Of all the Insurance companies, the ones which attract our least attention are the health insurance companies. Though there are stand-alone health insurance companies and General Insurance companies among Financial Services Company in India which sell health insurance policies, the concept of covering ourselves financially against various illnesses is yet to take off in a big way in our country. No wonder, health insurance, as a category of insurance, has the least penetration levels in India.

But the winds of change are blowing

The fact that India has the least health insurance policy penetration extends a huge opportunity for existing General Insurance and stand-alone Health Insurance companies to revamp their health insurance products and marketing structure. Many new Financial Services Company are also mulling venturing into health insurance, considering the huge opportunity which exists. One of the newest entrants to this sector has been the Aditya Birla group.

With the Government of India talking about amending insurance regulations allowing foreign companies to have up to 49% stake in Insurance companies, it is expected that many of the foreign Insurance companies will increase their stake in their Indian ventures.

What is in store for you?

With many new companies on the block offering health insurance products, the customer is set to get the best possible service and claim settlement. And for sure, the health insurance landscape is set to change with more and more Indians getting under the umbrella of health insurance covers.

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Have you sold any property after 3 years of its purchase or are you planning to do so? Then, you are bound to pay long-term Capital gains tax. The most common advice given to residential property sellers to avoid long-term Capital gains tax is to invest the gains in any residential property within 2 years from the date of sale of the property. The alternative advice given is to use this gains to construct another house within 3 years from the date of sale. However, there is a catch – one can invest this Capital gains only in residential property, and not in commercial ones.

Is there a way out?

In case, you are not keen to re-invest the gains in any residential property, the best way to avoid paying Capital gains tax is to invest the profits from the sale of your property into Capital Gain Bonds India. However, the maximum amount you can invest in these bonds is Rs. 50 lakh.

As of now, 2 Capital gain bonds are open for subscription:

•    Capital Gains bonds of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
•    Capital Gains bonds of Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (RECL)

Yes, the coupon rate (interest rate) might only be 6% per annum. But, doesn’t the benefit of not paying the Capital Gains tax outweigh the low interest rate offered? Also, these bonds are 100% risk-free.

Most of the financial service providers, including scheduled banks, allow you to invest in these Capital Gains bonds India through them. Act smart and channelize your long-term Capital gains into these instruments.

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It’s 3 cheers for the equity Mutual Fund schemes with 7 lakh folios added in this financial year.

As per the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s data on investor accounts with 45 fund houses, the number of equity folios have risen from 2,91,80,922 to 2,9917,974 in October end. This proves a net gain of 7,37,052 folios from April to October.

With the first rise in the month of April, after four years, the additions have come at a time when the market was at a new high. On the other hand, the equity Mutual Funds sector has continuously seen a low since 2009 when the markets had crashed. Since March 2009, the sector has seen a closure of a whopping 1.5 crore folios (numbers designated to individual investor accounts).

To know more, Read here- 

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-11-09/news/55917827_1_folios-seven-lakh-investor-accounts-equity-market

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Investors in stock markets and Mutual Funds have been a happier lot over the last year with both of the investment avenues generating good returns. But are these the only investor class who are celebrating?

Well, investors in tax-free bonds have got their own reasons to cheer too. Tax-free bonds issued in 2013 and earlier have clocked returns up to 25%.

The 20-year tax-free bond from the National Housing Bank (NHB), issued at Rs. 5, 000 almost a year back is now being quoted at Rs. 6,225 (returns of 24.5%). Same has been the case with other bonds issued around the same time.

What’s the reason for the success story?
The main reason for the big time returns from the tax-free bonds is attributed to the lack of new tax-free bonds in this year’s budget. Also, the revised tax rules for debt-mutual funds had more HNIs investing in these bonds.

Should you sell your bonds now? Click here to know the answer and access the entire report:
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-27/news/55483078_1_tax-free-bonds-high-yield-bonds-vikram-dalal

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