| Buy travel policies with wide coverage |
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On a short trip to London, K Sable realised the importance of having a comprehensive travel insurance policy. The policy came to his rescue when his baggage and passport were misplaced. Travel insurance is not a factor one pays much attention to when planning a trip. But even if you feel that the chances of things going wrong in your otherwise well- planned holiday or business trip are slim, a good travel insurance cover is a must have in today's context. It can be quite reassuring if something, God forbid, goes awry. Though travel covers for domestic and foreign travel are now easily available, domestic insurance covers have not really picked up. Two basic covers are available to travellers: one, a simple overseas medical- insurance cover, and two, a more comprehensive travel- insurance one. Both these types are available to leisure and business travellers as well as to students going abroad for studies. Travel insurance seeks to minimise financial losses of various kinds during your travel period. This is done either through reimbursement of costs, mostly for smaller expenses which you pay from your own pocket during your stay abroad, or, in cases of greater expenses, through a cashless system set in place through tie- ups in various countries or transfer of funds in case of an emergency, depending on the type of emergency and cover purchased. Most travel- insurance policies are issued for seven to 180 days. They can be extended to 360 days for business travellers or students. A policy can be either for a single trip or for multiple ones where the duration of each trip not exceed 30 days. Many insurers provide country- or region- specific covers such as policies covering travel to the Americas or to Asia or to the rest of the world excluding the Americas. You can choose according to your destination. The main areas of travel insurance coverage include: Health: The emotional turmoil of being in a foreign land without any support system can be frustrating and aggravated in case of medical emergencies. Travel- insurance policies cover expenses for hospitalisation abroad. Remember that this medical cover is quite different from health insurance within your country of residence. It will not pay if you have hospitalisation requirements in India. Similarly your local health insurance cover will not cover you for hospitalisation abroad. Some companies have tie- ups with health insurance companies in other countries. This is usually quite a considerable help. Some offer cashless settlements across the world. You must necessarily have a decent cover size for this portion of the health insurance. Smaller covers might bring down the cost of apolicy but might not provide adequately in case an emergency actually arises. Pre- existing illnesses are not covered under this policy. Some companies offer some respite in case of life- threatening conditions due to pre- existing diseases, but under very specific terms and conditions. Medical evacuation costs back to the home country are also covered. This is an important clause. You might face a situation where you might need emergency evacuation either to abigger city or to your home country. In most cases, this has to be a done by chartered flight or first- class travel on a regular airline with medical support. This is quite likely to burn a major hole in your savings. So cover it well through adequate travel insurance. Repatriation of remains: In the unfortunate case of death abroad, repatriation of remains to the home country is also a costly affair, though covered under most health- insurance policies as an extension of benefits of the health cover. Other minor covers provided are in the form of dental coverage, daily cash allowance in case of hospitalisation, etc. Baggage: Delay, or loss, of baggage can be expensive as you then would have to purchase stuff in a foreign country for the duration of your stay. Most policies offer cover on the loss of checked- in baggage as well as for delay in receiving checked- in baggage beyond a certain number of hours, which can range from as low as 6 to 48. Loss of Passport: Being without your primary identification –your passport— in a foreign land can get you into not a little trouble. Travel policies provide for financial aid to cover the costs involved in procuring travel papers for the rest of your journey or for return to your home country. Travel: There could be cancellation or delay of a trip for personal reasons or due to circumstances beyond your control such as sudden illness of self or a family member, death in the family, or natural calamities such as earthquakes, storms, etc. Theft/ Burglary/ Loss of money: In the unfortunate event of losing all of your money and requiring emergency cash assistance, some travel policies provide you with cash assistance through their service providers. Stay: In case you have to extend your stay for some reason such as cancellation of flight due to a natural calamity or your own ill health, etc., you will be able to obtain some relief through your travel policy towards paying the extra costs The writer is certified financial planner Just having a basic cover that provides medical insurance can hurt SAFETY FIRST [1]Ensure that adventure sports are covered in a standard policy or pay extra and secure such cover [1]People travelling with you should know emergency numbers and processes for help, if required [1]Keep insurance papers, hotel bookings, ongoing tickets, phone chargers and important medicines in hand luggage [1]Bundled travel- insurance products, available with forex cards, etc, are usually insufficient for your needs |
| Saradha: Relief cheques ready but 60% of investors missing |
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Kolkata, 7 December The West Bengal government's plan to dole out compensation to Saradha investors seems to have met with the most unlikely challenge —the missing recipients. More than half the compensation cheques sent to investors in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation ( KMC) area have come back, as the local administration claims these beneficiaries do not exist. According to sources, about 3,800 cheques were sent to applicants from the KMC area in October, but only about 1,500 cheques were received; the rest ( 60 per cent) were returned to the office of the Shyamal Sen Commission after the administration failed to locate beneficiaries. The problem is not restricted to the KMC area. Of the 104,000 cheques, valuing about ₹ 43 crore, issued so far to Saradha investors, a large number has come back to the Sen commission's office from various districts, including Kolkata. There are talks of this bearing an uncanny resemblance with the alleged fictitious investors of some Sahara group companies. But an official points out: "Things here seem to be more complicated... There were people who applied for compensation a few months back. How can they disappear?" When contacted, Shyamal Kumar Sen, who is heading the commission in charge of shortlisting and recommending beneficiaries' names, agreed there were incidents of cheques being returned. But he did not comment on how many cheques had been returned so far. "We have been authorised to recommend the names of applicants eligible for compensation. We are doing that after verifying applications. After the government's approval, we are sending the cheques to the district magistrates concerned, or the corporation in Kolkata's case. Now, it is the local administration's responsibility to ensure the cheques reach the beneficiaries," Sen told Business Standard. According to him, applicants could have filled the forms wrongly or local administrations could have failed in spotting the beneficiaries. But neither the commission officials nor the state government seems to be convinced. " It cannot be a mistake in data entry or one committed by an applicant while keying in his particulars. That cannot happen on such a large scale. Something is wrong somewhere; we need to figure that out," an official associated with the commission said. No minister or official seemed to be willing to comment on the matter till things became clearer. Sources suggested the state government was unhappy with the commission over this. The government was of the view that the Shyamal Sen commission had failed to deliver, they said. Also, a senior government official pointed out: " The cheques remain valid for three months. The entire process of distributing compensation will collapse if cheques continue to come back." In fact, the government planned to issue ₹ 80- crore cheques to another 166,000 investors by December. This plan could now be in jeopardy. "We are discussing with the government what can be done. We are hopeful things will be sorted out soon," Shyamal Sen said. Sources suggested the matter was likely to be taken up at a meeting between the commission and government officials over next week. The commission had received about 1.7 million applications during the probe. Though most of these involved Saradha, investors of other companies like Amazon, Suraha Microfinance, Sunmarg, ICore, Rose Valley and Alchemist had also registered with the commission their complaints, which came up for hearing. About 85 per cent of these complaints pertained to investments of less than ₹ 10,000 each, while the highest amount invested by an individual in Saradha was ₹ 27 lakh. The state government had announced creating a ₹ 500crore fund to finance compensation disbursal. Besides, the Sen commission had recommended the government sell Saradha's assets to compensate the investors. WILL THE REAL INVESTORS PLEASE STAND UP? |Of the 104,000 cheques, about ₹ 43 crore, issued so far to Saradha investors, a large number has come back |About 3,800 cheques were sent to applicants from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area in October but only about 1,500 cheques were received |Shyamal Sen, heading a commission in charge of shortlisting and recommending beneficiaries' names, says applicants could have filled the forms wrongly or local administrations could have failed in spotting the beneficiaries |The West Bengal governments plan to issue ₹ 80- crore cheques to another 166,000 investors by December could now be in jeopardy About 85% of complaints received were related to investments of less than ₹ 10,000 each |
Source Business line
16 lakh investors exit Ambani companies in last two years
K. S. BADRINARAYANAN
Every fourth BSE-500 company has seen its investor base shrink over 10%
CHENNAI, DEC. 7:
The late Dhirubhai Ambani took immense pride in the confidence small investors reposed in his company, Reliance Industries. The man who spread the equity culture in India employed a simple but effective strategy to draw small investors by the lakhs to his company — he shared the wealth that Reliance created with his small investors.
But the Dhirubhai Effect appears to have waned with his sons parting ways and the group splitting into two.
According to an analysis by Business Line, over the last two years, some 16 lakh small investors have exited Reliance companies belonging to both camps.
The biggest exodus was seen in the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Power, with over 5.55 lakh retail shareholders exiting. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries was next, losing 4.78 lakh investors, followed by Anil's Reliance Communications, with 3.10 lakh.
However, it isn't just companies from the two R groups that have seen investors rushing to exit. . Infosys, Bharti Airtel, PowerGrid, Tata Motors, TCS, Idea Cellular, Suzlon Energy and Coal India too, have seen an exodus. But the numbers have been most significant for the Ambani companies, possibly because of their large shareholder base.
In the universe of BSE-500 stocks, retail investors have exited 300 companies in significant numbers over the last two years. In 120 of them, the retail investor base has shrunk by more than 10 per cent. The latter set includes MCX (47 per cent since it got listed), Oracle Financial (33 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (20 per cent).
Analysts point to issues of corporate governance, poor stock returns and high-cost expansions/diversification as reasons for small investors divesting their holdings. There is also the usual mop-up by promoters through buybacks when share prices are low.
Though Reliance Industries closed its buyback offer this January, the slide in its retail investor base has been uniform, at about 1.75 per cent every quarter even after the open offer, indicating waning interest.
The lack of any intent to distribute profits, movement of stock prices within a limited band and structuring of critical deals with a view to pass on maximum gains to promoters and private equity investors have all squeezed the gains of retail investors even from premium stocks, says Abhishek Asthana, a Director at de Analyst, an investment advisory firm.
Instead of tapping the retail market, the preference of companies for alternative routes of fund-raising has not helped, he adds.
Educating investors
According to V. Krishnan, President, Integrated Enterprises, a broking firm that caters mainly to the retail segment, investors are losing interest in equity as they have not been getting consistent returns. "They are unable to differentiate between bull and bear phases. The words 'long-term' and 'short-term' acquire different meanings during different phases," he says. "For instance, during the 2006-08 period, three months used to be a short-term investment and a year-long wait was considered long-term. After 2008, long-term is anywhere between two and five years, and at times even stretches to 10." All this leaves the investor befuddled. Krishnan says advisors must educate investors that returns will not be uniform in equity investments and that they carry risks and are volatile. Also, investors should realise that "long term" is at least 10 years.
With several stocks ruling far below their 2008 peaks, the value of many investors' investments has halved. Benchmark indices registering new peaks is a false dawn for most stocks, he says.
Ramesh Chordia, a stock broker and independent analyst, blames the enormous loss retail investors incurred in the Futures and Options segment in 2008 on apathy. "Those who lost heavily and were forced to square off their positions are yet to recover," he says.
Even more fundamentally, the persisting economic slowdown may have forced some investors to cash out their investments in the face of a job-loss or significant pay cut. There has also been the double whammy of rising prices for most products and services.
badrinarayanan.ks@thehindu.co.in
(This article was published on December 7, 2013)
Keywords: Dhirubhai Ambani, small investors, Reliance Industries, effective strategy, small investors, 16 lakh investors, exited Reliance companies
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