drying up of an ancient lake in this precinct – it left behind hard salty deposits that become reflective surfaces when it rains.
4. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt. Egypt is on the wish list of many a traveller, but the most important sight here are the Pyramids of Giza. Located along the West of the Nile River, the Pyramids are huge symmetrical structures composed entirely of perfectly cut rock. The pyramids were built over 4,500 years ago, and were originally 481 feet high. However, about a foot of the stone casings has been stolen earlier.
5. The Inca Trail, Peru. Mystery and history abound on the Inca Trail, South America’s finest and most famous trekking route. It is 43 km long and has scenic mountains, deep forest areas and jungles along the route marked with Inca-style paving stones. There are many ruins and tunnels to explore as well.
6. The Dead Sea, Israel. The Dead Sea has long been an object of curiosity for the world, but Israel is much more than this site. You can explore the Mount of Olives, the Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum, the Ein Karem village, Mount Zion, Tomb of King David, and Dormition Abbey.
7. Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan. Japan is beautiful throughout, but its greenery is famous. Head to Hitachi Seaside Park in Hitachinaka, near Ajigaura Beach. It is a flower park spread over 3.6 hectares of verdant land. Do check out the stunning blue nemphilas which have transparent petals!

An important tip: once you book your flight tickets, buy a good travel insurance plan. It will protect you from paying for treatment while travelling, or the costs of replacing misplaced or stolen baggage, cancelled flights, etc. The travel insurance plan has your back at all times, so that you can move about worry-free!

How ULIPs are one of the best tax saving instruments

ULIPs which stands for unit linked insurance policy, is a life insurance return used to cover up the risk by the owner of the policy. It also provides investment opportunities in stocks and mutual funds. Since ULIPs provides protection and investment at the same time to the policyholder, the plan can be managed according to need and priorities.

In ULIPs, policy owners pay a secure premium for a period of 5 to 10 years. Within that premium, a small allocation of an amount is deducted as maintenance charge for fund and policy management. Rest of the fund is kept for protection cover. This fund comes under the category for equity and debt. Depending upon how much risk a policy holder can take, he or she can choose either high-risk fund which gives more disclosure or debt fund which offers low risk.
As there are many investment options available in the market, choosing the best one is little tough. So for taking the right plan, you need to check certain benefits such as wealth protection, flexibility, tax saving etc.

Once you take ULIPs plan, you cannot withdraw money for at least 5 years. Therefore, this period is called as Lock-in period. If you want to withdraw money in between the lock-in period then certain conditions and some charges are applied for it. Moreover, if you are withdrawing money after the lock-in period then no tax will be charged.  

The advantage of taking ULIPs plan:

• ULIPs help in saving money to fulfil some of your higher goals such as purchasing a house or higher education of children, etc.
• By taking ULIPs plan you can save the future of your loved ones.
• According to the need, you can make a shift between your investment funds.
• ULIPs give you the facility to leave your fund depending upon charges and condition.
• Since ULIPs main objective is to build wealth in a long run, it gives you the opportunity of investing to earn profit besides, taking care of protection needs.
• The investment which you do in ULIPs can further be invested in debt or equity. In this way, you can enjoy the benefit of tax deduction over premium paid.

With the top-ups available with ULIPs policyholders can invest their additional cash, in case the premium of these top-ups remains less than 10% then policyholder can also take the advantage of tax benefit.  

Top-ups investment does not make any effect on financial planning as these investments generate an additional return to handle your tax debt.

Those who are looking forward to get high return must go for ULIPs plan. People invest in different type of plans today. But balancing different type of plan is a difficult task. Therefore, it's necessary to choose a plan that can offer extensive benefits. In that sense, ULIPs is one of the best plans which offers protection, investment, tax saving and much more. Above all the plan has different layers of investment options. So, you can invest according to your requirement.

Easy steps to renew your auto insurance online

You can renew your car insurance policy online, seated in your couch, whenever you want to. We list the steps involved.

The Internet has simplified our lives to a tremendous extent. The tasks of yesterday that required us to step out of our homes and stand in long lines, are completed today in a matter of minutes online. You don’t need to leave your house for most things today, from paying utility bills to effecting money transfers. You can shop online, live stream sports, watch movies, bank and manage your loans, and even carry out business with people located in other countries – all from the convenience of your home or place of work.

Another convenient task that the Internet allows us to carry out, is auto insurance renewal. As more and more users adopt the digital medium as a way of life, car insurance providers have made the renewal process extremely simple by shifting it online. So, from perusing a new insurance plan to asking queries about it, and from buying a new policy to renewing it every year, you can do all these tasks online within mere minutes!

The best general insurance providers today offer customers the opportunity to buy their products online, as also renew their car insurance policies in just a few simple steps. Broadly, your auto insurance renewal online entails the following steps:

• Check your insurance renewal date. This will be intimated to you via email and/or SMS at least a month prior to the actual date.
• Access your insurer’s website and enter the policy details under the heading ‘Renew’.
• Fill out details on the form that pops up on your screen
• Make the payment online at once
• Accept receipt of payment

The benefits of auto insurance renewal online?

Managing your car insurance plan online gives you full autonomy over it. You can track the renewal dates, study new benefits being offered and even contact the insurer online. Renewing the car insurance policy online completely obliterates the need to have an insurance broker do the same thing for a fee.

Dealing with the insurer directly saves a lot of time and it is also cost-effective. You are certain to have an Internet-enabled device such as a laptop, tab or smartphone. You can renew your car insurance policy the moment you receive an alert about the same on your phone – just follow the payment link provided, and the steps outlined above. 

The online medium also offers you unfettered convenience. You can renew your policy online whenever you want, from a convenient location and at a suitable time.

Single Premium Life Insurance: Save Hassle-Free

Insurance penetration in India has started to improve in recent years and is likely to cross 4 per cent by the end of 2017, as per a research paper released by ASSOCHAM. The insurance penetration which is the percentage of insurance premium with reference to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was at 3.3 per cent in 2014 and increased to 3.44 per cent in 2015.

Many barriers to adoption are being broken now thanks to a concerted effort being put in by the incumbent government and the regulatory agency which is Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA).

Single Premium Life Insurance – For A Hassle-Free Investment

One such common misconception regarding life insurance and one that keeps people away from investing is that you have to keep paying premium for the majority or the rest of your life. The single premium life insurance, as the name suggests is a option most suited if you have idle money with you and are not willing to take the risk of paying premiums in the future or consider high risk investment alternatives such as mutual funds. It is a life insurance policy offering similar benefits and protection as you will get from a traditional life insurance plan.

Forget Keeping a Tab on Dates

A common deterrent for most people when they consider life insurance policies is the fact that the periodic payment of the premium amount is something that they don't want to commit to. With a single premium life insurance policy, they can make a lumpsum payment of the premium and leave all their worries aside. You no longer have to worry about remembering and complying with the different dates when you have to make your insurance premium payments.

Tax Benefits – You can be rest assured that investing in such a policy will not deprive you of the promised tax benefits that come with such a life insurance cover. For instance, you will be eligible for the tax benefits at the time of investment as prescribed in the Section 80C of the Income Tax Act as well as the Section 10 (10D) tax-related benefits at the time of maturity.

By incurring that one payment against your single premium life insurance, you end up creating an asset in the form of the life insurance policy without having to worry about managing your future wealth to keep provisioning for premium payments from time to time. Before investing in any such a policy, it is always advisable to read the terms and conditions in great detail to make sure everything is as per your needs only.