Facts about water purifiers and Tata Swach wins Sniff award

Tata Swach wins Sniff award for new product innovation at

 LeapVault Change Leadership Awards 2010

Recently launched low cost water purifier Swach from Tata Group is another great product for mass.

 It will surely not only create awareness about drinking clean water but also make it affordable to buy.

There are already many water purifiers from different companies but none is less than 1000 Rs. 

But TataSwach (means Clean) comes for Rs 799 only. It doesn’t require energy or running water. 

It has a replaceable filter Swach that cost Rs. 1 per day for a family of five. Launched by 

Mr. Ratan Tata with the saying “Safe Drinking (Swatch Pani) is the most basic need of human beings.

 The social cost of water contamination is already enormous.

” Tata Swatch has been developed by collaboration of Group of Tata companies-

 Tata Chemicals, TCS, Titan Industry. 14 patents have been filed for the technology and product.

Tata Swach will be available in two versions priced at Rs 749 and Rs 999. The cost of the

 filter is Rs 299 and it has the capacity to filter 3000 litres of water. Tata Swach filter uses 

commonly available materials like rice husk ash, cement and pebbles and bound with microscopic

 silver particles that kill the bacteria responsible for 80 per cent of waterborne diseases, colour, 

odour and micro-organisms.

But main question is how many of us know what are TDS and contaminations? Why we need to 

have a water purifier and which one (Pre filter, UV Purification, Reverse Osmosis, Candle filter)?
In short- we should drink water which is about 50 ppm in TDS (total dissolved solids). Anything 

above 750-1000 means your water is very contaminated. But apart from considering TDS, make 

sure there is no heavy metal in it. Reverse Osmosis removes dissolved solids of and above the size

 0.0009-0.007 microns.

Water purification Market in recent years has caught the attention of multinationals.

 Hindustan Unilever launched Pureit in 2005, while Philips India launched Philips Intelligent 

Water Purifier in 2007. But Aquaguard continues to be the leader in this category, 

where the penetration of water purifiers is a mere 2.5 %. (Source TOI)

As of now the cheapest water purifier in market are Hindustan Unilever-Pureit for Rs 2000 and 

Eureka Forbes-AquaSure, 1750 Rs. and Tata Swatch is for only 799 INR. 

Car Insurance Facts -2 : What is covered and What not

These are excerpts from the facts on CAR Insurance in US.

Each person who acquires a driver’s license in the United States is required to 

have at least the minimum coverage required by their state’s laws when it comes

 to general car insurance. This article will outline five of the most common and 

general car insurance facts that you should know about before choosing a policy

 for yourself or someone in your family.

1: Cheap does not mean Ineffective

Believe it or not, a cheap auto policy does not necessarily mean an ineffective policy.

 In fact, some of the cheaper policies offer more coverage than some of the more 

expensive policies. For instance, comprehensive coverage is cheaper than collision coverage, 

but it still offers excellent coverage for the driver.

2: Various Factors Affect Insurance Rates

There are various factors that affect the insurance rate issued to you by an insurance company. 

The factors and guidelines are different from company to company, so be sure you do

 your research before signing up for a policy. 

Some of the factors that go into your insurance rate include previous insurance claims, 

accidents, tickets and even credit history.

3: Prices Vary by Company

Not all drivers realize this but the price of an auto insurance policy will vary

 depending on which company you sign with for that policy. 

The best way for you to acquire low insurance rates is to shop around 

as much as possible. Jeanne Salvatore, the senior vice president of the

 Insurance Information Institute had the following to say about pricing: “Auto insurance

 is a highly competitive business and one of the most effective ways to reduce insurance

 costs is simply to shop around. Drivers should look for an insurance company that will 

provide a good price along with excellent service.”

4: Policy Lapse Means More Payments

Should you let your policy lapse, which means it has expired, you are risking paying 

more money when you restart the policy down the road. To avoid higher insurance 

rates, purchase a new policy from a different company before your current policy expires. 

This keeps your policy from lapsing and you being charged more money than you should be charged.

5: Higher Deductibles Equal Lower Premiums

As with any type of insurance policy, the more you pay for the deductible, 

the lower you will have to pay for your premiums. An auto insurance company 

decides what to charge their customers based on how much they think they will 

have to pay on your claims. If you raise the amount of deductibles you will pay 

when an accident occurs, your premiums will be lower.

Three other general facts regarding car insurance include discounts that can make a 

difference in your policy price, the type of coverage you pick affects what you pay,

 and the car that you own also affects your policy rates.

Car Insurance Facts -1 : What is covered and What not

This is excerpts  from UK car insurance model.




1.  New Cars Cost More to Insure

At first glance, there’s plenty of logic to this myth. New cars cost a lot of money, therefore they’ll be expensive to insure.

However, this isn’t always the case. Recent research from price comparison a website moneysupermarket.com has found that depending on the driver’s history, insurance for a brand new car is often cheaper than a five or ten year old version of the same vehicle.

Newer models have top of the range security features installed, meaning that they are statistically less likely to be stolen, a fact that helps to bring insurance costs down.

Older models also tend to be owned by younger or new drivers, who insurers class as a bigger risk and charge a higher premium.

2. Car Color Matters
For some reason, a quarter of drivers think that car color plays a big part in calculating insurance costs, with many believing that red cars cost more because they’re linked to aggressive driving.

However, although insurers take many factors into account, including engine size, age and value of the car, driver’s record etc., they don’t take any notice of the color. In fact, they won’t even ask you what color your car is.

3. Being Loyal to Insurer leads to Cheaper Coverage
Staying with the same insurance company year on year won’t automatically lower your premiums.

It always pays to shop around for a better deal and compare car insurance quotes when it’s time to renew your policy, because providers don’t necessarily reward your loyalty with a reduced price.

4. New Cars Are Stolen More
Some people avoid buying a brand new, top of the range car because they think it’ll become a target for would be thieves.

Statistics prove they are wrong. New models have much more advanced security equipment and anti-theft devices installed, meaning that criminals steer clear and target older vehicles that are easier to steal instead.

5. A Car is Worth What You Paid for It
If your car is totaled or stolen, insurers will only pay to replace it with a similar model at today’s market rate, not the value you paid for it originally.

So even though you took a car finance loan' to buy that beautiful new sports car for $50,000 five years ago, unfortunately you won’t get that amount as an insurance payout, just what it’s worth now.

6. A Speeding Ticket Will Send My Premium Spiraling
Although committing traffic violations and gaining points on your license are pretty much guaranteed ways to increase your insurance premiums, a first-time minor speeding offense is unlikely to make too much difference.

However, a second or third ticket, or a major offense like going 20 miles per hour over the limit, will lead to increased rates as your insurers will consider you a high risk driver.

7. Credit Scores Don’t Count
Sadly this isn’t the case. Most insurers now factor in a customer’s credit score when calculating their insurance quote. The better the credit score, the lower the premium will be.

Boost your score by keeping on top of credit cards debts and paying bills on time, and you’ll start to see a difference when you renew your auto insurance policy.

8. No Fault Insurance Means It’s Never My Fault
It’d be a much simpler world if this was true, but sadly it isn’t!

The only thing no fault insurance covers is your medical bills if you are in an accident, whoever is at fault.

It doesn’t cover the other driver, it doesn’t cover damage to cars, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’re absolved of any responsibility if you are to blame.

9. I’ve Never Been in a Crash So I Don’t Need Insurance
And finally, the biggest myth of the lot. Just because you’ve been lucky enough to avoid accidents so far doesn’t mean that’ll always be the case, no matter how good a driver you are.

But it’s not just the peace of mind that having motor insurance can provide if something were to go wrong. It’s actually a legal requirement to have some form of insurance, so it’s not an even an option, you must have some sort of protection.

US Health Care Reform Laws 2011

On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed a health care

reform bill into law. Here are highlights of new health insurance reform laws that

will take effect on January 1, 2011 (unless otherwise indicated):

Free Preventative Care Under Medicare

Starting January 1, 2011, co-payments and deductibles can no longer

be charged for preventive care medical services.

This reform will enable more senior citizens to get regular check-ups

to help detect potential health problems. When people with heart disease,

 cancer, and diabetes are diagnosed earlier, faster treatment can aid in the

 prevention of long-term complications of treatable diseases which not only

cost more in consumer dollars, but cost people their lives.

Medicare Part D "Donut Hole"

In 2010, Medicare recipients will only get a $250 rebate for prescription drugs.

 However, beginning in 2011, seniors on Medicare will get a 50 percent discount

 on brand-name drugs while in the "Donut Hole," a gap in the Medicare Part D

prescription drug coverage plan. Medicare Part D currently covers up to $2,700

per year in prescription drug payments then stops paying for medications until

costs exceed $6,100. This means Medicare Part D coverage recipients are

 responsible for paying all their own drug costs between $2,700 and $6,100.

This gap in coverage will be eliminated completely by 2020.

Insurance Company Financial Accountability

Good-bye insurance industry executive greed. Beginning on January 1, 2011,

 insurance companies that provide individual and small group policies will be

 required to spend 80 percent of their premium dollars on medical services.

Previously, insurance companies could pocket high profits without being

accountable for the level of services provided to their insureds, the number

of rescinded (retroactively canceled) insurance policies to avoid paying

and claims, and salaries that made Wall Street fat cats look poor.

Insurance Policy - 2010

These are the new Insurance policies introduced in India 2010.


Health Insurance Plan: Established in 1919 by Sir Dorab Tata New India Assurance is
the first fully Indian owned insurance company in India.
Cheapest Health Insurance Plan is New India Assurance's latest insurance policy
of all times.The yearly premium could be as low as Rs 1000 for a minimum assured
sum of Rs 1, 00,000 for a person who is not more than 35 years of age.
A deliberate attempt is made to keep the price of the policy low by restricting
the choice of hospitals and covering certain major critical illnesses.

Medicash Plan, Wellness plan and Safety net plan: Max NewYork Life Insurance
 is one of India's leading insurance companies. It has come up with certain new health
 insurance schemes to meet the needs and requirements of the people.
Max New York Life Insurance offers Medicash Plans, Wellness Plan
and Safety Net Plan. The Medicash Plan involves payment of a fixed sum of cash
 to the insured right from the time of hospitalization till one is released.
The wellness plan provide coverage to 38 critical illnesses like deafness,
 cancer and liver disease and the Safety net plan is a health protection plan which
provides coverage for the losses incurred by the insured like accident, critical illness or death.

The Easy Health Plan: Apollo DKV Insurance Company Ltd has come up with an
 excellent health plan called Easy Health plan that is cost effective and has special variants
 for all the sections of society. This plan can be bought according to your pocket because
 it comes in three variants Standard Exclusive and Premium.
The cover ranges from Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 10,00,000 according to the variant to select.
The icing on the cake is that you pay just Rs 3 per day and get an annual insurance
 cover of Rs 1,00,000 under the Standard variant policy and smile your way
through a healthier life. Easy Health plan could be got as early as the age of 5,
and the cover is valid for a period of one year.

Top Up and Super Top Up Medicare Policy: United India Insurance Company has
launched two new medical insurance policies known as Top Up and Super Top Up Policy.
The good thing about this policy is that even if you do not have a medical insurance
policy you are eligible for this policy.
These two policies are not merely restricted to United India's customers but also
 to those who have taken medical insurance cover with other insurance companies
and also to the employees who are covered under the employee reimbursement
scheme.  These two policies can add up to 15 lakhs to the basic insurance cover
at the payment of a meager premium the rates of which are still awaited.
 Hence these two policies begin where other medical insurance policies stop.

Young Star Super: This policy, introduced by HDFC Standard Life Insurance is a
unit based policy and is meant for the future planning of children.
The minimum premium required to be paid for this policy is Rs15, 000.
Young Star Super policy holders have a choice in the matter of the sum assured
 it can range from 5-40 times of the premium paid along with 7 fund options.
The policy holder can also choose a double or triple benefit which means
that in case of a double benefit if the insured dies the sum assured would be paid
to the nominee while the company directs 100% of the premium that is to be paid
towards the policy. In the case of the latter 50% of the premium is paid to the nominee
every year to maintain a regular inflow of cash. The policy holder is also entitled
to a sum of Rs 12,500 as buffer addition in case of no withdrawals. Those who go
 in for a 10 year term policy will be eligible for 50% of the first years premium
at maturity and 100% of this amount for staying invested for longer term policies.

Aegon Religare Pension Plan: Aegon Religare life Insurance has introduced a
Pension plan called Aegon Religare Pension Plan.
The plan provides assistance in the form of a pension to policy holders to take care
of their daily expenses after retirement.
In the Pension Plan the policy holders have the option of paying the same premium
over the term of the policy or even increasing the premium by 5 - 8 % every year
according to the rise in their income. This plan was formulated after a research carried out by
the company the report of which said that there were many consumers who were concerned
about life after retirement but did not know how long and how much to save.
Hence Aegon Religare stepped forward and formulated a policy which one can fall
 back on after retirement.