The insurance regulator wants information regarding the insurance company’s expense ratio to be brought about in public, in order that there be greater level of transparency, thus indicating the income of the insurer over its administrative expenses. This could also benefit the investors in the company valuation. For instance, SBI Life has declared its expense ratio at 11% compared to the industry average of 15-17%. The IRDA does not insist on making it compulsory but again wants to make sure that the expense ratio is in public domain. It has come out with this plan to rule out actuarial Ulips due to non-transparency in their charges

The companies expense rations is proportionate to the stages of evolution it has had. Larger company’s like lCICI Prudential which has an annualised premium of Rs. 4,000 crore in 2006 has an annualised premium of 20%, whereas ING Vysya with the lowest annualised premium, has the highest operating cost as a percentage of annualised premium. Similarly HDFC Standard Life had annualised premium at Rs 1,300 crore with operating expenses as a percentage of annualised total premium at 30%. For Max New York Life, the annualised premium stood at Rs 800 crore and its operating expenses as a percentage of annualised premium was nearly 50%.

An insurance company official however has argued that its not important for his customers to know its operating expenses as long as he gets his returns as promised, and added that its only the investors who would find this information relevant. Markets regulator Sebi has mandated mutual fund houses to declare annual expense ratio of individual schemes twice a year. For non-life companies, the operating expense ratio is close to 40% and is expected to go up under the free pricing regime

What is the value of a life lost in accident due to negligence, who pays for it, how much and most importantly when. There are no set rules or laws in force to ascertain these vital points and book the culprit.

We are witness to major disasters, which have devastated lives of many. Those who died lost their life and their dependents lost their livelihood forever. A solid case that triggers in our mind is the Bhopal gas tragedy, which took place in December 1984. The scar left by that tragedy is still fresh among those who have been the unlucky victim of that disaster. Of course the US multinational giant Union Carbide had to shell out millions of dollars in compensation. But were the victims of this disaster really compensated?

The collapse of a bridge under construction in Hyderabad is another such example that happened in recent times. Will the victims be compensated for the loss will be another story. Though the company is fined 10% of the project cost, how far the court will be successful in materializing the claim is a question. The existing legal framework does not have a definite structure and on most occasions than not, claims are out of court settlement and the iron fist crushes the weaker section.

The Public Liability Insurance Act came into force in 1991 as recommended by the Supreme Court in wake of major disaster like the Bhopal Gas tragedy. Under the law it is mandatory for companies to cover all their risks. But these are rarely implemented and companies resort to underinsuring the actual number of employees. In construction sites works are mostly sub contracted or sub sub-contracted. Hence it is difficult to evaluate the actual number of lives lost since there is no accountability.

An oil company building a pipeline takes a third party liability insurance for only 2% of the project and less to be said about work man compensation insurance.

In many cases the insurance certificates are issued well after the projects have begun, even thou the company runs the risk of loosing claim in an event some accident takes place before validity of such certificate. Many aspects of human values are taken for granted is what can be told at the least.

In the wake of rapid development in infrastructure, a great deal of which is taking place in crowded urban environments, public liability policies should be made mandatory with well defined laid down procedures and better evaluation methods so that the aggrieved gets their due share. It should also have enough tooth to punish the defaulters with tangible economic consequences.

In the west the laws are strong enough and well in force. Also the public is aware of their rights and the company in question will always come under the strong holds of law. However in India it’s not the same and the mass and are often mislead by the mediators and negotiators who pocket the larger chunk of the claims settled.

In India there are tribunals to settle motor accidents, but nothing to settle cases of accidents that are caused due to negligence in public places.

When we are going to take a quantum leap in infrastructure development over the next few years which can be within the range of $ 400 billion, a full fledged public liability insurance is the need of the hour to cover the risks of loss of life, accidents, loss to the contractors, sub contractors, assets, revenues and last but not the least the environment.

Awakening in the middle of the night to see the shadowy figure of an intruder going through her jewel box.
Mrs. Patel aroused her husband and excitedly whispered, "There's a burglar after my jewelry. Stop him!"
"Stop him?" choked the apprehensive Mr. Patel, " Suppose he’s armed?"
"Don't be silly," implored the worried spouse. "You’re insured - the jewelry's not!"

The share of online shipping in small town India is more than a nibble. People spend large amounts every month on books, films and music apart from rail tickets and air tickets, gifts to friends and relatives or browsing for holiday planning. The easy access to the Internet and greater influx of online market has catapulted online shopping to great heights, which otherwise would have been restricted to few local stores with limited choice.

People get to know about the latest product in the market, but not everything is available in local market near them, this induces them to go in for online shopping which provide greater flexibility and product choice which has made online shopping big in small towns than compared to metros like Mumbai or Delhi. Customers from Class B and C make up about 50% of online shoppers, which is up about 90 to 120% compared to 2006 figures. Two out of three online customers are from non-metro centers in India. There are about 25 – 17 million internet users in India out of which 17 – 8 million (about 67%) are from urban uptowns or smaller centers says Mr. Sanjay Thiwari head of search group JuxtConsult. They make up 37% of buyer base. Residents in smaller towns are buying with much aplomb as their counter parts in larger cities. Out of every 1000 orders processed 300 to 400 come from smaller towns as per Indiaplaza.com. According to Mouthshut.com high end mobile phones are the best sellers. Employment in towns has generated more disposable income in the hands of residents and since they always can’t find what they want in a local store turn to Internet shopping. People are also net surfing for information about restaurant, malls and weekend getaways near them. Mr. Farouqui of Mouthshut.com quotes that when you have money, the first thing you want to do is to take your family out for a meal or for a weekend holiday, and going online helps them to make a varied choice to get out the best within budgets.

Online purchase of vehicles is also not out of the vicinity of online shopping. Enquiries on computer software, accessories and gadgets like MP3 players, iPods, cameras and DVD players; apparel; gifts, flowers, cakes to books, music and films find greater customers on other sites. A new process has evolved in the purchase, one that involves choice made after extensive discussion and search weighing the merits and demerits online, proving a greater penetration of internet has led to a surge in online shipping in non-metro areas says Mr. Vitheeswaren of Indiaplaza.com. Internet shopping can also be attributed to better electricity supply or improved phone connections for broadband services. Service providers like MTNL and BSNL have made efforts to reach out to smaller towns; they no longer discriminate in services, which is good for users in small towns. However Mr. Vitheeswaran believes “ it’s less about an emerging tech-savy class of people in towns adapting to intricacies of using internet, and more of demand and supply”. The demand was existed in the market, but once couldn’t provide the services earlier.

Mr. Subho Roy – President of the IAMMAI is however cautious against being overenthusiastic about this growing trend. Its only a matter of time when the local stores catches up with online buying, putting them out of business. For online shopping to become a habit there has to be some value additions other than just the convenience of online buying which can be in form of guarantees on products, after sales service, good customer service which is left to desire right now. Lastly Mr. Roy expressed his biggest uncertainty which comes from the fact that no one – not retailers, customers nor portals know how the story will unfold who are waiting to see before they make any improvement which many not be the best thing to happen for the future of online shopping.

The rosy picture painted in advertisements issued by a builder of spacious apartments set amidst rolling greens in a busy suburb fills you with skepticism. It need not for long as the Centre is putting the finishing touches on a bill that will make it tough for builders to divert funds or go back on promises of facilities and quality of construction.

There have been some significant developments taking place in the real estate and housing sector. The real estate market in the recent times has witnessed an unprecedented high. The inherent dynamism of this industry has led to several developments in this sector. The introduction of new government policies related to service tax, changes in the housing finance sector impacting millions of home loan borrowers and other upcoming trends, all of which have a significant impact on end users.

Deceitful real estate developers can no longer take buyers for a ride, because they could soon be reined in and steps are afoot to bridle builders by forcing greater accountability if the houses handed over do not match up to the amenities promised and timely possession.

For starters, the draft Real Estate Management (Regulation & Control) Bill, sent to state governments for their response, intends to ban developers from issuing advertisements until the project is cleared by a proposed regulator for the sector. The regulator, envisaged by the bill, is bound to clear projects only after ensuring that all title deeds are in place and transaction records for the land to be developed have been examined for the last 30 years.

While the proposed law will be mandatory in the capital and in Union territories, it's expected to set the trend for other states to follow suit with their own versions. Some states have already enacted laws and the central bill will serve as either a model or as the basis for further improvement.

Once a project has been approved, builders will be barred from accepting advances or deposits from buyers unless a sale deed has been executed. This move is expected to put an end to pre-launch bookings and publicity, which often hypes up the properties prices beyond the prevailing market rates. The speculation puts genuine buyers at a disadvantage while aiding those out to make a quick buck with 'investment flats'-buying and selling them for profit.

The bill also seeks to check the diversion of funds by real estate developers by providing that funds received by way of advances or payments from buyers in a particular project should be deposited in an earmarked bank account.

The Union Budget 2007 has been pronounced, heralding positive trends for the housing industry. In the Budget proposals, Union Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram unveiled a mortgage guarantee mechanism to facilitate easier home loan deals and proposed the introduction of a novel 'reverse mortgage' scheme for senior citizens through the National Housing Bank (NHB). Interest rates in the economy have moved up quite rapidly in the last eight months and in-turn a number of banks and home loan companies have raised their home loan rates as their cost of funds have also gone up. There has also been news that property prices may see some correction in the near future after having witnessed unprecedented highs over the last few years. Moreover, the government has attempted to implement some changes in its policies related to housing, which may have significant impact on homebuyers.

The Government is also proposing a number of positive policies to regulate the real estate industry and ensure a fair deal for genuine home buyers. These include selling apartments on the basis of carpet area as against the existing norm of built-up or super built-up area and making certain that builders do not backtrack on promises made on amenities and the quality of construction.

Considering the importance of this sector and its impact on millions of homebuyers, the Maharashtra government and other authorities have sought to put into action some positive policies in the interest of the end users.

These considerations if implemented along with the other proposed guidelines could bring in more transparency in real estate deals and increase the supply of housing for the end-users.