[bnzjon]

Need help in choosing a good Term insurance.

Checked online policies and found LIC 3 times costlier than HDFC, SBI and ICICI !
Which company should I go for (other than LIC) and reasons ?

[S_U_N]

In November I was keen on buying egold from NSEL.
Today I read on ET, that NSEL is not paying back to investors (though I did not understand the problem completely).
Here is the link:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/21833300.cms

Also quoting Vasanth just to discuss the security of our investor money with an exchange such as NSEL.

Originally Posted by vasanthjn

To make things clear, a demat account is not linked to one Exchange, it can be linked to many exchanges if it trades in similar type of goods. For example if you trade in Stocks, then you can use a single demat account to trade in NSE / BSE / Ahmedabad SE / Madras SE. The same thing applies to commodities market also. With the single demat account (commodities), you can trade in NSEL and in MCX in their SPOT market. Even if NSEL goes bust, then you can trade your units in MCX. Your query with respect to storage of Gold is regularly audited and monitored by the depositories, here it is NSDL and CDSL. They perform physical audits on a regular basis.

In order to avoid the broker risks, it is always better to go with a established player and always insist the broker to transfer your holdings to your demat account. Once it is transferred to the demat account, the broker cannot do anything to your holdings, since NSDL / CDSL doesn't release them without your authorization.

[C300]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

In November I was keen on buying egold from NSEL.
Today I read on ET, that NSEL is not paying back to investors (though I did not understand the problem completely).
Here is the link:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/21833300.cms

Also quoting Vasanth just to discuss the security of our investor money with an exchange such as NSEL.

Its a sad state of affairs.
When it comes to buying gold, we have a lot to learn from our forefathers. The approach is simple - buy physical and store physical. If you cant touch it, you don't own it.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by C300

When it comes to buying gold, we have a lot to learn from our forefathers. The approach is simple - buy physical and store physical.

Did our forefathers have a choice? i.e. the only option for them was to buy physical.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by C300

Its a sad state of affairs.
When it comes to buying gold, we have a lot to learn from our forefathers. The approach is simple - buy physical and store physical. If you cant touch it, you don't own it.

What about the risk of it getting stolen from the house?
In most places around me, despite having a security team in place in the society, there are house break-ins.

Also, we have lost gold jewelry several times. So, physical is more risky than e-gold for me.

[vasanthjn]

Hi SUN,

To what I have heard, there is no problem with eSeries (like Gold, Silver, etc,.). I know investors who have placed their request to convert it to Physical Units. SInce they are already available in your Demat Account. The investors were told it would take 2 weeks for them to receive the Physical Units which is a normal time frame. It took nearly 13 working Days for me to receive the Physical Units.
The main problem with NSEL was with respect to commodities which were traded with WR (Warehouse Receipts). These are mostly grains, cotton, oil seeds, etc,.

Hope I made it clear.

[C300]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

What about the risk of it getting stolen from the house?
In most places around me, despite having a security team in place in the society, there are house break-ins.

Also, we have lost gold jewelry several times. So, physical is more risky than e-gold for me.

Completely Agree. Thats the risk one has to assess when going for physical. In India, the next best thing IMO is to look for a Safe Deposit Box in a nationalized Bank.
Also, if you are buying it as an investment then why go for Jewellery? Always look for 99.9% pure bars/coins.

[null]

From what I have heard, it is not easy to "sell" pure coins/bars which you may have purchased in the open market.

I am told that the buyers (banks wont buy it back. Jewelers hesitate too) will ask for 10-15% lower than the current price for the same.

So, if you are buying gold bars as investment with a good liquidity option & good returns, you should keep this factor in mind.

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by bnzjon

Need help in choosing a good Term insurance.

Checked online policies and found LIC 3 times costlier than HDFC, SBI and ICICI !
Which company should I go for (other than LIC) and reasons ?

Late response, stumbled on it just now.
Look at Aviva/Religare online policies, I found them to be the cheaper of the lot. But one needs to look at claims settlement ration, I think LIC and HDFC have higher scores.
Also, do compare using a aggregation site like policybazaar etc.

[vasanthjn]

Originally Posted by bnzjon

Need help in choosing a good Term insurance.

Checked online policies and found LIC 3 times costlier than HDFC, SBI and ICICI !
Which company should I go for (other than LIC) and reasons ?

Hi bnzjon,

Eventhough this reply is pretty late , may be this will be of use to others.

1. The reason behind the huge variation in premium between the LIC and other private Insurance players is that they follow different mortality tables (the tables which predict the probability of death across age groups). LIC follows a table which was issued around 1998/99 by IRDA whereas others follow the mortality table which was issued around circa 2008/09. The life expectancy has improved quite a bit in the last 10 years.

2. If anyone is keen on purchasing a term policy from LIC, they can do so after Jan 1st 2014, since LIC will be moving to the latest mortality table from 01/01/2014.

3. Among the private players, Aviva and Kotak are competively priced.

Hope this helps.

Vasanth

[Jimmy_u]

Originally Posted by vasanthjn

Hi bnzjon,

Eventhough this reply is pretty late , may be this will be of use to others.

1. The reason behind the huge variation in premium between the LIC and other private Insurance players is that they follow different mortality tables (the tables which predict the probability of death across age groups). LIC follows a table which was issued around 1998/99 by IRDA whereas others follow the mortality table which was issued around circa 2008/09. The life expectancy has improved quite a bit in the last 10 years.

2. If anyone is keen on purchasing a term policy from LIC, they can do so after Jan 1st 2014, since LIC will be moving to the latest mortality table from 01/01/2014.

3. Among the private players, Aviva and Kotak are competively priced.

Hope this helps.

Vasanth

Hi Friends,

I was checking on policy bazaar and found the following good

1.TATA AIA
2.Religare
3.HDFC

does anyone have experience with Tata for term insurance

[alpha1]

Goodness, can anyone suggest me a way out of this mess:

Some years back (24/Mar/12) I tool the L&T Infra bonds worth Rs 20000.
The bond certificate was mailed to me after a few months, and I didn't really check the details mentioned there.

After about a year - I received a cheque which I couldn't encash.
The reason was the there was a subtle error in my name spelling made by Sharepro (they deal with the L&T Infra bonds). I checked the Bond certificate - found the same mistake.

30/Jul/13
Sent emails. Talked to Sharepro. Sent letter. This letter had the original bond certificate as instructed by Sharepro. I also attached the PAN card as proof of ID stating that this is the correct name. (The same PAN card copy was sent while applying for the Bonds).

The name has not been corrected yet.
The original bond certificate is also not with Sharepro (that's what they claim).

What are my options? I am really sick of the unprofessional way Sharepro has handled everything - right from the issue of bond. I filled the form correctly, I submitted the proof of ID with correct name. THEY made a mistake. When I sent the original for corrections, either they misplaced it, or our great postal department did their thing.

Who suffers? Me.
Who is not able to cash the cheques? Me
Who is made to run around for sarkari papers? Me

Is there a way to exit this bullcrap?
The irony is that I did not even claim for IT deductions for this P.O.S. bond business.

[vasanthjn]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Goodness, can anyone suggest me a way out of this mess:

30/Jul/13
Sent emails. Talked to Sharepro. Sent letter. This letter had the original bond certificate as instructed by Sharepro. I also attached the PAN card as proof of ID stating that this is the correct name. (The same PAN card copy was sent while applying for the Bonds).

The name has not been corrected yet.
The original bond certificate is also not with Sharepro (that's what they claim).

Who suffers? Me.
Who is not able to cash the cheques? Me
Who is made to run around for sarkari papers? Me

Is there a way to exit this bullcrap?
The irony is that I did not even claim for IT deductions for this P.O.S. bond business.

Alpha1,

To be frank you are also to blame to some extent for this issue. Most of the investors have this issue too. We think once the investment has been made, every subsequent document is in order. But unfortunately in India its jot the case. According to a SEBI study around 12% of the Documents / Certificates issued post investment contains either clerical error or system error.

Coming to your case, did you retain the acknowledgement slip / courier receipt by which you sent the Original certificates? If so please ask for a delivery proof from the Postal Dept / Courier Company. India post provide this very diligently.
Now Two options:
1. If the delivery receipt shows that the article has been received by sharepro, write a formal complaint to SHarepro mentioning all the details along with the copy of the delivery proof. This puts the responsibility on them entirely.
2. If the India Post / Courier Company does provide you a non-delivery proof, then ask them in writing that the article sent through them has been lost in transit. This is very important. Once you receive this lost in transit letter, you can lodge a formal police complaint. After 3 months (not sure about the time period), the Police would provide a Non-traceable certificate. With this certificate you need to approach Sharepro and get a duplicate one.

If you dont retain the the postal / courier receipt and if you have a photocopy of the certificate, then you can lodge a police complaint mentioning that you have lost it and the Police process is same as mentioned earlier.

Note: I went through the same process around 10 years back when my Father lost some of the physical Share Certificates.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by vasanthjn

Alpha1,

To be frank you are also to blame to some extent for this issue. Most of the investors have this issue too. We think once the investment has been made, every subsequent document is in order. But unfortunately in India its jot the case. According to a SEBI study around 12% of the Documents / Certificates issued post investment contains either clerical error or system error.

Coming to your case, did you retain the acknowledgement slip / courier receipt by which you sent the Original certificates? If so please ask for a delivery proof from the Postal Dept / Courier Company. India post provide this very diligently.
Now Two options:
1. If the delivery receipt shows that the article has been received by sharepro, write a formal complaint to SHarepro mentioning all the details along with the copy of the delivery proof. This puts the responsibility on them entirely.
2. If the India Post / Courier Company does provide you a non-delivery proof, then ask them in writing that the article sent through them has been lost in transit. This is very important. Once you receive this lost in transit letter, you can lodge a formal police complaint. After 3 months (not sure about the time period), the Police would provide a Non-traceable certificate. With this certificate you need to approach Sharepro and get a duplicate one.

If you dont retain the the postal / courier receipt and if you have a photocopy of the certificate, then you can lodge a police complaint mentioning that you have lost it and the Police process is same as mentioned earlier.

Note: I went through the same process around 10 years back when my Father lost some of the physical Share Certificates.

Thanks for the inputs!
Fortunately the matter has been cleared without much ado .
There was an error from Sharepro in stating that they had not received the bond certificate.

Subsequently, the same day evening I received a communication from Sharepro that they had forgotten that they had dispatched the revised bond certificate by post. And this had been received by my mother long time back.
So all is well now.

Thanks once again for providing the steps (in case I really had to use them)

[ghodlur]

Investment gurus,

Can some one advise if investments made in Non Convertible Debentures (NCD's) offered by private companies is worthwhile investment option if I had to park a lumpsum money for 3 years. The interest rates offered beats that generated by Equity Mutual funds or Bank Fixed Deposits.

Any body invested in any NCD's? Pls share your experience regarding the returns and risk involved.