Monday, November 2, 2009

Credit cards taking the 'schemes' way

credit cards
One can say that credit crises in UK and US are the result of excess credit given to the people in country and credit cards have played an important role in this recession period.

The impact of credit crunch was also seen in India as many card issuers like ICICI Credit Cards, SBI Credit Cards and Standard Chartered were seen cutting on the credit limit of their customers.

However, the economy is India is coming on track as a lot of people are not interested in taking the plastic money route and getting the credit burden over them.

In this revival situation, the banking sector is again getting bullish over the credit card business and is ready to provide its customers with good rewards, big credit limit, discounts and offer vouchers for free air tickets.

With the motive of providing benefits to its customers through its new schemes American Express Credit Cards have come up with Indian Airlines American Express Credit Card which provides extra rewards to the customer and also offers free airline tickets with some terms and conditions.

ICICI Credit Cards also provide the same kind of facilities to card holder as it has formed alliance with British Airlines as well as Singapore Airlines. Its cards like ICICI Bank Singapore Airlines Visa Platinum Card and ICICI British Airways Credit Card are two products involved in the schemes business related to free air tickets.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Opt for a loan deal in rainy days

Bank loan
There was a time, when availing a loan was as difficult as digesting 5 dozens of bananas. The scene has improved a lot after the entry of private and foreign banks, and now HDFC Bank is one of the many banks which is offering a wide range of loans to cater to the unique needs of its customers in India. Availing a bank loan has become as easy as saying one, two and three. Now-a-days, one can even apply for a loan online as well.

For meeting the personal needs like marriage expenses and home repairs, you can apply for a personal loan. Banks even don't ask for any collateral or guarantor. HDFC Bank is among the leading providers of loans in India and promises fast and easy loans without any hassle. Be it a dram vacation or daughter's wedding, HDFC personal loan is the perfect solution for all expenses. The procedure of applying for a personal loan is simple and the bank provides quick approval as well. Besides HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Allahabad Bank and Axis Bank are the major providers of personal loans in India. Identity proofs, address proofs, bank statements and latest income slips are the documents which are generally required by the banks.

If you are craving for a new car, HDFC Bank is the place for you. With an HDFC car loan, you can turn your dream into reality and can pay-back the loan in easy monthly installments. The bank provides loans for both new and used cars at the best competitive interest rates and flexible repayment options. The bank is also providing education loans to the deserving students who have a dream of pursuing higher education.

There is no need to worry about financial assistance if you have applied for an HDFC education loan. No more running from pillar to post as these loans are easily available and come with tax benefits. The bank also provides loans for the short duration/job oriented courses.

So, if there are the rainy days, there are the bank loans which provide you with an umbrella of security. However, before signing up for a loan deal, make a fair market research beforehand to land on the best loan deal.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Are you health insured?

health insurance
As we all know “accidents can never be predicted” and “life is too precious to be lost in an accident”. We cannot stop accidents, but what we can do is minimise the aftereffects of the same, and here is where the health insurance comes into play. We all know that we don't need insurance till the life is sailing smoothly, but ask yourself one question, what is going to happen next? If there are good times, then there are hard times too. God forbid, but if some mishap occurs to you or your family, are you prepared enough to deal with such situations yourself?

Health Insurance comes as a boon in your hard times. It is not an option rather it is your responsibility for the ones you love and care. It just makes you self sufficient so that you don't have to stand begging in front of your relatives or friends. One such leading insurer in the market is Apollo. Apollo health Insurance available at reasonable prices and comes with state of the art facilities. The entity divided its insurance catalog into 2 vast categories like
Solutions for Individuals - which is further divided into 3 categories

1.Easy Health Insurance
2.Personal Accident insurance
3.Easy Travel Insurance

Solutions for Corporates – which is also divided into 3 categories

1.Easy Health Corporate
2.Group Personal Accident
3.Easy Travel corporate

All the health and wellness solutions provided by Apollo Health Insurance are customer oriented and promises to deliver the best in the lowest possible price. The insurer mainly emphasis on addressing curative needs to a preventive focus. Health insurance provided by the entity makes it stand tall in the market due to its differentiated features along with best in the industry benefits and service offerings.

Other major player in the market is ICICI which is giving a tough competition to its other counterparts. ICICI health insurance, which is also known as ICICI Lombard insurance is one of the leading health insurance provider in the country with its all new Mediclaim concept. Its wide range of catalog comes with distinct features with each plans offering something unique to best suit your requirements.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Banks wishing happy Diwali with cheaper home loans

loans in India
Well, the festive season is here and many sectors in Indian economy are bullish on this phase. It is obvious because most of us are ready to spend much more than our usual spending in this season but whats unusual this time is that banks are also making loan seekers happy with their cheap offers. Surely this is going to divert one's mind for a new home.

I think, the urge of making real estate sector reach the peak again has forced these banks to come up with such low rates for loans.

To my knowledge till now, many PSU banks like State Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank and Dena Bank are very much ready to offer cheap home loan offers to public.

Currently Dena Bank is offering home loans at the rate of 8% for the limit of Rs.30 lakh for initial 2 years. Similarly Canara Bank is also giving the home loans at same rate for same limit but the offer is only for the first year of the term.

However, the scheme offered by State Bank of India is little different. It is offering home loans at the rate of 8% for the term of first 5 years but up to the limit of Rs.5 lakh.

During this festive season, the banks are also providing its customers with the scheme which gives home loans to the customers for fixed-rate and subsequently link those loans to their prime lending rates after five years.

Icing on the cake between this scheme season is that some of these banks are not charging extra processing fee from the customers for their loans.

The banks are also out this festive season with some good schemes for availing the personal loans. Many of us wants our homes to get furnished before Diwali and I think these schemes totally favours this mentality.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Home Insurance: A neglected need

home insurance
When a person starts earning money, the first thing comes in mind is 'saving' and when he starts to save, the first thing comes in mind is 'home'. Today, an individual earns and saves a lot but still ends up owing a home with the burden of loan on his head.

With this kind of struggle for buying a home a person should respect and protect the home eagerly. But I don't think that in India we are so much caring about our hard earned income as the statistics shows that only 46 million out of total 230 million homes in India are insured, which means only 2%.

Today, the prices of homes are going high and high but home insurance subscribers are going down and there is no sign that the people of the country are getting aware about the benefits provided by this insurance.

In my view, the home insurance is very necessary because it protects us from some of most irritating expenses which can occur at any point of time like destruction of assets from natural calamities, weather, theft, burglary, terrorism etc.

I have studied that there are so many general insurance companies which are involved in home insurance business with different kind of schemes.

Some well known companies providing this service are Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, Reliance General Insurance, ICICI Lombard, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company.

Out of all these companies, one of the best schemes I have found is Reliance Home Insurance where the coverage for fire, earthquake, electrical and mechanical breakdown, burglary, theft and terrorism is provided.

I have also heard that Reliance Home Insurance is having an easy subscription process with fast claim payment services.

I have also searched about the ICICI Lombard home insurance scheme where the protection is also provided against the weather and natural calamities.

I think the home insurance policies are very beneficial, mostly today when we see a large bill in front of us if emergency construction is needed at our home.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The new bank for the new customer

Online Banking
The world of business has changed from being run on the whims and fancies of the sellers and producers with now the business being run according to the requirements of the customer. The customer is the king and he is the God in the world of successful businessmen. Things have changed from the license raj and year long waiting lists to after sales service and 24 hour customer care services.

Banks have thus changed as well with time and with the changing customer needs. Banking has become a much more complicated procedure then it used to be The client has the choice of choosing which bank it would use for his financial services. The client is really the king and and the bank do whatever they can do to woo more customers to their side of the river bank. The bank with a difference is what every bank wants to be called and seen as in the market

Banks in the market are ready to kill to get that unique deal to sell their customers and try to capture as much market share in the market as they can. ABN AMRO Bank has launched a very sophisticated product in the market called the Van Gogh Preferred Banking solution which is specialized financial product meant only for the net worth individuals. The product is unique in the market even though most of the product is similar to stuff available in the market but the banks efforts in this product clearly show. All the required information taken from the client is taken and personalized services by ABN Amro Bank are given to the client. Every new happening in the market relevant to the client are promptly informed and special care is taken to keep the client in constant touch with the bank.

Another bank in the market fighting for a place in the specialized financial product segment is HDFC Bank which also offers various special privileges to their clients. They are very good at creating exclusivity by allowing certain products to be available to the current members of the bank. The bank also keeps in constant touch with their clients to keep them abreast of the latest happenings in their accounts. The relevant information is always shared by HDFC Banking with their clients.

Banks will always be offering something or the other but it depends on the customer to find the perfect scheme and avail every possible plus points which come with that product.

Apply & compare home loans in India in no time

NRI home loan
Getting a home loan is no more a difficult job. However, despite low interest rates and easy terms & conditions, loan products meant for housing purposes aren't that easy to avail provided you have a sound credit record to back up your loan plea.

With financing industry recovering from liquidity hassles, it is quite possible that improving sentiments might give way to better growth in authorities respective loan portfolio. Moreover, with the festive season nearing banks are trying to allocate more funds to their loan portfolios and are dedicating a significant part of their focus to updating their Online banking solutions.

Since, Online comparison model is one of the most sought-after feature available at any website dealing in finance. Regulatory authorities of respective banks are making sure that they incorporate this feature as early as possible. Since, they know with real estate properties price at all time low, it is quite understandable people are looking for a tool that could help them compare home loans in India.

That is not all even NRI home loans deal can also be compared the same way as you compare home loans in India.

The boost in the home loan portfolios is expected to bail-out the submerging real estate industry which hit the saturation point once, it prices of properties start hitting the zenith. Moreover, with lending rates bottoming out in the second quarter it is quite possible that getting NRI home loans in near future might become more easy.

Hence, just like you compare home loans in India, NRIs can also do the same with the home loan deal meant for them. The move has certainly brought about a change in the Indian economy with more and more NRIs now foraying in India with a view to invest in properties thus, accelerating the growth pace of our economy.

And now with NRI home loans, Indian settled abroad has got a medium to get in touch with their homeland.