INSURANCE SECTOR POLICY

Higher refund on premature exit from life insurance policy as IRDAI introduces new surrender value rule; check how much you will get

Life Insurance Policy Surrender Value Rule Changes: To curb mis-selling of life insurance plans, IRDAI has introduced a higher special surrender value for traditional endowment policies. Even if a policyholder exits a life insurance policy after the first year, he would get a part of his premium back if he has paid it. Till now, there has been no refund on exiting the policy in the first year. How much money will you get back if you prematurely exit your life insurance policy? Check calculation here.

Consumer stocks have edge over capex-linked ones after shock poll verdict

​Indian consumer-focussed companies are likely to shine, while capital spending-linked firms could suffer as the government shifts its policy focus to support lower-income segments, fund managers and analysts said on Wednesday, a day after a surprise result in the national elections.

Ashok Leyland rolls out 'Sarathi Suraksha' policy

The policy, classified as an 'Unnamed GPA (Group Personal Accident) policy' covers any driver operating an Ashok Leyland vehicle, providing comprehensive protection for the drivers. The comprehensive insurance policy covers accidental death, permanent and partial disability and also includes a special education bonus for children.

Tata AIA Life launches Midcap Momentum Index Fund

Tata AIA Life Insurance launches Midcap Momentum Index Fund to capitalize on India's midcap sector growth potential, offering investors a chance to benefit from high-growth midcap stocks through ULIP and ILP solutions.

Why has Quant Large Cap fund been an outperformer? Shweta Rajani answers

​ I will highlight two-three points over here. One is definitely a size advantage that a Quant would have, so I am talking about a thousand crore fund versus a 35,000 crore fund, so that helps in the agility of the fund manager to actively manage.

Defence stocks: Long runway, hedge a bit to avoid narrative-based decisions; 8 PSU & Pvt sector stocks, 4 with upside potential of upto 44%

In an election season, there are bound to be times when one or the other narrative may make one question about whether one should sell the stocks. The underlying reason would be fear of losing the gains on which one is sitting. Especially when it comes to sectors like defence, railways and others which have seen a strong re-rating and siting with big gains and already there has been skepticism about their stock price moving ahead of time. Now let's look at the issue in two ways, first is whether the fundamentals of the sector are on a strong foot and business is fine or not. Second, how to hedge the exposure so that one is not forced to sell due to narrative, because the fact is that a continuation in policy push means that the companies have just started their journey. While defence PSUs are well known, there are other private sector players, whose lifeline is dependent on defence expenditure and in the last few years they have also done well, both on the street and in terms of real business. So, it is better that one should hedge and stay with them and not get jittery because of one or the other narrative which will keep hitting the street till 4th June.

These midcap stocks with ‘strong buy’ & ‘buy’ recos can rally over 25%, according to analysts

After a strong phase upward movement, mid cap stocks are witnessing a sort of selective profit booking move. Profit booking which is mostly happening in line with Q4 numbers. A strong directional move is only likely to appear post election results. During this phase, analysts are bullish on select stocks from different sectors, a number of the stocks on which analysts are bullish are essentially leaders of their sector.ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus lists down quality stocks with high upside potential over the next 12 months, having an average recommendation rating of “buy” or "strong buy". This predefined screener is only available to ET Prime users.

Emergence & Application of Generative AI in Insurance

These largecaps have ‘strong buy’ & ‘buy’ recos and upside potential of more than 20%

The way markets have panned out in the last few sessions, it appears that bulls are waiting for a confirmation on 4th of June and then they will take over control of the street. But because valuations are high, one has to be cautious, while being bullish. Also as a thumb rule, one should remember that corrections and consolidation are part of every bull market. We will continue to see them at regular levels. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus lists down quality stocks with high upside potential over the next 12 months, having an average recommendation rating of “buy” or "strong buy". The screener applies different algorithms for all BSE and NSE stocks.

Leather exporters seek national policy to attract investments, create jobs, boost shipments

CLE Executive Director R Selvam said that the sector needs a national policy as it is a labour-intensive sector, which employs about 4.4 million, with over 85 per cent women.

PSU Banks stocks: Stay bullish, hedge a bit to avoid narrative induced selling; top 7 PSU banks with upside potential of up to 36 %

While every sector has witnessed a re-rating in the last couple of years. The re-rating can be due to two reasons. whether headwinds have gone away because of government policy push and clean up or the sector has recovered due cyclical reasons. In the case of PSU banks,which have seen strong re-rating in the last one year, there is a mix of both reasons. The government cleaned up and strengthened the regulatory system. Also that overall economic growth has seen a sharp recovery which has helped in credit off take. Now comes the question that after this rally, should one sell, should one hold, should one increase the exposure. The answer lies in hedging for the banks you own and just avoid listening to noise which will remain high till election results are announced.

Expect good response on EV policy, FDI reforms in new govt; prepare for low tariff regime: DPIIT Secretary

India anticipates a positive response from numerous automobile companies to its electric vehicle (EV) policy, according to Rajesh Kumar Singh, DPIIT secretary. He noted that the government has adjusted tariffs to attract manufacturers without direct spending. Additionally, he stated that India might further liberalize FDI norms in select areas under the new government.

Railways stocks: Stay bullish, just hedge a bit to avoid mistake of selling in haste: 7 outperforming railways stocks across different segments

Even the best of the rational brain can make wrong decisions when there is too much noise which gets created due to a narrative. Now for the last few days a narrative has been created that due to polls, FPI are selling. These kinds of narratives tend to hit the sector and stocks which are sitting with big gains and are dependent on government policy push. Railways was among the last sectors to get re-rated due to the policy focus. Whether it was companies which are financing the expansion of railways or private sector companies which are making coaches, all of them have done extremely well. Given the fact the railways is likely to be the focus area, the long term story remains intact. Only thing is that one might end up selling the long term winner early because of the narrative. Rather than getting jittery, it would be better to create a hedge and stay with the stocks where there has been a big change in the fundamental ways things operate and the sector has a long runway.

Get your portfolio ready for election results: Hedge the re-rated oil and gas sector stocks

Right from power, railways, PSU banks, sectoral lenders to oil and gas there are many sectors which have made a comeback in the last 10 years. Comeback both in the real business sense, where the operating matrix and fundamentals of the sector have improved which has led to better performance. Also a comeback on valuation front, where the stocks which were quoting at a price earning multiple of single have been now consistently quoting in high double multiples. A number of them have seen this transformation due to a stable policy environment, policy push and policy cleanup which the government has undertaken in the last ten years. The consensus estimate of the street is that policy continuity is the most critical thing for the re-rating to continue. In this new series, we take a different sector and how much they are dependent on government policy and how investors can protect their portfolio from any sudden decline.

ETMarkets Smart Talk: Focus on green energy to lead to multi-billion dollar enterprises over next decade: Jyoti Vaswani

Jyoti Vaswani discusses the potential of multi-billion dollar enterprises in the green energy space and its impact on equity markets. She provides insights on the US Fed moves, RBI, inflation, Q4 earnings, management commentary, Nifty performance as well as May trends. Vaswani says that since FY24 has seen a broad-based rally, FY 25 can be expected to be driven by sustained corporate earnings growth and policy continuity.

Digit IPO: tempering tech valuations & other top startup stories this week

This is Pratik Bhakta in Bengaluru. Insurance startup Digit, by valuing itself at a discount of 25% to its last known private market valuation, seems to have stuck its neck out. And it’s a move that’s certainly got everyone talking.

Non-life insurance companies post 13% rise in premium collection at Rs 2.89 lakh cr in FY24

In the fiscal year 2023-24, 42 general insurance companies collectively earned a premium income of Rs 2,89,738 crore, marking a 13% increase from the previous year's Rs 2,56,894 crore, as reported by the General Insurance Council. Among these, 35 general insurance firms saw a 14% rise in premium income to Rs 2,45,433 crore from Rs 2,14,833 crore in the preceding year. Additionally, five standalone health insurers witnessed a 26% growth in premium income, reaching Rs 33,116 crore compared to Rs 26,244 crore in the previous year.

Bearing the brunt today, but good for long term: 6 stocks from the financial services sector with upside potential of up to 30%

For all those who were again thinking why the financial services sector stocks are leading the recent phase of decline. A look into FPI holding patterns would throw the answer. It is the financial services, including banks where FPIs have the maximum exposure, so if they are booking profit, the first round of selling is bound to come in the sector where they have maximum holding.But there is another part to the story, which is when they come back, it is the very same sectors where they buy the first, because financial services and banks are the best proxy play to GDP growth. Also the fact that the majority of these stocks have ample liquidity plays an important part in the kinds of strong moves these stocks see.

Health insurance premium shot up over 25% last year for 52% policyholders, finds survey; here's how the impact can be reduced

Health insurance: Premiums of health insurance policies went up by more than 25% for 52% policyholders in India over the last 12 months. In this article we tell you how this will impact senior citizens and others and how you can take steps to reduce its impact if you are a new health insurance policy buyer.

Government gains PSU muscle as stocks climb peaks

The value had touched a high of 22% of total market capitalisation of listed firms in June 2009, dropping to a low of 5.1% in September 2020 before doubling since then, according to data from primeinfobase.com. Re-ratings amid large valuation discounts, high dividend yields, record cash flows and news of possible privatisation triggered a sharp rally in public sector companies over the last three years.

New insurance rule: 30-day free-look period now to return unwanted, mis-sold policies; how much will you get back from insurer?

IRDAI extends the free-look period for life and health insurance policies to 30 days. This means policyholders have a month to review policy terms and return them. Insurance policyholders are eligible for a refund if they cancel the policy during the free-look period, regardless of how they purchased it (online or offline). Previously, only electronically purchased policies had a 30-day free-look window. How much

Bima Sugam approved: Insurance policies set to be more affordable; buying policies, claim-settlement to be easier

IRDAI has approved the proposal to set up Bima Sugam — an online insurance marketplace. From buying insurance policies to renewals to claim settlement to portability to grievance redressal — Bima Sugam aims to provide an 'end-to-end' digital journey to all policyholders. What is Bima Sugam? How will Bima Sugam benefit insurance policyholders? All you need to know

Insurance premiums: Parliamentary panel calls for lowering GST on insurance

The committee, in its recommendations, observed that the high rate of GST results in a high premium burden, which acts as a deterrent to getting insurance policies. The current GST rate is 18%.