Manulife Tie-up With Mahindra In India

With an eye on the growing interest in financial products like mutual funds and retirement plans, the Mahindra group has re-affirmed its focus in its asset management business with a new tie-up.

The financial services arm of the group, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, through its subsidiary Mahindra Asset Management, has entered into a joint venture with Manulife, a Toronto-based firm providing wealth and asset management, and life insurance services.

The 132-year old Canadian firm managed assets worth $849 billion as of March 2019 and it operates largely in Asia, Canada and the U.S. (branded John Hancock). Anil Wadhwani, chief executive and president of Manulife Asia, said that the group has been operating in several developing Asian countries for decades. “Manulife is a leader in Hong Kong and second largest player in Indonesia,” said Michael Dommermuth, head of wealth and asset management-Asia, Manulife Investment Management.

Manulife, through its Singapore-based subsidiary, will bring $35 million in capital for a 49% stake in the joint venture, while the Mahindra group firm will hold the rest. As per regulator SEBI’s rule, since both the partners hold over 40% each, they will together be the sponsors of the all the schemes under the joint venture.

Having started operations in July 2016, Mahindra AMC is still a fledgling business, with assets under management (AUM) of just over ₹5000 crore as on January 2019. It fund manages ₹1800 crore of retail money while the rest comes from institutional investors. With Manulife’e expertise, Mahindra wants to expand its retail footprint substantially. Says Ramesh Iyer, vice-chairman and managing director at Mahindra Finance, “Our focus is going to be the middle India which turned traditionally to physical assets, cash and gold as their primary savings instruments.”

Iyer says that as returns from physical assets continue to show a falling trend, investors will shift their savings to financial assets. Manulife’s Dommermuth is also optimistic about the need for retirement funds in India. “There is a big scope of organic growth in the business,” he says.

Review Your Life Insurance Regularly

You should regularly consider reviewing your life insurance policy to determine if the coverage in your policy is still appropriate for your situation.

You purchase a life insurance policy to protect your family’s financial future and to make sure everything is taken care of for your loved ones in case of your sudden death. But life doesn’t sit still, does it?

A lot of people think that once they buy a life insurance policy they can “buy it and forget it” and doesn’t need to address their future insurance needs. However, a policy that you may have bought 5 years or 10 years ago won’t provide you with the right amount of benefits for your current needs. Experts suggest that you should regularly consider reviewing your life insurance policy to determine if the coverage in your policy is still appropriate for your situation. In fact, most financial advisors recommend reviewing your life insurance policy annually. This becomes important for one simple reason – life changes frequently.

Your policy should change along with your life - Your needs radically change as you grow. It becomes very important to change your life insurance policy to some degree with every major change in your life. For most people, changes are frequent and therefore it’s advisable to reassess your life insurance coverage on a regular basis as you would do for your other policies.

If it has been a while since you have reviewed your policy, there’s nothing like doing it today. Here are some of the major reasons which are important enough to make you review your policy.

# When your family grows  - Getting married or having a child is one the most important changes that triggers the review of your life insurance policy. Whether you’re having your first child or second, a new addition in the family is one of the biggest changes you can encounter. Considering the change, most of the people will add enough life insurance so that if you die tomorrow, there would be enough funds to provide for your child through their college years. Yet, there are still certain people who continue to live with their existing policy without reviewing it.

On an average, the approximate cost of raising a child from the child’s birth until he turns 21 years’ old comes around Rs 20-25 lakh. Will you be able to provide this to your child if you can’t be there? As your family grows, it’s a probably a good idea to increase your overall amount of life insurance. If you feel that your current sum assured is not enough to meet your family’s needs, you can always enhance the sum assured by paying extra premium under the Life-Stage protection feature.

# You have a new mortgage - Buying your own home may be your family’s largest asset and at the same time the largest financial responsibility. It is suggested to purchase a term life insurance policy for at least the same or more amount as of your mortgage. Then, if you pass away during the ‘term’ when the policy is in force, they can use the money to pay off the mortgage. For instance, if you have a life insurance policy with a death benefit of Rs 1 crore and you buy a new home with a mortgage of Rs 3 crore, you will need to update your life insurance policy. Why? Because taking a mortgage is a huge obligation. Upon your death the responsibility of home loan will be on your spouse or other family members. Updating the sum assured for the same amount as of your mortgage will ensure that your family will be debt-free in the event of your death.

# When your career changes - Over the period of time your income changes for better and it is usually accompanied by changes in financial status of an individual. Whether you get a promotion or hike in salary, all of these call for new financial decisions. Whenever you switch your job or experience a hike in your salary, you must review your life insurance policy as this could help your loved ones to maintain their current lifestyle. 

# Changes in beneficiaries - Beneficiaries change as your circumstances change. Marriage could mean updating your policy to add your spouse as a beneficiary. In contrast, a divorce may require withdrawing a former spouse. It is important to review your beneficiaries regularly as well to make sure you’ve got the right people covered under your policy. Failing to do the same can have some devastating effects and may leave your death benefit in the wrong hands.

Creditor Life Insurance

You may be offered credit life insurance when you take out certain loans, such as a mortgage or car loan. While it may look like any other life insurance policy at a first glance, credit life insurance has some unique features. Here's what you should know about it and how it works before you buy a policy.

What Is Credit Life Insurance? - Credit life insurance is life insurance designed to pay off specific debt in the event of death, unemployment, illness or another event that may inhibit your ability to pay. When you take out a loan, the lender may offer you a credit life insurance policy. This policy is issued through an insurance company that the lender partners with.

The initial face value amount of the policy is equal to your loan amount. The policy's face value decreases over time as you pay down the loan balance. Premiums for credit life insurance are typically rolled into your monthly loan payments, and coverage begins when the loan is originated. If you die before the loan is repaid in full, your credit life insurance policy would cover the remainder of the loan, with policy proceeds paid directly to the lender to satisfy your remaining balance. 

Credit life insurance is different in many ways from a traditional term or permanent life insurance policy. With those, you choose the amount of coverage, rather than having coverage determined for you by a loan balance. The face value, or death benefit amount, typically remains the same for the life of the policy.

Traditional life insurance proceeds are paid to the beneficiary or beneficiaries named in the policy to use as they see fit, rather than being paid out to the lender exclusively for paying off your loan.

Benefits of Credit Life Insurance - The chief advantage of having credit life insurance in place is reassurance. If you were to die leaving a large loan balance behind, your policy would be there to pay it off. That means your loved ones aren't left with the responsibility of satisfying the debt. If you're married with young children, for example, credit life insurance could pay off your mortgage and allow your family to remain in the home.

Credit life insurance is often an affordable option to cover larger debts, such as a mortgage or car loan. The policy only covers the length of a debt, and once the loan is paid off, then the policy ends. It's a simple and affordable policy that's easy to purchase.

Unlike traditional life insurance coverage, credit life insurance doesn't require you to pass a medical exam to qualify. Your lender may offer this optional coverage, and you get to decide if you'd like to buy it. The premiums for credit life insurance can vary, based on the type of loan and the loan amount.

Your policy may include supplemental coverage for events other than death. For example, you may be covered against disability. If you're hurt or ill and can't work temporarily, your policy could make a limited number of monthly payments to your loan so you don't fall behind. That can help if you don't have emergency savings or a separate disability policy in place and you're worried about losing your car or home for nonpayment.

Credit life insurance can also extend similar coverage if you become unemployed through no fault of your own. And some policies may offer protection for collateral such as the car or home you're buying in the event that it's destroyed before the loan is paid off.

Downsides to Credit Life Insurance - Purchasing credit life insurance also has a few potential flaws. For example, having the lender as the beneficiary rather than a loved one of your choosing means there's no flexibility with these policies. If you die, your coverage can only pay off the specific debt it's underwritten to cover.

While credit life insurance could help pay off a specific loan, your loved ones couldn't use the coverage to address any other debts you leave behind.

A single-premium credit life insurance policy rolled into the cost of your loan and paid monthly can make premiums easier to manage. But you'll pay interest on the premiums over the life of the loan, which automatically increases the cost of coverage. Your premiums stay the same for the entire loan term, so you're basically paying for less coverage as time goes on.

Another potential snag may lie in the fine print. For instance, your policy may include disability or unemployment coverage but only pay out for a limited period of time. If you remain disabled or unemployed beyond the time frame established by the policy, keeping up with your loan payments could prove difficult. Or you may need to be employed for a set time period or earn a certain amount before disability coverage kicks in.

While your insurer may not require a health exam to get covered for credit life insurance, it may deny the policy's claim when you die if it turns out you had a pre-existing health condition.

Should You Buy Credit Life Insurance? - The answer depends largely on your needs and whether you have (or could qualify for) other life insurance policies that could help with paying off debt or other expenses when you die. A traditional life insurance policy gives you more flexibility but may be more difficult to obtain.

Your age and financial situation can help determine the true value of credit life insurance for you. Keep in mind that credit life insurance policies may have an age cutoff for coverage. Someone in their 60s buying a vacation home, for example, may not be eligible for this type of life insurance because the insurance company may consider age too much of a risk factor.

Your health is something else to consider before buying credit life insurance. The minimal underwriting required for credit life insurance may mean it's easier to get covered for credit life insurance versus a regular life insurance policy if you have a pre-existing condition. But again, keep in mind that pre-existing conditions may count against you when it's time for the policy to pay out.

Review Your Credit Life Insurance Alternatives Carefully - It's possible that a traditional life insurance policy may better suit your needs. Consider the costs involved in buying credit life insurance and compare that with what you might pay for a term or permanent life insurance policy instead.

Generally, the younger and healthier you are when you purchase a term life insurance policy, the lower your premiums are likely to be.

Purchasing a permanent (or whole) life insurance policy typically means paying higher premiums than other life insurance options, including credit life insurance. But it offers the ability to build cash value. This cash value can grow with interest , and you can borrow against it if needed. Credit life insurance doesn't have this feature.

Check to see what type of life insurance coverage you may already have in place. For example, your employer might include a small term life policy in your benefits package. If you don't need life insurance beyond the amount you already have in place to pay off debts, then buying a credit life policy could be a waste of money.

Consider getting advice from an insurance expert before you buy if you're still undecided because "you might find several products that better fit your situation in life.

SOCSO Extended To Farmers, Rubber Smallholders & Fishermen

The Human Resources Ministry plans to extend the personal and family protection scheme through Social Security Organisation (Sosco) contributions to farmers, rubber smallholders and fishermen.

Its deputy minister, Datuk Mahfuz Omar said currently, only certain groups had the opportunity to contribute to the scheme. He said it would also be compulsory for taxi, Grab and bus drivers to make Socso contributions, starting next month.

“This is because this group is at high risk of getting involved in accidents while at work,” he said after handing aid to Mohd Nor Daud, 64, whose son Mohamad Izzuddin, 31, drowned at the Kemubu pump house, here, on June 11.

Mahfuz said the ministry wanted the groups concerned, including their families, to get the same benefits in the event of an accident, especially involving the loss of lives. He said they were given the choice of four contribution categories, from the lowest at RM13 to the highest at RM452 monthly.

Mahfuz said the amounts were not a burden compared with the benefits they could receive, including lifelong fixed monthly aid. Mohd Nor said he did not expect to receive the RM332 monthly aid following his son’s death. He said Mohamad, a lorry driver, was the fourth of six children, and was supposed to get married in November. 

Blockchain For Life Insurance Claim

MetLife subsidiary LumenLab is using blockchain technology to automate  life insurance claims. Known as “Lifechain,” the collaboration with Singapore Press Holdings and NTUC Income will enable bereaved families who place obituaries in a local newspaper to instantly trigger searches to see whether their loved one had a life insurance policy.

This month, 1,000 Income policyholders will be randomly selected to take part in a pilot scheme.

The technology works by submitting the deceased’s National Registration Identity Card to Lifechain as hashed data once consent from the family has been obtained. Families are notified within one business day when a matching policy is found, and a notification is automatically sent to the insurer so the claims process can commence.

Julian Tan, the chief of digital business at Singapore Press Holdings (SPH,) said:

Insurance companies are increasingly turning to blockchain technology. Earlier this week, tech firm BlockClaim received $627,000 in funding for a platform that uses blockchain to automate car insurance claims.

Meanwhile, British insurance agency Legal & General recently announced it has teamed up with Amazon to create a blockchain system for managing pension deals.

At the Synchronize Europe conference in London on June 18, attended by a Cointelegraph correspondent, Accenture managing director Sarah Hazzledine said there were “huge opportunities for digitization” in the paper-based sector. She also confirmed that the global accounting giant is part of an insurance consortium building a distributed ledger (DLT) platform with two use cases that are scheduled to launch within the next six to 12 months.

Buy Insurance The Turtle Way

Insuretech firm Turtlemint has signed up with Kotak Life Insurance to offer its products on its platform.

“We are starting with four to five products of Kotak Life Insurance and will expand to more products gradually,” said Dhirendra Mahyavanshi, Co-Founder, Turtlemint, adding that this is the seventh life insurer it has tied up.

It already has distribution agreements with life insurance companies including HDFC Life, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Tata AIA, LIC and Aegon Life Insurance.

Suresh Agarwal, Chief Distribution Officer, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance said the insurer wants to increase its distribution reach and is exploring the potential of the PoSP segment.

“With the partnership with Turtlemint, we are looking at both MintPro app where customers can buy the products online and the PoSP distribution network,”he said.

Turtlemint has a PoSP (Point-of-Sales Person) pan-India network covering 800 cities and serves over 5 lakh customers through more than 50,000 agents and has an annualised premium run rate of Rs 900 crore.

RM0.10 Cent Per Wantan

For over 10 years, an octogenarian in Penang has managed to maintain the price of his wantan at 10 sen each. Gan Seng Lean, 83, who has been selling wantan mee since 1949, said he was keen to maintain the price of his wantan at 10 sen each and his wantan noodles at RM3 a plate.
“You cannot find any wantan seller who sells wantan at this price anymore, especially with the price hike in cooking essentials and groceries. But I am happy to maintain my wantan price at 10 sen each, as I only want to earn enough to support my wife and me,” he said when interviewed at his home in Jalan Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah yesterday.

"For my wife and I, we just want to do things to keep ourselves active. So we are not expecting a huge amount of customers or very good profits. We are happy as long as our customers are happy with the good and cheap food we are offering them,” he said.

Cheng said at times, their regular customers would make the noodles on their own and help wash the dishes after they finished their meals.

“Some of our regular customers visit so frequently that they know how to make the noodles. They would just come into our kitchen, toss the noodles and drain them on their own. After they finish eating, some would even wash their own plates as they want to help lighten our workload,” she said.

Student Yeoh Sue Yee, 18, and her three friends were among those who were seen helping themselves at Gan’s stall by packing the 45 wantans they bought.

“We just ate 10 wantans, and are now packing another 45 to bring back. I think it is right for us to help them as they are now old. We also do not mind the self-service. Besides, we do not know where else can we get 55 wantans for RM5.50,” quipped Yeoh.