Weather insurance start-up which helps insure farmers against losses from increasingly volatile weather has received $42 million by way of investment from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and Google Ventures

A start-up which helps insure farmers against losses from
increasingly volatile weather has received $42 million by way of
investment from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and
Google Ventures.

WeatherBill, founded by ex-Google employees
David Friedberg and Siraj Khaliq, collates weather data from various
sources and sells insurance based on statistical analysis. The company's
workforce includes a team of software engineers and climatologists. 

According
to WeatherBill, the $3 trillion annual global agriculture production is
increasingly hostage to the vagaries unpredictable weather
fluctuations.

Last year's tumultuous weather conditions caused
devastating floods in Pakistan, China and Australia and a heatwave in
Russia. According to the UN it was the warmest period on record
alongside 1998 and 2005.

According to a
UN panel of climate change experts, weather is set to become more
unpredictable and extreme in the 21st century, impacting everything from
food to water supplies, due to a build-up of heat-trapping gases from
human use of fossil fuels.

"More than 90 per cent of crop losses
are due to unexpected weather and climate change is increasing the
frequency of extreme weather events," CEO Friedberg said in a statement.

Insurers must stop setting prices based on gender, an EU court ruled, in a move that could raise costs for women drivers, cut male pensions, and prompt more legal challenges to insurance pricing practices.

Taking the gender of the insured individual
into account as a risk factor in insurance contracts constitutes
discrimination," the European Court of Justice said on Tuesday.

The
ECJ told insurers to adopt a "unisex" approach to setting premiums from
December 21, 2012, confirming a recommendation from its senior adviser
in September.

Insurers said the
decision could push up motor insurance costs for women, who currently
pay less than men because they are statistically less likely to be
involved in accidents, by up to 25 percent.

The
ruling could also reduce retirement annuity payments to men, who
currently get more than women to take account of their lower average
life expectancy. Annuities are insurance policies which offer a regular
income for life in return for a lump sum, usually paid on retirement.

INDUSTRY ANGER

The
ECJ's decision drew condemnation from the industry, which said
differential pricing for men and women was legitimate given their
different risk profiles.

"Europe-wide
the effect on the price and benefits and on the choice of insurance
products for consumers could be significant," said the CEA, Europe's
insurance industry lobby, which added it was "deeply disappointed" by
the ruling.

Analysts said the decision would have little long-term impact on insurers' earnings as they had enough flexibility over pricing to ensure any changes would cancel each other out.

"From
the consumer perspective it is going to make a difference, but my sense
is that the insurers will change their rating to maintain their current
level of profitability," said Espirito Santo analyst Joy Ferneyhough.

The Stoxx 600 Europe insurance sector share index .SXIP was flat at 1420 GMT, lagging the wider market .FTEU3, which was up 0.2 percent.

AGE NEXT ?

The
gender ruling could pave the way for a potentially more damaging legal
challenge to insurers' reliance on their customers' age in setting
prices and payouts.

"Of greater
concern to the industry is the likelihood there will be further European
challenges, particularly around age," said Mark Winlow, head of general
insurance at accountants KPMG.

"This is a more significant factor than gender, as age is used much more widely to differentiate risks."\



Younger male drivers can pay as much as 2000 percent more for car insurance than they would if they were aged 50, Winlow said.

Sheila's
Wheels, a British motor insurer that markets itself to women drivers,
said its business would be largely unaffected as a low volume of claims
from its mostly female customer base allowed it to maintain a low gender
price gap.

"We are protected by the sheer number of women on our books, which will not change overnight," a spokesman said.

"The decision will not change our advertising or marketing or dilute our appeal to women."

Analysts
said insurers were likely to look for ways of measuring customer risk
more accurately, including pay-as-you-drive schemes which set car
insurance prices by monitoring customers' driving habits through a
"black box" fitted inside their vehicles.

What is variable life insurance plan (VLIP) and its difference with unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP ) , Advantage of VLIP and all about premium which combines investment and insurance

A variable life
insurance plan (VLIP) combines investment and
insurance, just like an unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP). Variable
life insurance schemes offer flexibility in the proportion of mortality
and savings components.

These plans
also offer more transparency, simplicity, quick liquidity, guaranteed
minimum returns, transparent charges and ample risk cover. This type of
life insurance allows you to participate in several investment options
simultaneously targeting your premiums to separate accounts.


Generally, the optional investment funds include stocks,
bonds, money market funds, equity funds, or a combination of them all.
Variable Life Insurance allows you to switch from one sub-account to
another.

You can also apply the
interest earned on these investments toward the premium, reducing the
amount you pay. In a departure from the ULIPs, the returns are declared
by insurance companies annually and are not linked to the stock market.


One part of the premium is
allocated to buy life insurance. The balance is invested in bonds or
equities. The premium amount cannot be altered in the course of the
policy, but the death benefit and savings element can be reviewed and
altered as the policyholder's circumstances change.


You can increase your insurance protection and decrease the
investment component, or vice versa. Another feature of this plan is
that it does not get automatically canceled if the policyholder fails
to pay the premiums as long as the premiums paid till date meet policy
requirements. Under the plans, the premiums paid by the holder, after
deduction of charges, will be credited to the account maintained
separately for each policyholder.


If all due premiums are paid, the amount held in the policyholder's
account will earn an annual interest which will be guaranteed for the
entire policy term. In addition to this guaranteed return, if all due
premiums are paid, the individual policyholder's account may earn an
additional return depending upon the experience under the plan.


There is an option to pay additional
(top-up) premiums without any increase in risk cover to the extent of
total basic premiums paid under the policy. The premiums can be paid
regularly at yearly, half-yearly, quarterly or monthly (through ECS mode
only) intervals over the term of the policy. The sum assured ranges
from 10 to 30 times the annualised premium, depending on age of entry.


There are two types of variable life
insurance plans - participating and non-participating. Participating
plans offer a guaranteed return, while nonparticipating plans offer an
annual bonus at the end of each financial year in addition to guaranteed
returns.

The minimum sum assured
is Rs 50,000 or 10 times the annualised premium, whichever is higher for
entry at the age below 45 years. After that age, the maximum is Rs
50,000 or seven times the annualised premium.


Top-up premium is allowed throughout the term. In case the
insured decides to increase his contribution through a onetime top-up, a
maximum of up to three percent charges may be deducted from the top-up.
The product also provides for loans up to 60 percent of the balance at a
specific rate of interest. 

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LIC ULIP Samridhi Plus offers insurance protection, safety and growth with policy term of 10 years for 8 - 65 years age group and premium range and detials

Life Insurance Corporation
of India today launched 'Samridhi Plus'
under its unit linked portfolio offering insurance protection, safety
and growth.

Samridhi Plus safeguards policyholders' investment from market fluctuations, LIC said in a statement here.


Accident benefit option is also available under this plan that
will be equal to the life cover up to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh, subject
to certain conditions.

The policy term for the plan is fixed for 10 years, it said.

The minimum age at entry level for Samridhi Plus is 8 years while the maximum age is 65 years.


The minimum premium ranges from Rs 1500 (monthly - ECS) to Rs
30,000 (single premium) depending on the mode of payment while the
maximum is Rs 1 lakh per annum under any mode for the 5 year premium
paying term.

How to get the right Health Insurance? : Choosing the Right Health Insurance

I need health insurance, what should I do?

If you are asking this question to yourself, then you are doing the right thing.  It is very important for you and your family to get a health insurance cover, since you know that a single incidence of major illness can leave you bankrupt.  With the economy in a bad shape and the recession looming large, there have been huge layoffs.  Millions are losing their jobs and also the health cover provided by the employer.  This definitely is a great cause for worry and the health insurance premiums are also very high.  If you plan properly, you can still opt for a quality health plan that is affordable and can cover your major health expenses.

You would be aware that initially all the good work of finding a quality health insurance firm was done by the human resources department of the companies.  But now the scenario is entirely different.  Now in many offices, the employers pay only a marginal sum for the health cover or they do not pay at all.  This means that you now need to do all the work which would ideally include identifying the right health insurance company, choosing the correct health plan, checking all the terms and conditions, seeking the correct tenure, work out the premiums and plan the finances.

Online Health Insurance Quotes

One of the best ways to seek a quality health insurance plan is to go in for online health insurance quotes.  The advantage of seeking an online quote is that there is no excess paper work, you wont be bothered by too many executives pleading to buy their plan and above all, you can do all the work from the comfort of your home.  You may also discuss the various options with all the other family members and seek their advice.  In the case of online quotes, you just need to fill in all the basic details and the best health plan is presented right before you.

Choosing the Right Health Insurance

When you opt for a health plan, you must keep certain things in mind.  Always opt for a group health insurance plan as it is less expensive and there are plenty of benefits associated with it.  Along with your family members, you may also include your friends and office colleagues.  The main advantage of a group health insurance plan is that even if one of them is afflicted with a pre-medical condition, the health insurance company does not take this in to account, and all the members are properly insured.

When you opt for a health insurance plan, you need to make sure that it covers all aspects of maternity.  Ideally, it should cover all the pregnancy costs which include all the tests before and after the pregnancy.  You need to plan your finances well.  You may come across many health plans which offer attractive benefits and free services.  You need to be very careful because many may turn out to be fake.  Therefore, you need to check all the facts before you opt for the right health insurance plan.