Home
Insurance
Term Insurance
How to Buy Life insurance and From Whom to Buy

How to Buy Life insurance and From Whom to Buy

August 02, 2012 Thursday

Insurance Intermediaries

  • Insurance is a complex product representing a promise to compensate the insured or third party according to specified terms and conditions in the event of the occurrence of a covered contingency. In most insurance transactions there is usually an intermediary - an insurance agent (individual or corporate) or an insurance broker.
  • Insurance intermediaries serve as a bridge between consumers (seeking to buy insurance policies) and insurance companies (seeking to sell those policies).
  • Isurance brokers are licensed by the IRDA and governed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Insurance Brokers) Regulations, 2002. Individual insurance agents and corporate agents are also licensed by the IRDA and governed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (licensing of Individual Insurance Agents) Regulations, 2000 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Licensing of Corporate Agents) Regulations, 2002, respectively. These Regulations lay down the Code of Conduct for the respective intermediaries.
  • An intermediary has a distinct role to play in the entire life cycle of a product, from the point of sale through policy servicing, up to claim servicing. An intermediary shall provide all material information with respect to a proposed cover to enable the prospect to decide on the best one. The intermediary is expected to advise the prospect with complete disclosures and transparency.. After the sale is effected, the intermediary must coordinate effectively between the customer and the insurer for policy servicing as well as claim servicing.
  • IRDA has prescribed regulations for protecting the interests of policyholders casting obligations not only on Insurers but also Intermediaries. These prescribe obligations at the point of sale as well as policy servicing and claims servicing.

Tips on dealing with Insurance Intermediaries

    While dealing with Insurance Intermediaries, check out the following :

  • Ask for and check whether the person holds a valid license and is authorized for the particular business. For example the Intermediary should be licensed to sell life insurance or general insurance or both (holding a composite license). A referral always helps.
  • Check whether he or she has a good knowledge of various insurance products/policies.
  • He or she should understand your needs and what you are seeking. Always ensure that you consider only products that you can afford. Beware of tall promises and over-selling tactics. Consider only what you can afford.
  • Ask questions and understand the policy terms and conditions of the policy the Intermediary is trying to explain to you.
  • You must be satisfied that you understand what your commitments are. What are the payments or amounts that you have to bear not only when you take the policy but when you surrender it or when you make a claim.
  • Ask for brochures and sales literature pertaining to the product you are considering or the intermediary is trying to sell. Get the intermediary to explain the full facts of the products, scope of cover and exclusions, as applicable.
  • Insist on quality delivery and timely service. You can judge this by the turnaround time of the intermediary during the period of pre-sale when he or she is dealing with you.
  • Fill up the proposal form yourself. Never ever sign on a blank proposal form. If you find terms in the proposal form that you do not understand, ask the intermediary to explain it to you.
  • When you make premium payments through an Intermediary, check whether heis authorized to do so by the insurance company and insist on a duly signed receipt immediately.
  • After receipt of your policy, go through it thoroughly and if you do not understand certain terms contact your intermediary and get them explained. Remember, for life insurance and for health insurance policies of a term of three years or more, there is a free-look period within which you may return the policy if you do not agree with the terms and conditions therein.
  • Ask the intermediary questions about documents and procedures involved in making a claim and understand them completely. In the event of a claim, there may be other agencies you may have to intimate apart from the insurance company. Get complete details about what you are expected to do.

Source: Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority

 
 
Name
E-Mail
Mobile Number
State
City
Article
Post Your Comment
Please Enter Code Shown     
Case Sentivity to be tested
 
   
Receiver's NAME
Receiver's EMAIL Id
Sender's NAME
Sender'S EMAIL Id
 
 
   
Name:   
Mobile No:
E-mail ID :   
State :
City :
Your Question :   
Please Enter Code Shown     
 

Comments

"In which corprote fund i should invest now? right now I hav invested in Tata Infrastructure but the intetest coming to me is 16% which is very less , so apart from relience , which one would be better.which can giv me high ROI down the line.."

- surbhi kansal saxena, 29th August 2009, Saturday

"In which corprote fund i should invest now? right now I hav invested in Tata Infrastructure but the intetest coming to me is 16% which is very less , so apart from relience , which one would be better.which can giv me high ROI down the line.."

- surbhi kansal saxena, 29th August 2009, Saturday

"good. useful info. keep it go'g. thanks"

- sachin, 29th August 2009, Saturday

"balanced funds"

- vipin kumar, 30th August 2009, Sunday

"it is very nice article and use ful for day-day to activity."

- hamendrakumar, 31st August 2009, Monday

"I earn 4.0 Lacs per annum cash in hand, Can u suggest me how should I start investment, keeping in mind tax savings also. "

- bhartendu bhatt, 2nd September 2009, Wednesday

"it is very good"

- anjali, 9th September 2009, Wednesday

"i wan t tips on intra day trade"

- rahul, 14th September 2009, Monday

"plz tall me how to work stock funds "

- ASHA. JHANWAR, 21st September 2009, Monday

"whats about the starting ammount to invest in differnt mutul and goverment bonds is there annul instalment payments and how the minimum maturity timer and whts the diference in returns between minimum maturity and same large maturity timing"

- sachin, 13th October 2009, Tuesday

"How do I decide when to withdraw my money.I have been investing Rs.5000/-every month in SBI mutual funds.Should I continue to invest ?The returns are not impressive! Mary"

- mary verghese, 29th October 2009, Thursday

"its a great article with detailed explanation "

- nagabhushan, 1st January 2010, Friday

"GOOD ONE"

- Prakasam Balu, 30th January 2010, Saturday

"thanks"

- s. a. zaidi, 16th February 2010, Tuesday

"How to decide how much money to invest in which fund and why??? And how much proportion of your savings to be invested in these funds??"

- Surendar Gupta, 15th March 2010, Monday

"good for knowledge"

- vaibhav koshta, 9th July 2010, Friday

"Kindly explain in details:- Liquid Fund, Money Market Fund, Debt Fund, Balanced Fund, Index Fund, Equity Fund. If my risk taking ability is moderate, which type of fund should I chose?"

- p_kansabanik, 21st October 2010, Thursday
 
 

Latest Articles

Popular Articles

Related Words

Related Words

Copyright@ 2012 Suvision Holdings Pvt Ltd : Powered By EmFace