| I had bought mediclaims from New India Assurance Company of Rs 1 lakh each for my wife and myself on March 20, 1997. After March 19, 2002, I reduced the policy value to Rs 60,000 for each of us. There was no break in the continuity and no claim have been made till now. The insurer allotted a ‘no-claim bonus’ of 25 per cent on Rs 1 lakh and 10 per cent on Rs 60,000 separately for the policy period of March 20, 2004 to March 19, 2005. But, between March 20, 2005 and March 19, 2006, it has limited the amount to 50 per cent of Rs 60,000. The insurer has not responded to my protest. |
Saroj Ganguly, Calcutta |
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| From your question it is not very clear whether you are still continuing with the Rs 1 lakh mediclaim. In any case, you are entitled to no-claim bonus since you have made no claims. New India Assurance gives a 5 per cent no-claim bonus on individual policy for every claim-free renewal year whereby the sum insured is increased by 5 per cent on renewal. The maximum cumulative bonus permissible is 50 per cent, which is given after 10 years of claim-free renewal. So, the insurer gave you a no-claim bonus of 25 per cent for the five years till 2002 and 10 per cent for the two years 2004 and 2005. And since the sum of these cumulative bonus (Rs 25,000+Rs 6,000) is in excess of 50 per cent of Rs 60,000, the insurer has declined to increase your no-claim bonus for 2005-06. |
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| Car concern |
| I have a motor insurance in my name. My wife also drives the car. What type of insurance will be useful for both of us? |
Sanjiv Mukherjee, Howrah |
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| We assume from your query that the car is in your name. A motor insurance protects the car from any damage, theft, but it doesn’t cover the risk of life. Since both of you drive the car, you should rather buy a life insurance soon. |
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| Grades of seniority |
| A few months ago, I attained 61 years. While in railways and banks I get a senior citizen concession, I’m not a senior citizen in the eyes of the income-tax department. Why is this anomaly? |
S.M. Banerjee, Dhanbad |
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| One must be 65 years of age or more to be considered a senior citizen for
income tax purposes. |
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| If you have any queries about investing or taxes or a high-cost purchase
you are planning, mail to: btgraph@abpmail.com, or write to:
Business Telegraph, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700 001. |
