rUrAlMaMa

Congratulations Mr.Rajakumar for getting promoted as Agency Manager.Joined as Unit Manager under the leadership of Mr Ajit Nalinakshan.Rajakumar is a qualified lawyer and is presently staying with his wife and children at Trivandrum.He is originally from Pooyapally,Kollam

The year 2010 saw the PC evolving from being a niche device to a mainstream portable computer. Tablets have an intriguing form factor and come with lesser functionality than a laptop, but they are touch-enabled and very adept at delivering media and the Internet. If Netbooks were the most wanted gadgets in 2009, then it was the iPad this year. Apple Inc's iPad has been the talk of the town since its launch. In India, they haven't launched it yet, but of course, other tablets are already making news. The Dell Streak is somewhere between a smartphone and tablet. With a screen of 5 inches, it sits squarely in between the 'standard' 3.3 inch screen of smartphones and the tablet. But surely, this smart gadget may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Touted as the toughest competitor to the iPad, Samsung's Galaxy Tab is smaller and lighter than other tablets. This Android tablet gives the device a number of selling points Apple's iPad can't claim, including full-featured multitasking, support for Adobe Flash, and unrestricted access to applications. With a 7-inch display and a weight of 0.8 pound, the Galaxy Tab is small enough to fit into some tight spaces (such as a roomy pocket), light enough to hold with one hand, and large enough to provide satisfying viewing. Not that there aren't other good tablets in the market - this is just a dekko at the two most popular ones till the iPad arrives on Indian shores

Our Birth is our Opening Balance !

Our Death is our Closing Balance!

Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities

Our Creative Ideas are our Assets


Heart is our Current Asset

Soul is our Fixed Asset

Brain is our Fixed Deposit

Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital

Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade

Friends are our General Reserves

Values & Behavior are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned

Love is our Dividend

Children are our Bonus Issues

Education is Brands / Patents

Knowledge is our Investment

Experience is our Premium Account

The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.

The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award

Rs14,000cr hole; loss at LIC MF; govt scrutiny
LIC’s problems echo those at Unit Trust of India a decadeago when its assured return scheme ran into trouble

Tamal Bandyopadhyay, Baiju Kalesh& Anirudh Laskar
Mumbai: Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC),the country’s largest financial institution with an asset base of Rs12trillion, is running a valuation deficit of around Rs14,000 crore in threeplans of its guaranteed-return annuity policies—Jeevan Dhara, Jeevan Suraksha and Jeevan Akshay. Not all plans under these three brands are affected.
There are at least 1.3 millioncustomers of these three plans, but none will be affected.
In a parallel development, allinvestments made by LIC during fiscals 2007-08 and 2008-09 are under thegovernment’s scanner, following complaints made about its investments in a fewcompanies.
The finance ministry is alsoclosely looking at the exposure of its subsidiary, LIC Mutual Fund AssetManagement Co. Ltd (LIC MF), to liquid and money market schemes that led to aloss of Rs120 crore. “The unitholders have nothing to worry. We’ll fix theresponsibility and take stern action (against those responsible),” said aministry official familiar with the development, who asked not to beidentified.
Another person, who also did notwant to be identified, said “heads will roll” in LIC MF.
While LIC MF has disclosed its lossin its half-yearly earnings and reported this to the capital market regulator,the notional loss or valuation deficit of LIC’s three guaranteed return pensionschemes is not mentioned in its balance sheet as the insurer does not discloseits profits or losses across segments.
These plans were launched in the1980s and the 1990s with assured returns of 11-12%, but with the drop ininterest rates the actual yield on investments is much less than what investorshave been earning. They were launched under the Jeevan Dhara, Jeevan Surakshaand Jeevan Akshay brands. Subsequent schemes launched under the same brands arenot suffering from any notional losses.
These three loss-making old schemesare annuity plans, offering periodic payments after the retirement of apolicyholder. They address the longevity risk and in some cases, inflation riskin a limited manner.
As the payout phase is usually longand uncertain, such schemes require the matching of assets and liabilities overa fairly long period.
“The valuation gap varies accordingto the movement of interest rates. In future, it can widen or even shrink. Atthe current interest rate scenario, the net present value of the deficit forthese schemes, which will expire after a few decades, is around Rs14,000crore,” said an LIC official, who asked not to be named.
Apart from the interest rate trend,the mortality rate will also have a bearing on the actual loss that LIC willsuffer eventually. Mortality rates have been progressively coming down and thismeans longer payouts to the investors. The LIC official said that there is noplan to discontinue these schemes and added that LIC has a solvency margin ofRs46,000 crore and this is being used to take care of the valuation gap. “We’reusing surpluses to make good this gap and not using other policyholders’money,” he said.
A senior Insurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority (Irda) official said the regulator would not haveapproved these LIC schemes had it been in existence when they were launched.“There is indeed a deficit… This is not a good practice. We’d not have clearedsuch products if they were to come to us for approval,” the Irda official said,asking not to be identified.
“It would be unwise for LIC tobuild up such losses in their accounts. Pension funds are required to behandled very carefully,” he added.
If interest rates keep falling andthe people covered under these LIC policies do not claim their incomes, thelosses could build up further. “If it calls for a corrective action, we’dcertainly act,” said Irda chairman J. Hari Narayan.
Irda came into being in 1999.
The schemes
LIC introduced two personal pensionplans, a deferred pension plan by name Jeevan Dhara and an immediate pensionplan by name Jeevan Akshay in 1987-88, offering 1% assured return per month.The government had allowed premium on these two plans up to Rs40,000.
Both plans had managed to attractmillions of customers due to tax incentives offered. Investments in suchschemes were exempted from one’s income while computing tax. Demand for theschemes continued till 1992, when the government withdrew the tax incentive.
In 1996, once again, LIC introduceda deferred pension plan, Jeevan Suraksha. The government allowed premium of upto Rs10,000 for the policy.
The latest data available for theseschemes shows that till March 2003, LIC had nearly 1.3 million customerscovered under them.
The arithmetic
The premium money collected underannuity and pension plans is predominantly invested in government securitiesand highly-secured corporate bonds; some portion is also invested in equity.
Interest rates in India wereregulated until 1997–98, when the medium and long-term rates were approximately12-13%. Since then they started falling and simultaneously, the mortality ratestoo fell as life expectancy increased. Currently, the yield on the government’sbenchmark 10-year bond is about 8.1%.
When an insurer launches aguaranteed annuity product, it assumes that the securities where the premiummoney is invested are fairly long-term in nature and will mature roughly duringthe payout phase (the period when the annuitants start claiming their income).
If investments mature before thepeople covered die or start claiming their income, the insurer needs toreinvest the money in other securities. If the reinvestments fetch interestrates lower than the returns guaranteed by the insurer, it starts incurringhuge losses. The losses keep multiplying year-on-year and if the interest rateskeep falling, the company may be badly hit.
“The interest rates fell moresteeply than we had expected and the life expectancy has increased to 90 yearsfor the policyholders,” the LIC official said.
Solvency issues
In order to ensure that the lifeinsurers in Indiaare capable of honouring claims against any of their policies any time, Irdastipulates that firms must maintain a solvency margin. The solvency margin issimply the excess of the value of assets over the value of life insuranceliabilities and other liabilities of policyholders’ and shareholders’ funds.
Irda also specifies that forpension schemes, an insurer is required to recognize the risk of decline infuture interest rates.
LIC has an overall solvency marginof Rs46,000 crore currently. A member of the Instituteof Actuaries of India, who hadearlier worked with LIC, said solvency margins are prudential measures and maynot be sufficient to handle an insurer’s overall liabilities. An insurer needsto ensure it has the right kind of reserves, reinsurance or derivatives to backits guarantees credibly as far as annuities are concerned, he added, asking notto be identified.
The valuation deficit at LIC issomewhat reminiscent of the infamous US-64, the assured return scheme of theerstwhile Unit Trust of India (UTI), the nation’s oldest MF that crumbled underthe burden of assured payouts to the millions of investors in US-64. Thegovernment had bailed out UTI and bifurcated it into two separateentities—Special Undertaking of UTI for managing all the tax-free assuredreturn schemes, and UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd for managing the assets underother MF schemes.
The LIC official said that “it’s notfair to compare (LIC’s schemes) with US-64” as investments made by the pensionschemes are all held to maturity and LIC does not need to value them inaccordance with their market price or follow the so-called mark-to-market (MTM)accounting practice.
Losses in MF
LIC MF has posted a Rs120 croreloss following a new norm of capital market regulator Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi) that directs all MFs to value their investment in allsecurities maturing 91 days and above on an MTM basis.
In its effort to enhancetransparency in valuation of debt schemes, Sebi in February had ordered all MFsto value all money market and debt securities, including floating ratesecurities, with residual maturity of up to 91 days on the basis of theirmarket value.
Nearly 60% of the MF industry’sassets are in debt securities. The Rs7.13 trillion industry invests money underincome schemes, liquid and money market schemes in such securities. At the endof September, LIC MF’s average assets were Rs19,726.97 crore and Rs16,911.18crore of this was in debt funds, says Value Research, a Delhi-based MF tracker.
“We’ve a substantial holding inlong-dated securities under our mutual fund business. We’re now strengtheningour mutual fund team. Actions are being taken,” the LIC official said.
Sushobhan Sarkar, who used to headLIC’s MF business, has recently been made the head the insurer’s internationaloperations, and Mohan Raj, an executive director, is now heading the MFbusiness.
Govt investigation
A three-member panel constituted bythe finance ministry is closely looking into all investments made by LIC in2008 and 2009. Tarun Bajaj, joint secretary (insurance and banking), departmentof financial services; Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, director, department of financialservices, and Ravneet Kaur, joint secretary (banking and insurance) are themembers of the panel.
R. Gopalan, financial servicessecretary, said: “This is a routine investigation. Millions of policyholders’money is involved and we should act responsibly.”
“Whenever there’s any complaint,the government examines if there is any merit in it. If there are verifiablefacts, the government questions and checks the investment books. One of therecent complaints regarding LIC’s investments involved four to five firms. Theinvestigations are going on and we’re cooperating fully,” the LIC officialsaid.
A series of discussionsbetweenMintand anumber of LIC officials disclosed that LIC’s equity investment portfolioincludes investments in 475 unlisted firms of which 14 are strategicinvestments, including those in the National Stock Exchange and the BombayStock Exchange.
The book value of such investmentis around Rs1,521 crore.
Currently, LIC holds equities of atleast 1,000 companies and the market value of these investments stood at Rs3.75trillion as on 30 September.
“Our holdings are fairly long termin nature. Naturally, there is always a possibility of companies gettingdelisted, turning the stock illiquid,” a second LIC official said last week,asking not to be identified.
He also said, “There is noloss-making investment and if required LIC can liquidate its stake (in suchcompanies) at substantial profit.”
However, another person familiarwith LIC’s investments in illiquid stocks said the insurer is trying to“dispose of such investment fast at best possible way”. This person, whodoesn’t work for LIC and asked not to be named, said no new investment is madeby the insurer in any firm unless it is listed and has a track record of payingdividends for three consecutive years.
The insurer has an investmentcommittee that meets roughly once in six weeks. Gopalan is one of the membersof the committee.
According to Irda rules, a lifeinsurer is permitted to invest at least 50% in government securities, 15% insecurities of infrastructure-related companies and projects, and the remaining35% in equities, non-convertible debentures, commercial papers, certificate ofdeposits and MFs.
The insurer plans to invest nearlyRs2 trillion this fiscal, including equity and other instruments. LIC’s netprofit went up by 11% to Rs23,478 crore during 2009-10 against Rs21,152 crorein the previous fiscal.

Source:http://www.livemint.com/2010/11/16085127/LIC8217s-triple-blow-Rs14.html?h=A1

Bribe scam unearthed; top LIC, bank officials held
Vinaya Deshpande
MUMBAI: The Economic Offences Wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation has unearthed a multimillion-rupee bribery scam and arrested top officials of public sector banks and financial institutions, including the Chief Executive Officer of the Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Limited.
On Tuesday, the CBI conducted raids in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata and Jalandhar and seized some documents. “Five separate cases have been registered,” Joint Director P. Kandaswamy told a press conference here on Wednesday.
The arrested include Naresh K Chopra, Secretary (Investment), LIC, Mumbai; Ramchandran Nair, Director and Chief Executive Officer, LIC Housing Finance Limited, Mumbai; R.N. Tayal, General Manager, Bank of India, Mumbai; Manindersingh Johar, Director (Chartered Accountant), Central Bank of India, New Delhi; Venkoba Gujjal, Deputy General Manager, Punjab National Bank, New Delhi; Rajesh Sharma, chairperson and managing director of Money Matters, Mumbai; and Suresh Gattani and Sanjay Sharma, also of the private financial services company.
Mr. Kandaswamy said Money Matters used to bribe officials of these public sector banks and financial institutions to facilitate large-scale corporate loans and other facilities.

courtesy:The Hindu

short but not formal

Where does it end?

Are they ships or pillars!!!!

Date : 28th June, 2010
GUIDANCE NOTES ON RECENT REGULATORY CHANGES RELATED TO UNIT LINKED INSURANCE PRODUCTS (ULIPs)

INTRODUCTION:
IRDA has, from time to time, taken various initiatives for protecting the interests of policyholders by bringing out Regulations, Guidelines, Circulars etc applicable to insurers and intermediaries covering the various stages in the lifecycle of an insurance product, commencing from solicitation, sale, policy servicing, to claims servicing and grievance redressal.

With expansion of the insurance sector and more and more innovative insurance products, in particula, the Unit Linked Insurance Products coming into the life insurance market, IRDA has been sensitive to the changing scenario and the challenges that go with it. In particular, IRDA has been conscious of how these changes have been impacting the policyholder and has taken several steps to bring in changes in the regulatory framework to address various concerns of the policyholder.

IRDA had stipulated that insurers must provide the prospect/policyholder all relevant information regarding amounts deducted towards various charges for each policy year so that the prospect could take an informed decision. Insurers were required to provide Benefit Illustrations giving two scenarios of interest rates, 6% and 10% respectively. The prospect was required to sign on the illustration while signing the proposal form. This was done to ensure transparency and proper disclosures by the insurers.

It is necessary to demystify complex products and ensure that proper product disclosures are made to the prospect/policyholder. Towards this end, IRDA has already come out with an exposure draft on need to issue Key Features Documents. Responses received by the Authority are under examination and the initiative will be taken forward further. Similarly, Needs Analysis is another initiative identified by IRDA as a step in curbing wrong advice and mis-selling. An exposure draft on this requirement is already circulated and responses are coming in. Whilst on mis-selling, IRDA has identified Distance Marketing as yet another area of concern and draft guidelines in this regard have been put up as an exposure note for all stakeholders to respond to.

Mention must be made of what is perhaps the most important step that the Authority has taken keeping in view the interests of policyholders. IRDA set up an exclusive Consumer Affairs Department that focuses on consumer related issues and initiatives including grievance redressal and consumer education through Insurance Awareness Campaigns. With a view to creating a central repository of industry-wide insurance grievance data and facilitating monitoring of disposal of grievances by insurers, IRDA is on the verge of implementing the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS). IGMS will not only help monitor the redress systems of insurers but also create a gateway for policyholders to register complaints with insurance companies first and if need be escalate them to the IRDA Grievance Cells. The Consumer Affairs department goes beyond facilitation and works towards taking grievances to their logical end by calling for explanations where required, carrying out enquiries and inspections etc. It is proposed to make the institution of the Insurance Ombudsman handle all types of complaints including those relating to policy sale and servicing rather than just restricting it to claims. IRDA is also shortly making its Call Centre operational for policyholders to lodge their grievances and also seek their status over phone/e-mail.

Further, keeping in view the need for efficient functioning of the insurance sector for protecting the interests of policyholders, it is necessary to have reliable, timely and accurate data relating to insurance. In order to ensure that proper data is collected, processed and disseminated in the manner required, IRDA has set up an independent body, namely the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB). The IIB has started functioning and has already made good progress.

RECENT REGULATORY INITIATIVES

More recently, IRDA has taken a holistic view of the features of ULIPs and addressed issues impacting the policyholders including the way such products are sold/bought; how ULIPs can be better financial instruments for providing risk coverage; how sale by unlicensed personnel and several other malpractices existing in this market may be curbed by plugging legal loopholes and tightening of the regulatory ambit; legal mandate to initiate direct penal action against Corporate Agents etc. IRDA therefore initiated exposure drafts covering these areas and received considerable feedback from various stakeholders on the issues put forth. The issues were then presented to and discussed with the members of the Insurance Advisory Committee as well as the members of the Board of the Authority. The following regulatory initiatives have been approved by the Authority during the Board meeting on 31.05.10.

I. Distribution channel related changes:

1. IRDA has amended the IRDA (Insurance Advertisements and Disclosure) Regulations to remove any scope for the involvement of unlicensed personnel/entities in the sale of insurance products.
   
2. IRDA has amended the IRDA ( Licensing of Corporate Agents) Regulations to further tighten the Code of Conduct of corporate agents to ensure that the prospect does not deal with any unlicensed person. The Regulations have also been amended to ensure that there is no scope for any kind of remuneration other than commission where sale has been effected. This measure will reduce the expenses of the insurer, thereby lowering premiums to be paid by the policyholder.
   
3. Regulations for referrals: IRDA has also addressed the issue of Referrals by bringing out separate Regulations leaving no scope for misuse of the system. Companies which wish to share their database of customers with insurers would need to get approval from IRDA after having conformed to the requirements as laid down in the Regulations. Further, there are restrictions on the business activities of the referral company to ensure that there is no misuse of the system. For instance, the referral company shall not be in any business of extending loans and advances or accepting deposits etc though there are exceptions such as for Regional Rural Banks, Co-operative banks etc. The Regulations cast obligations on the referral company as well as the insurer including submission of data as and when called for by the Authority.

II. ULIP STRUCTURE RELATED CHANGES:

(1) Lock in period increased to five years:

IRDA has increased the lock-in period for all Unit Linked Products from three years to five years, including top-up premiums, thereby making them long term financial instruments which basically provide risk protection.

(2) Level Paying Premiums:

Further, all regular premium /limited premium ULIPs shall have uniform/level paying premiums. Any additional payments shall be treated as single premium for the purpose of insurance cover.

(3). Even Distribution of Charges:

Charges on ULIPs are mandated to be evenly distributed during the lock in period, to ensure that high front ending of expenses is eliminated.

(4). Minimum Premium Paying Term Of Five Years:

All limited premium unit linked insurance products, other than single premium products shall have premium paying term of at least five years.

(5). Increase In Risk Component:

Further, all unit linked products, other than pension and annuity products shall provide a mortality cover or a health cover thereby increasing the risk cover component in such products.

(i) The minimum mortality cover should be as follows:

Minimum Sum assured for age at entry of below 45 years
Minimum Sum assured for age at entry of 45 years and above

Single Premium (SP) contracts: 125 percent of single premium.

Regular Premium (RP) including limited premium paying (LPP) contracts: 10 times the annualized premiums or (0.5 X T X annualized premium) whichever is higher. At no time the death benefit shall be less than 105 percent of the total premiums (including top-ups) paid.
Single Premium (SP) contracts: 110 percent of single premium

Regular Premium (RP) including limited premium paying (LPP) contracts: 7 times the annualized premiums or (0.25 X T X annualized premium) whichever is higher. At no time the death benefit shall be less than 105 percent of the total premiums (including top-ups) paid.

(In case of whole life contracts, term (T) shall be taken as 70 minus age at entry)

(ii)The minimum health cover per annum should be as follows:



Minimum annual health cover for age at entry of below 45 years
Minimum annual health cover for age at entry of 45 years and above

Regular Premium (RP) contracts: 5 times the annualized premiums or Rs. 100,000 per annum whichever is higher,

At no time the annual health cover shall be less than 105 percent of the total premiums paid.
Regular Premium (RP) contracts: 5times the annualized premiums or Rs. 75,000 per annum whichever is higher.

At no time the annual health cover shall be less than 105 percent of the total premiums paid


(6). MINIMUM GUARANTEED RETURN FOR PENSION PRODUCTS:

As regards pension products, all ULIP pension/annuity products shall offer a minimum guaranteed return of 4.5% per annum or as specified by IRDA from time to time. This will protect the life time savings for the pensioners, from any adverse fluctuations at the time of maturity.

(7). RATIONALISATION OF CAP ON CHARGES:

With a view to smoothening the cap on charges, the capping been rationalized to ensure that the difference in yield is capped from the 5th year onwards. This will not only reduce the overall charges on these products, but also smoothen the charge structure for the policyholder.

III. DISCONTINUANCE OF CHARGES:

IRDA has also addressed the issue of discontinuance of charges for surrender of ULIPs. The IRDA (Treatment of Discontinued Linked Insurance Policies) Regulations brought out by IRDA in this regard ensure that policyholders do not get overcharged when they wish to discontinue their policies for any emergency cash requirement. The Regulations stipulate that an insurer shall recover only the incurred acquisition costs in the event of discontinuance of policy and that these charges are not excessive. The discontinuance charges have been capped both as percentage of fund value and premium and also in absolute value. The Regulations also clearly define the Grace Period for different modes of premium payment. Upon discontinuance of a policy, a policyholder shall be entitled to exercise an option of either reviving the policy or completely withdrawing from the policy without any risk cover. Further, the regulations also enable IRDA to order refund of discontinuance charges in case they are found excessive on enquiry.

These regulations are applicable to all new ULIP products approved by IRDA after these regulations are notified

In order to streamline the promotion of insurance products through "distance sales channels", such as telephone and internet, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has proposed certain guidelines.
The regulator intends to issue guidelines for selling under ‘voice mode’ (includes telephone calls), ‘electronic mode’ (includes e-mails, internet and interactive television) and ‘physical mode’ (includes postal mails and newspapers)
It is noteworthy that although web-based selling of insurance products is in its nascent stage in India (low volumes), the IRDA has said that the guidelines would cover distance marketing activities of insurers, brokers at the stages of offer, negotiations and conclusion of sale.
Hence, insurers or brokers will be required to prepare standardised scripts for presentation of benefits, features and disclosures for each of the products which are proposed to be sold. Moreover, IRDA also wants name of the insurer, name of the caller, the language options available, and the purpose of approach to be clearly highlighted. Therefore, the telecaller will have to ask the client if he is interested in continuing with the subject, and thereafter the process of solicitation would follow, subject to the client’s consent in explicit terms. In order to make this whole process more vigilant and professional, IRDA has also asked insurers to ensure every telecaller is trained either in-house or at an institute accredited for pre-license training of agents.
In order to monitor the complete sales channel post-sales, insurers will be required to monitor the quality of sales through telephonic confirmation for all modes of marketing - including in-person and distance modes, by calling up not less than 20% of all the policyholders every month.
We believe that, the move taken by IRDA is in the long-term interest of the policy holders, as it has built-in a reasonable mechanism to infuse transparency in the sale process and curb mis-selling. Insurance companies will see this as an extra cost and may find ways to work around the directive - IRDA must ensure its intent in issuing these guidelines is well executed.

courtesy: kayikam

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred 14 life insurance companies in India from issuing unit-linked insurance products (ULIPs) with immediate effect, according to a notice posted on its website.
Such products, which work in a similar way as mutual funds, should not be launched nor should money be raised from investors by way of new or additional subscription, till companies obtain the certificate of registration from SEBI, it said in its order on Friday.
"ULIPs offered by the said entities are a combination of investment and insurance and, therefore, the investment components are in the nature of mutual funds which can only be offered/launched after obtaining registration from SEBI …," the order said.
The regulator had issued notices to these firms in January and December seeking explanation as to why ULIPs were launched without its approval and why appropriate action should not be taken against them.
Such products, introduced in 2001, have been favoured by investors in the last few years because of the market linked returns they offer.

Dear All,
A while ago, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.
His name?.... .. .
We just call him 'TV.'
(Note: This should be required reading for every household!)
He has a wife now....
We call her 'Computer.'
Their first child is "Cell Phone".
Second child "I Pod"

BREAK-EVEN POINT

In economics & business, specifically cost accounting , the break-even point (BEP) is the point at which cost or expenses and revenue are equal: there is no net loss or gain, and one has "broken even". A profit or a loss has not been made, although opportunity costs have been paid, and capital has received the risk-adjusted, expected return.^[1]

For example, if a business sells less than 200 tables each month, it will make a loss, if it sells more, it will be a profit. With this information, the business managers will then need to see if they expect to be able to make and sell 200 tables per month.

If they think they cannot sell that much, to ensure viability they could:

1. Try to reduce the fixed costs (by renegotiating rent for example, or keeping better control of telephone bills or other costs)
2. Try to reduce variable costs (the price it pays for the tables by finding a new supplier)
3. Increase the selling price of their tables.

Any of these would reduce the break even point. In other words, the business would not need to make so many tables to make sure it could pay its fixed costs.

courtesy:Wikipedia

(Trying to get hold of Antony Rebeiro is like trying to get hold of the Pope but I was as determined to interview him as he is determined to keep himself at the top of the industry Very many readers had written to me that they wanted a closer look at Antony Rebeiro (hereinafter Tony) hence I pursued the matter And used all my contacts to get hold of him.)…………………….not joking. That will be a true statement, when we are @2015.

Antony Rebeiro was probably one of the most talented super stars in the history of Rural Business Channel of ICICI-Prudential. He is known as TONY to Friends.

There is no necessity to introduce him because; he is much closer to you friends.

He is the eighth kid of his parents but first friend to everyone.

Mannjit: Tony,Lets begin with the sweet memories about the origin of ruralmama concept?

Tony: I really love to think about how it came to our minds first. It was there in my mind way behind in July 2008 when I was on a business tour in Bahrain. My Boss Ajith Sir, forwarded me a mail with a questionnaire from the Rural Magazine SAMPARK. I was qualified for MID YEAR CHALLENGE that time and at a certain point of time I was leading with Rank 1, and this Magazine forwarded some interview questions regarding my achievements. I felt like being on the Top of the World. First time in my life I am getting such a big appreciation and being interviewed. This really inspired me of starting a similar Magazine in our own Branch in Kollam. Later on when I shared this matter with many of my colleagues, they all supported and you my mighty Manjith, you really made it happen and now it is so called RURAL MAMA.

Mannjit: Critically analyze the quality of the site both from the angle of content and design?

Tony :Technically I cannot be a critic. But I feel more participation from others can definitely make this a quality blog. Design is Superb. All our readers have high regards about the design. Contents need to improve its standards.

Mannjit: Describe your stepping stones of career, education and circumstance that lead you to the insurance industry.

Tony: I am Mathematics Graduate, with a PGDM from IGNOU. Started my career as an Admin Asst in a textile shop, then into telecom for the next 10 years..BPL Connect, BPL Mobiles, DeltaGram, Escotel and later on In Idea…from Call centre Executive to Franchisee manager level. Joining ICICI was indeed a turning point in my life.

Mannjit: Tony, are you materialistic?

Tony: That ……you can analyze it from my assets yaaaar.

But Infact I am very materialistic in human relationships. I have a great circle of loving friends from all sorts of life. That’s my greatest asset.

Mannjit: how will you justify your decision to quit ipru then to Bharati-axa and then to birla sunlife .IS IT THE HEIGHT OF IMMATURITY or ROLE PLAY OF FRAILTY..?

Tony: How will you describe if Shikha Mam moves to State Bank of India from Axis Bank after tremendous experience in ICICI?

Recently one of my customers told me….Tony it is very nice to see that you are progressing in your life year by year.

Each person will definitely have a purpose in mind. You have two options. Either being satisfied with what you have or looking for good opportunities in life to excel. I chose the latter one. We should not marry any Organisation, as we are not born for that. Excelling is the most important purpose in a professional’s life.

Mannjit: Its not wise to compare Ipru,AXa and birla….But share your experience with these companies.?

Tony: Each Company has their own identity. IPRU is well known for Aggressiveness, AXA for innovation and BIRLA for Customer friendliness.

Mannjit:You recently went through difficult times professionally? How do you cope with ups and downs of life?????

Tony: Yeah, I had many ups and downs in the recent past. Friends like you were a great support in my difficulty. My Family also supported me well. Now I feel proud when looking back as without any difficulty life has no meaning? Overcoming difficulty in life is strength.

Mannjit : What is it that bothers you the most?

Tony: My Age.

Mannjit: You have some very close friends in your life and people say you are fiercely protective of them?

Tony: I think this is a question you have to ask yourself. Only you can comment about me in this context.

Mannjit: Who has been your role model?

Tony: Don’t try to make me say MANJITH…… To be Frank …..Jesus Christ is the only role model in my life.

Mannjit: How will you rate the insurance sector.? Possibilities, probabilities, precautions….

Tony : As far as Indians are Good Investors you don’t have to worry about any probability and possibility. Companies have to create awareness about financial security and planning among the middle class people. People are still unaware about the sweetness of Insurance. 99% of the people are under insured and 90% of the Gross Disposable Income is invested in FD’s and Real Estates which will not give any Life Security. Create Awareness….you will get business.

Mannjit: Telecom sector v/s insurance sector as career choice

Tony: Both are good. Insurance pays you more if you are willing to take more pressure.

Mannjit: All insurance companies displayed pathetic inflow rate in February first two weeks. Any phenomenal reasons to these business slow down in the insurance sector…? Why advisors become that much non productive..? Even in the so called RECESSION period we performed better.

Tony: January was so sluggish and the ripple effect is there in February too. But now it is gaining up momentum. No phenomenal reason. Product Changes happened massively. Reaction to the changes was a bit slow and it is quiet natural. Many more good products are yet to come and you can see the industry optimizing its growth in the next financial year.

Mannjit: “VILAPANGALKU SHESHAM, AMMATHOTTIL and Kaanapaalam’……Yes ,you are an actor too. How much serious are you in acting? If you are selected as a hero, will you sack the job and takes cinema as profession?

Tony: Acting is my Favorite Hobby. I have acted in lot many Dramas and Telefilms. I have got the Best Actor Award in the State Bible Kaloltsavam in 1994 held at Ernakulam.

But now a day, I am not getting enough time for such activities. So, for the time being, I don’t intend to take Cinema as a profession but will definitely do whenever I get any chance and the permission from higher-ups.

Mannjit: A sudden twist… How many girl friends do you have..?

Tony: Innumerous…… All girls are my friends. Count if you can.

Mannjit: I know you’re the most honest person to the family ,a good husband and an OUTSTANDING father.(owner’s pride. .neighbour’s envy )

Now the time to Share about your family things to us.

Tony: Me happily married to Flavia, a house wife. My Son’s Name is Joshua, he is 3 years old. I am expecting my second child in April. We are now settled in Pathanamthitta. Parents Retired Private Servants, I have Five brothers and two sisters.

Mannjit:Thank you very much Tony for your valuble time .Wishing you all success in every field that you are involved.

Tony: You're welcome

In 2002-03 the Per Capita Income in India was Rs 19040.
In2003-04 the Per Capita Income in India was Rs 20989.
In2004-05 the Per Capita Income in India was Rs 23241.
In2008-2009 the Per Capita Income in India was37490.
GDP at factor cost at constant (1999-2000) prices in the year 2008-2009 is likely to attain a level of Rs 3351653.India achieved a growth rate of 7.1 per cent in 2008-2009.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing had a combined growth rate of 2.6 per cent during 2008-2009
Industry had growth rate of 3.4 per cent during 2008-2009
Service sector had a growth rate of 10.3 per cent during 2008-2009
Inspite of the global meltdown, India has performed well in comparison to the rest of the world.

India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
India is the world's largest democracy.
Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.
The art of Navigation was bornin the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).
IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.
The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful lake called Sudarshana was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.
Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.
India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.
Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.
Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
Facts to make every Indian proud
Q. Who is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems?A. Vinod Khosla
Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of thetoday's computers run on it)?A. Vinod Dahm
Q. Who is the third richest man on the world?A. According to the latest report on Fortune Magazine, it is Aziz Premji,who is the CEO of Wipro Industries. The Sultan of Brunei is at 6thposition now.
Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world's No.1 webbased email program)?A. Sabeer Bhatia
Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creatorof program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?A. Arun Netravalli
Q. Who is the GM of Hewlett Packard?A. Rajiv Gupta
Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000,responsible to iron out all initial problems?A. Sanjay Tejwrika
Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?A. Victor Menezes, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar.We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America, evenfaring better than the whites and the natives.
There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). ,

Insurable Interest: Life Insurance

1. Each individual has an unlimited insurable interest in his or her own life, and therefore can select anyone as a beneficiary.

2. Parent and child, husband and wife, brother and sister have an insurable interest in each other because of blood or marriage.

3. Creditor-debtor relationships give rise to an insurable interest. The creditor can be the beneficiary for the amount of the outstanding loan, with the face value decreasing in proportion to the decline in the outstanding loan amount.

4. Business relationships give rise to an insurable interest. An employee may insure the life of an employer, and an employer may insure the life of an employee.

Insurable interest must exist at the inception of the contract, not necessarily at the time of loss. For example, because a woman has an insurable interest in the life of her fiance, she purchases an insurance policy on his life. Even if the relationship is terminated, as long as she continues to pay the premiums she will be able to collect the death benefit under the policy.

BY mannjit

Usually feared, sometimes ignored, objections are going to come your way. If you’re properly trained on handling objections the RIGHT way, you’ll know longer have an issue with them.
The Two Ways to Beat Objections!
There are two fundamental strategies to deal with or ‘beat’ objections: 1) “Pre-beating” the objection(s) or 2) “Post-beating” the objection(s)
Pre-Beating Objections
Without a doubt, the BEST way to handle objections any EVERY CASE is to bring the potential or ‘most likely’ objections up FIRST in your presentation. Most sales people will tell you that they normally receive the same types of objections, and our sales cycle automatically is built to deal with the Qualifying and Procrastination which will usually surface in EVERY sales presentation.
The psychology of bringing up the objection first is that through my experience, WHOEVER BRINGS UP THE OBJECTION FIRST USUALLY WINS! I can’t honestly say why this is true, but IT WORKS time and time again. Let’s use a non-sales related example. If you’re on a trip with your spouse or a friend, and you know he or she doesn’t necessarily like talk shows on the radio, then you can handle this two ways. First, you can go ahead and dial the Rush Limbaugh show and watch as your partner starts to exhibit disgruntlement, or two, you can ‘pre-beat’ this disgruntlement or objection by bringing it up first by saying, “I know you might be in the mood for music, but if you don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it if you could find it in your heart of hearts to let me listen to Rush for a little while. It will help keep me awake. You could even take a nap if you want, then I PROMISE, later, you can have complete control of the dial!” Now, by bringing it up first, what’s your partner going to say! Unless his or her ‘will’ is so great that they steam-roll you, you have a GREAT chance of proceeding to listen to Rush without meeting much or any resistance!
This is EXACTLY how it works in sales too!
If your product is high-priced, BRING IT UP FIRST! “Joe, I know we’re not the cheapest out there! But like Terry was telling me at ABC company, you know there are obvious reasons why you wouldn’t want to settle on the cheapest thing in the world! You get what you pay for!”
If the economy is bad, “You know Joe, I was talking to Terry about how the economy’s been sluggish, which is why she chose to move forward with this now, since interest rates are flexible and she thought that having the XYZ product would give her a competitive edge while all her competitors have slithered into their ‘safety cave.’!
Whatever the common objections you normally receive, don’t be hesitate to BRING THEM UP FIRST! In fact, at our company, we even built a ‘mini-sales talk’ to handle about 10 of the most common objections within a 45 to 60 second timeinterval- for example:
“You know Joe, there are probably five or six reasons Terry, Bob, and Mike all went forward with our XYZ product. First of all, they all wanted to invest in a product that would last, and that was backed up with by a great company! So sure, we’re not the cheapest, but hey, you get what you pay for! Especially in these tougher economic times- Terry was telling me how now was probably the best time to move forward while rates are low. And she felt now was the time to move forward while all her competitors were living in fear! Another reason I’m doing well is that the XYZ is built for small to medium sized companies! I guess the larger company’s sometime miss out on great products like this! Then there’s always the fact that companies like Terry’s really enjoy investing in products now to save them a ton of time later, even though it might mean an investment in time and training. And finally, everyone’s telling me that their customers will really enjoy having the benefit of utilizing a product like XYZ, especially in smaller communities like yours!
In the above example, I just ‘pre-beat 4 or 5 major objections!
The two biggest objections that our sales cycle automatically attempts to pre-beat are the two BIGGEST SALES KILLERS OF ALL TIME: 1) Qualifying your decision maker, and 2) pre-beating the procrastination objection or ‘de-procrastinating your decision maker.’ If you don’t MAKE SURE you deal with these upfront, they almost ALWAYS come back to get you! (see Presentation- Qualifying and Procrastination.)
You can even ‘pre-beat’ small objections on the fly like, “I know your busy Ted, but…” or “I know you just purchased a similar item like this last year but…” or to the secretary, “I know Mr. Smith never sees sales people, but….”
Now everyone gets ‘burnt’ by objections brought up ‘after the fact,’ and nobody’s perfect enough to ‘pre-beat’ EVERY objection in EVERY presentation. So when someone brings up an objection that you weren’t expecting, you still have a shot!
Post-Beating Objections
When someone brings up an objection that you hadn’t previously covered, all you have to do is use ‘Feel, Felt, Found’ to give you a shot at ‘post-beating the objection
Feel, Felt, Found
Here’s how it works. Once someone brings up the objection, use third-person selling to ‘post-beat’ it! Using our radio example from earlier, say you go ahead and put Rush Limbaugh on the radio and your friend says, “Come on, you know I don’t like talk radio.” Instead of saying, “O.K.,” try this: “Well Mike, I know how you FEEL, another friend of mine, Terry, doesn’t really like talk radio either. But what Terry found was by letting me listen to my show, it really helped me stay awake, and besides- she actually started to not mind the talk show stuff so much!”
Another example. Say your prospect brings up the price objection after the fact and says, “Bill, I really like the XYZ, but it seems to be a pretty expensive item.” You can then say, “ Mike, I know how you feel. Terry over at ABC FELT the same way. But when she really started thinking about it, she FOUND that in the long run, it more than paid for itself when you consider ‘down-time,’ replacement parts for CHEAP units, and the possibility of working with a company that sells cheaper stuff- ARE THEY REALLY GOING TO BACK UP THEIR PRODUCTS? Like Terry said, I guess you get what you pay for!”
Now, obviously the feel, felt, found method is not as strong as pre-beating the objections to begin with, and you have to make certain that you have name-based rapport that makes sense to your prospect. And NEVER mislead or lie to your prospect. (We also discuss in other parts of this manual the issue of confidentiality- use your head!)
But at least now you know about the two standard ways to handle objections, all you have to do is give them a try. YOU’LL DEFINITELY LIKE THE RESULTS!