Sir,
My office provides medical cover upto Rs 5 lakh for the family. Should I take a top-up from the same insurer or opt for policy from other insurance company?
– Ram Ganesh Sharma, Chennai
Dear Ram,
The cover provided by your office to your family is good enough. The only problem is when you leave the company, that cover becomes invalid. You don’t know whether the new company will give you medical cover. In that case, you have to take your own medical insurance. As time goes by, the medical insurance becomes expensive. Hence it is better to take one on your own. You may take smaller cover because you already have company medical insurance. You can take it from any company as long as the processes are simple.
Dear Sir,
I was investing Rs 5000 in IDFC Premier Equity from last two years. Now as fund manager has quit AMC what do you suggest? Whether I shall continue or stop monthly investment in this scheme?
– Gaurav Shah, Pune
Dear Gaurav,
Do not take hasty decision just because the fund manager has quit the AMC. The new fund manager may even be more effective than the outgoing one. You should continue with the SIP and keep checking the fund performance for two to three quarters. Additionally, check the portfolio of companies where the fund is investing. If there is no major change, then you can continue with the same. Remember that the returns come from the companies in the portfolio.
Sir,
I will be travelling to Australia for post graduation studies in about two months. Should I take an insurance cover from India before travelling? Will the university accept this as a substitute for their compulsory insurance cover?
– Krishna Gandhi, Surat
Dear Krishna,
Traveling abroad without medical cover is not advisable. Hence, you should certainly take insurance cover. You can take it from India for the time being. Once you go to Australia, check what students do for medical cover. Local medical cover is always a better option because it reduces the processing time and hassles when there is need to use it. You should not be in a situation where you need medical help and your claim is rejected because of administrative issues. Many insurance companies in Australia provide Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC).
Dear Sir,
Gold prices have touched four years low in month of July, 2015. So, do you recommend continuing with my investment of Rs 10,000 per month in Reliance Gold Savings Fund? I started monthly investment in this scheme from Aug 2013.
– Sahana Prasad, Mathura
Dear Sahana,
Gold prices have touched their lowest in recent times. Since you have continued with your SIP for last two years, I would suggest you should keep on investing. Many experts believe that this could be the right time to invest in gold because of its price. However, gold just like stocks is very volatile. It is impossible to forecast the direction of its price.
The only problem with gold now is the overall low commodity prices and it is anyone’s guess when it will pick up. If gold is a major part of your investment, you should reduce it but do not exit it completely.
Sir,
I am retiring in month of October 2015. I will get retirement proceeds from my company while retiring. I have decided to invest the amount in pension schemes. So, have a query pension received from Varishtha Pension BimaYojana and other pension scheme is tax free?
– Amrita Kochhar, New Delhi
Dear Amrita,
Pension received from Varishtha pension bimayojna is taxable. For other schemes, the tax structure varies. For example, in NPS scheme, you have tier 1 and tier 2 plan wherein only tier 1 is eligible for tax benefits.
Sir,
I have a property on my possession in Goa since 1997 that I want to sell now. I am settled abroad from many years and not planning to return back to India. Please advice how will I be taxed upon sale of this property and suggest a way to reduce tax payable on such transaction?
– Reji Thomas, Goa
Dear Reji,
Tax on the sale of property is done according to the types of gain, namely short term and long term. Since you are selling your property after 18 years, you will have to file long term capital gain (LTCG) taxes. In the LTCG, your purchasing price is inflated using inflation index and then subtracted from your selling price. This is your LTCG. The tax on this will be 20% of the gain.
You can save on taxes if you buy another property with the proceeds in LTCG within two years of selling your property or before one year of selling your property. If the proceeds used in buying another property is less than the long term capital gain, your tax liability will be on the differential amount.
Sir,
I have a family floater health insurance policy and have included my 60 days old new baby as well. Recently, she was hospitalized for a week. Now, when I approached the insurer they declined the claim. What could be a reason to reject my claim?
– Sangeeta Deshpande, Nagpur
Dear Sangeeta,
The reasons can be many. It is difficult to say unless you go through the terms and conditions of the insurer. There are cases where you cannot claim within a period of taking insurance, or the particular case on which your baby was hospitalized may not be covered.
What you can do is to get the insurance company to answer on why your claim was rejected, that is, ask them for the reason for claim rejection. Finally, please go through the list of what is covered under the insurance plan you have taken to save yourself from future hassles.
Dear Sir,
I am 28 and working with private firm. Currently, I am investing only in provident funds from my savings. What other investment avenues should I consider for building retirement corpus at age of 55?
– Anu Varghese, Mumbai
Dear Anu,
Since you are quite young, you can start systematic investment plan (SIP) in mutual fund. Select a well-diversified equity oriented fund.
Equity funds provide better returns (about 12-18%) over long term. The risks are higher though because the returns depend on performance of companies and market forces. In short term, the NAVs (Net Asset value or unit price) of mutual funds fluctuate widely depending on market situation. However, equities tend to outperform every asset in the long run.
Start with a part of your savings (about 50%) and gradually increase once you become more comfortable.
Sir,
I hold two accident policies issued by different general insurance companies. In case of an accident can I make a claim from both companies?
- Varun Mishra, Nashik
Dear Varun,
You can claim from both companies but the combined claim must not exceed the actual expenses. You can divide and claim parts from one company while the rest from other company. In no way, the cover will exceed your loss.