Mediclaim policyholders, who are not satisfied with the service of their existing service providers, will be able to switch to another insurer soon without any change in the premium outgo. However, this facility will be available to those policyholders who are insured for a sum of Rs 1 lakh and above, to begin with. It has been decided to widen the cover, according to the recommendation submitted by the General Insurance Council, an association of non-life insurers. Issues have been sorted out and it has been suggested that portability would be allowed for sum insured over Rs 1 lakh, General Insurance Council secretary-general SL Mohan said. Insurers will be able to sell such health covers once the regulator has approved it, he added. The policyholders will be able to switch their health cover providers with the same benefits retained once they have bought this cover.
National Savings Certificate Here's everything you need to know about the 5-year savings scheme offered by the Government This is a 5-year small savings scheme of the government. From 1 July 2016, a National Savings Certificate (NSC) can be held in the electronic mode too. Physical pre-printed NSC certificates have been discontinued and replaced with Public Provident Fund-like passbooks. What's on offer The minimum amount you can invest in them is Rs100 and there is no upper limit. Under this scheme, all deposits up to Rs1.5 lakh qualify for deduction under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The interest earned is taxable. You can invest in multiples of Rs 100. These certificates can be owned individually, jointly and also on behalf of minors. The interest rates for all small savings schemes are released on a quarterly basis. The effective rate for NSC from 1 October to 31 December is 8%. The interest is calculated on an annual compounding basis and is given along w...
