Have you been thinking of buying car insurance online but have little idea on how to go about it? Even as you look for the best motor insurance to protect your existing or new vehicle from unpredictable mishaps, it is important to understand the nuances of the game.

What is Car Insurance?

The motor insurance coverage provided is in the form of a contract between you [the owner of the vehicle] and the insurance company. The car insurance policy selected by you will help in the minimization of costs in case your car meets with an accident. These costs will relate to all third-party damages, damages incurred to yourself and your vehicle, other damages, etc., in line with the type of plan chosen by you. These coverage benefits are provided to you in return for the car premium paid against your policy.

Types of Car Insurance Plans Available Online

You can opt for the following types of insurance for your car:

1. Comprehensive Car Insurance – You may think of a comprehensive car insurance in terms of an all-inclusive cover that will protect you from the damages incurred due to your fault and even those that are out of your control. Comprehensive car insurance plans cover events such as theft, glass/windshield damage, vandalism, fire, weather/acts of nature, accidents with animals, etc. Though, it is not mandatory.
2. Third Party Liability Insurance – Liability insurance offers protection against the claims made by another [or third] party. It covers the damages that have been inflicted on a third-party person, people or property because you [the insured] were at fault. Third party liability is mandatory for your vehicle.

How to Purchase Car Insurance Online?

1. Fill in the details of your car to get quotes or the insurance plan that is best for you. The details needed for this purpose include the make and model of the car, year of purchase, place of registration, etc. Other specific car details in line with the requirements of the car insurance plan you choose to go with might also be asked.
2. Once you have shortlisted the best plans to protect your car, it is essential to compare their features, sum assured, term coverage, add-ons, IDVs, etc., to select the most lucrative ones only. The car insurance premium calculator available online will help you assess the ensuing costs better.
3. As there is no requirement for any third-party inspection when you opt to buy a car insurance coverage online, you may go about the process straight away. It is possible to choose your most preferred mode of payment – net banking, debit or credit card, etc., and pay through quick, secure channels. It’s that easy!

Choosing a car insurance policy online will help you spend less than what you would have to pay otherwise. The reason being that online channels save on paperwork, the commission provided to intermediaries, etc. They are happy to pass on these savings to you in the form of discounts and offers. Grab them at the earliest!

An investment in Unit Linked Insurance Policy [ULIP] has its own set of pros and cons. While we are familiar with its perks due to its mass popularity, some of us are unaware of its cons. One of the major disadvantages of a ULIP Policy is seizing of all benefits at the time of a lapse of the policy. When a ULIP insurance lapses, you no longer hold the rights and benefits of the same. However, insurance companies allow the revival of these lapsed policies for the betterment of the investors and his family.

If you are looking forward to reviving your lapsed policy, go through the following things mentioned below. Take a look:

How does a ULIP Policy lapse?

The premiums are the deciding factor at the time of the purchase of the policy as well as the lapse of a policy. Since the insurance companies allow the payment annually, monthly and quarterly, it is the duty of the policyholder to pay the premiums on time. If you are still unable to pay the premium, insurance companies offer a grace period of 60 days. Failure to make the payment even in the grace period further leads to lapsing of the policy.

When to revive a lapsed ULIP Policy?

The revival of the policy typically depends on the time of the lapse of a policy. If you have been actively holding the policy for a period of 3 years, then you have to revive it within 2 years. While reviving the policy within the first 6 months is easy, reviving the policy after 6 months comes with a price like paying hefty penalties.

The process of reviving the policy within 6 months

• Contact the insurance company
• Pay the outstanding amount of the premiums
• Revive the policy

The process of reviving the policy after 6 months

• Contact the insurance company
• Pay the outstanding amount of the premiums
• Pay the additional rate of interest
• Pay the penalties and the new increased premiums
• Provide the insurance company with a health certificate
• Revive the policy

Benefits of renewal of policy

After the tenure of your policy expires, the insurance companies typically provide you with options of surrender or revival. In order to continue the policy, opt for revival within 6 months of the lapse. When you revive your policy, you will be able to get hold of all the benefits which were applicable previously. Reviving the policy simply means securing the entire family from unforeseen events.

Take a look at the benefits of the revival of the ULIP policy mentioned below in order to make informed decisions:

1. According to the new rules, the biggest advantage is that the policyholder gets more time to revive the policy. Ideally, the policyholder can renew the policy within two years after the lapse.
2. When a ULIP lapses, the insurance company moves your money to the discontinuance fund. Post the introduction of new rules by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Regulatory [IRDA], the money lying in the discontinuance will earn 3.5% for the policyholder.
3. The insurance companies can levy fund management charges up to 0.5% in order to manage the policyholder’s funds.
4. Introduction of new IRDA rules is a blessing for those investors with irregular or seasonal flow of incomes. These investors can easily skip the two annual payments of the premium.

Now that you know how to revive a lapsed ULIP Policy, what are you waiting for? Revive your policy to the earliest as it looks after all your financial needs for a longer duration. Long term investment ensures that you hold this policy long enough to allow you with more than just high ULIP plans returns. In the end, a ULIP investment is only worth it if it keeps you covered for a longer duration of time.

Let’s face it- businesses, small or big, play a vital role in India’s economy. These industries and businesses constitute one of the best places for employment for teeming youngsters across the country. And it is a fact that you can find all sorts of businesses – large corporate houses, large manufacturing units, large trading houses, large service-based companies and large, medium and small industries and service organizations, and micro units serving smaller localities with myriad services.  Now, all these businesses and services do various things. However, one thing they all have in common is the need for capital resources to sustain in the long run.

Capital resources now fall into two segments- investment capital for setting up a business and working capital to run a business.

Be it a start-up or a running business, there are two ways an entrepreneur can raise and invest in funds. This can be from his own pocket or he could always borrow. When we say borrow, we mean avail a business loan.

Now, business loan for setting up the businesses is a generally a long-term and is known to carry rather affordable business loan interest rates. Business loans for running a business, however, are working capital loans which you can say are almost like revolving credit and carry a rather higher business loan interest rates than term loans.

While a higher business loan interest rate may sound like an expense, you should know that working capital loans help with running of the business in a rather smooth manner. Before you jump to conclusions, it is always best to be prepared with the idea of what a working capital loan is:

Nature of working capital

The nature of working capital is purely short-term necessitated by the vagaries of the business. For instance, a production unit run by you would take time to set up and start production. During this time, the term loan that you have availed will meet the capital requirements.

Remember also that you need to sell products which form your revenues. However, you need to pay salaries for your production and sales team, pay for power charges, pay for raw materials, pay for overheads and pay for other expenses on a day-to-day basis to keep the business running smoothly. Where do you find funds for this? Here you can avail a business loan in the form of a working capital loan. Thus, working capital is a part of business loans that serve to keep operations of a business running smoothly.

Who gives working capital loans?

Most financial institutions including NBFCs such as Tata Capital offer working capital loans under their business loans umbrella based on the requirements and strengths of a business. Lenders like Tata Capital evaluate your business and ascertain that your business is sound and they can extend working capital loan without fear of you defaulting on them. Typically, these are short-term in nature and you can take these as often as you need them provided you pay back the earlier loans promptly. Lenders can extend better terms for working capital loans if you have a good relationship with them and you have a good past record.

Benefits of working capital loans

There are many advantages of availing working capital loans which include

• Not using own funds to finance working capital. You can deploy your own funds for other more productive purposes
• Availing whenever the need arises
• Very useful when you have to meet an unexpectedly large order to pay for additional raw materials and perhaps overtime for employees or running an additional shift
• Simple and easy to avail with minimal formalities. You can swing the loan in a matter of a few hours
• Extremely useful when you have to make large payments such as an unpaid tax burden or rent arrears or such other expenses

Working capital loans are a great financial resource when you need immediate funds for your business needs. This is the right kind of business loan you can take when you do not wish to break your savings for running of your business.

Remember, business loans cost less in terms of business loan interest rates. It is imperative that you choose the right kind of business loan or a working capital loan for your fund requirements. After all, it would be foolish to pay higher business loan interest rates for working capital loan when you could avail the cheaper loan.

Thus, it is advisable to use business loans as working capital loans prudently and deploy it only for the purpose of running your business efficiently.

As a new investor starting your journey in the world of mutual funds, you may have come across three broad types of mutual funds. These are equity funds, debt funds and hybrid funds. You can choose to invest in any of these categories depending on your risk appetite, investment horizon and financial goals.

In this article, we list the top benefits of investing in debt funds. But before we touch on it, let us understand what debt funds mean.

What are debt funds?

A debt fund is a mutual fund type that invests in fixed-interest generating securities. These include corporate bonds, government securities, treasury bills, commercial paper and other money-market instruments. You can invest in debt funds to earn interest on income and for capital appreciation.

Benefits of investing in debt mutual funds

Debts funds can be an excellent beginning point for conservative investors who adopt a low to moderate risk tolerance. Following are some benefits of investing in these funds:

Diversification and greater safety

Equity mutual funds tend to be more volatile compared to debt funds. On the other hand, debt funds are steady, and hence, can become a critical component of a well-diversified portfolio given their stable returns. They help manage risk by spreading it across different investments that form part of your portfolio. So, assuming the inflation rate is four to five per cent, and debt mutual funds offer a return of seven to eight per cent, it can be a worthy deal.

Investing your short-term surplus

Debt funds can be the right choice of investment if your investment horizon is short term. Equity funds generally demand investment for three to five years or longer for substantial returns. In the event you have a surplus of short-term cash, you can invest in short-term debt funds to fetch decent returns.

Regular income

Debt mutual funds help you earn a regular income in the form of dividends. Depending on the type of fund, you can choose to receive regular dividends on a daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, semi-annually or annually basis.

Liquidity

A debt fund is highly liquid. This means you can withdraw the money from your debt instruments in case of an emergency. The money gets deposited in your bank account within a few days. Some funds may have an exit load if the investment is redeemed within three to six months. Some debt mutual funds may also offer a systematic withdrawal plan which can allow you to withdraw a fixed sum regularly from your investment. This means you can make partial withdrawals without breaking the entire investment.

Great flexibility

Debt funds provide greater flexibility than other traditional platforms of investment such as fixed deposits. You can not only invest small amounts every month by starting SIPs [Systematic Investment Plans] but also shift the money from a debt fund to an equity fund from the same fund house. For example, if you have a lump sum amount to invest in a mutual fund scheme, you can invest it in debt funds and start a SIP to transfer the money to the selected equity scheme.

Higher returns

The returns from debt funds depend on the overall interest-rate movements. If you select the correct type of debt mutual funds based on your risk appetite and investment horizon, you can generate higher returns matching with the prevailing interest rates.

Conclusion

Debt funds are an essential investment instrument if you wish to grow your money. However, before you invest in mutual funds, you may want to carefully consider your risk tolerance, current asset allocation and the market environment.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of two-wheeler users. The ease of navigating through city traffic and convenient parking options have made two-wheelers a popular choice for daily commute amongst the urban population. Additionally, many youngsters love bike riding as it provides them the desired adrenaline rush. However, before riding a two-wheeler it is essential to put on all the safety gears. The rider must also obey all the traffic rules to prevent the risk of an unfortunate accident.

It’s a distressing fact that lakhs of people fall prey to road accidents every year in our country. This proves that safety on roads is a growing concern in India. Hence, it is advisable to take care of all the safety measures while riding the bike.

An Anti-lock Braking System [ABS] can be extremely handy in reducing the risk of an accident. Getting ABS on your two-wheeler can reduce the chances of a fatal crash by 31%. An anti-lock braking system [ABS] is a safety anti-skid braking system. It operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby helping them maintain a tractive contact with the road surface. Let us have a look at some of the major advantages of the Anti-lock Braking System [ABS].

Reduction in stopping distance

Using ABS in the right way can reduce the stopping distance significantly. This becomes possible owing to the fact that with ABS, the tyres of the vehicle are constantly getting traction. Thus, there is more effective reduction of speed in ABS fitted motorcycles. On the contrary, without ABS, the wheels can lock and lose traction when hard braking is applied. This, in turn, results in skidding of the motorcycle as the tyres are trying to grip the surface.

Better control

The Anti-lock Braking System [ABS] helps you have better control over your ride in emergency braking situations. The two-wheelers fitted with ABS are more likely to shed speed in a controllable manner and come to a halt without skidding.  On the other hand, two-wheelers not fitted with ABS might lose the grip in emergency braking situations. This increases the risk of an accident.

Prevent Stoppie

When the two-wheelers are fitted with ABS, the braking is more linear. Whereas, in bikes without ABS, braking is much more abrupt and can result in a stoppie, skidding or a fall.

Keeping all these factors in mind, if you are planning to buy a new motorcycle, choose the one with ABS. This will help you increase your safety on the roads and reduce the risk of an accident.

Lastly, it is advisable to have a comprehensive two wheeler insurance before hitting the roads. A bike insurance policy cushions you from the financial impact following an accident with your two-wheeler. Nowadays, with the help of prominent financial institutions, it is possible to avail two wheeler insurance online in a hassle-free manner. Lastly, you should always look for an insurance policy that offers a wide coverage at lower bike insurance premium. Do not forget to read the terms and conditions of the policy before purchasing it.

Finserv Markets, from the house of Bajaj Finserv, is an exclusive online supermarket for all your personal and financial needs. Loans, Insurance, Investment, and exclusive EMI store, all under one roof- anytime, anywhere!

We all go through some awkward situations in our personal and professional life. Irrespective of how cool or composed you may be, if you do not know how to manage a situation properly, you could land up in a tough spot. Well, you need not worry. You can use some jugaads to get out of tricky situations that are listed below.

1. When you talk to someone, you know but forget his name

This must have happened to you at least once in your life. Do not put yourself or anyone in the awkward spot and save the day by asking for his business card. It will allow you to recall their name and give you an opportunity to exchange cards. If you have already collected the card and misplaced it, simply admit that and ask for another one.

2. When you need to get out of a boring conversation

In this situation, you will have to politely apologize and tell them that you need to catch up with someone before they leave. You can also simply excuse yourself to use the restroom and get out of the awkward situation.

3. When there is a silence after you introduce yourself

The best way to get out of this situation is to start with questions. You could be an amazing communicator; however, the other person might struggle here. In order to avoid silence, take charge of the situation by asking questions.

4. When you need to provide financial security to your family

This is something that is very important and the best jugaad you can do is to invest in a term plan online. Life is uncertain and you do not want your family to go through a difficult situation in your absence. You need to understand the term insurance meaning and invest in a plan that fits your needs. Do not wait for life to put you in an awkward situation; instead, buy a term plan and save the day!

5. When you feel cornered by somebody

If you are ever stuck in this situation, you need to introduce someone else in the conversation. Many people do not realize that they are making you very uncomfortable in a conversation, and if they do not pick up the body language, you should try to include someone else in the chat.

6. When your fist bump is met with a handshake

This is a bad choice but a sticky situation nevertheless. Always greet people with a handshake, unless they come with a fist bump or a high five. Handle the situation with confidence and meet people with a handshake immediately.

There will always be an awkward situation in public, as well as, your personal life but such jugaads can help you get out of the situation within minutes. If you handle a situation with confidence, you will be fine. Simply be prepared for your next professional event and handle any embarrassing situation smartly.

In order to build a huge sum of money for your future, what do you need? Apart from the allocation of funds, you obviously require the right type of investment plan to keep you covered throughout. One such plan that has been making headlines after the reintroduction of Long term Capital Gains Tax [LCGT] is the Unit Linked Insurance Plan [ULIP]. Due to its investment and insurance offerings under a single plan is what has made it a go-to option.

There is never a right or wrong time to invest in ULIPs. It is advisable to invest in this plan at an early stage of life due to numerous factors and benefits. When you invest early, see to it that you have positive cash flow with all the past debts cleared as well as emergency funds for security purpose. Once these two factors are covered only then move forward to the investment procedure as it is a safety net for all your unplanned costs.

Take a look at these reasons that will make you invest in a ULIP Insurance at an early phase of life

What is a ULIP Plan?

Being a new-age product, ULIPs attract a majority of investors due to its high returns and low costs. These newly reformed ULIP Policies allow its investors to attain all their long term financial goals by offering them with the right balance of investment discipline, tax benefits, and so forth. Unlike mutual funds, the expenses that are incurred on ULIPs are much lower.

Investment in ULIPs is definitely worth all your hard earned money. But there are certain things that you should consider before opting for a ULIP Policy. A right ULIP Plan will ensure maximum benefits once you have all the factors in place. Hence, go through these factors before making an investment decision:

1. Lock-in period
2. Tax benefits
3. Multiple funds option
4. Charges
5. Death & maturity benefits

Reasons to invest in a ULIP Insurance

1. Online ULIPs

Unlike offline ULIPs, it is an affordable means of investment which implies to lower costs as well. When you invest in online ULIPs, it might provide you with zero cost since it does not include any distribution as well as commission charge. Additionally, a majority of companies are reversing on the mortality rates of online ULIPs as well. This ensures that you not only save yourself some money but also time as you won’t be chasing insurance companies for help.

2. Rupee Cost Averaging

Typically, a ULIP Policy works on a concept termed as ‘Rupee Cost Averaging’. Under rupee cost averaging, the investor buys specified units of funds which are averaged. This in turn tones down the guessing game as the investor lets him invest in a fixed sum regardless of the market scenario. With the help of rupee cost averaging, investor purchases more unit when the market is low and vice versa.

3. High-Value Life Cover

When you invest in a ULIP, you are keen to receive a life cover which might be of high value. A life cover provides you with either a sum assured or a fund value, whichever is higher. Under ULIPs, a life cover might be 10 times of the premium that you invest in. The higher the premium you pay, the higher is the value of your life cover.

4. Tax Benefits

Avail the tax saving benefits on your ULIP Plan by paying the premiums. ULIP tax benefits are valid under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961 wherein the investor can avail tax benefits on investments up to Rs. 1.5 Lakhs. Additionally, the capital which you earn is also exempted from the payment of taxes.

5. Switching policy

Investing in ULIPs simply means availability of switching from one fund to another. A ULIP Policy allows you to invest in only those funds based on your risk appetite. Even if you’re a risk-averse investor, ULIPs offers switching funds. As an investor, you can opt to switch funds to enhance your fund value.

Now that you know the significance of investing in a ULIP, when do you plan to invest in one? Whatever you decide, see to it that you invest in it to the soonest in order to enjoy the benefits of a low-cost ULIP. A ULIP investment is best optimized when you keep the current market scenarios in mind. In the end, it is better to invest in something at the right time than not do it all!