4 types of Personal Loans available in India

Even though we may often hear philosophical adages like “money is not everything” or “money can’t buy happiness”, the fact of the matter is that the entire world is run on money. It plays an important role in determining your lifestyle and gives you access to life necessities. Sometimes in life, we need money for things other than every-day expenses. In such times, you can rely on banks like HDFC Bank, ICICI, Axis Bank, SBI and others to offer you money in return for small rates of interest, which means you, can apply for a personal loan.

What is a personal loan?
Simply put, a personal loan is an unsecured loan which means you do not need the backing for any collateral to procure a loan. Such a loan can be used for funding all your immediate and near future needs, from buying a new cell-phone to home appliances or repairs. Personal loans are usually obtained by people who need immediate funds.

Eligibility and application
Since you do not have to provide any collateral against this loan, you can be eligible for such loans depending upon factors such as your salary, credit history, the amount you borrow etc. Instant personal loans can be sanctioned in minutes and many banks have provisions for you to apply for the loan online. All you need is basic documentation such as address proof, identity proof, salary slips etc. Once your loan is disbursed you can repay the amount in monthly instalments as per the defined loan amount, tenure and rate of applicable interest. Usually, a personal loan can be repaid in 12-60 months.

Types of personal loans available in India

Festival loans: Festive loans are usually provided during the peak festive seasons with very low interest rates. Festival loans are short-term loans and are fantastic for people who need to avail a very small amount of money on loan. However, you must repay the loan in a period of up to 12 months. You can obtain a festival loan for as low as ₹5,000.

Consumer durable loans: You can avail loans to purchase consumer durables like televisions, laptops, refrigerators etc. Depending upon the bank from which you borrow this personal loan you may or may not have to give collateral. You can avail a loan of an amount from ₹5,000 to ₹200,000 that must be repaid in a maximum period of 60 months.

Wedding loans: Weddings cost a lot of money and wedding loans can be acquired to meet several majorexpenses like venue booking, catering services, jewellery and clothing shopping, decorations etc. You may however have to pay 10%-20% interest and can repay the loan in 60 months.


Holiday loans: If you wish to travel within or outside the country, you can also apply for a holiday loan. The loan amount sanctioned depends upon your financial conditions and travel purpose. Holiday loans are instant personal loans which allow you manage your travel bills while your savings remain unaffected.

Top 4 health insurance plans in India worth considering

Often in the news we read about how life has become uncertain due to our modern life style. Whether it is a person who exercises three times a day and maintains a good diet or one who has faulty eating habits, no one is spared from the uncertainties of life. Even healthy people get hospitalized and the high cost of medical fees can mess up your financials. Health insurance plans serve as life savers to such individuals. Such plans provide coverage against hospitalization and other medical problems. Your best bet is to buy a good mediclaim policy to protect yourself from such unforeseen circumstances.

So what should I think about before choosing a health policy?

You also consider the following parameters before choosing your health policies.

• Premiums: look for policies where your premiums are lower, but the coverage is high.
• Co-payment: In such policies, individuals must pay a certain percentage (ideally 10%-20%) of the total hospitalization expense from their own pockets, upon the hospitalization of the person insured.
• No claim bonus: If you’ve not claimed insurance for a certain number of years, the chances of your insurance amount may increase.
• Maximum age period: Good health policies offer coverage for maximum age periods. Such policies cover people in their 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s.
• Wide hospital network: choose polices that offer cashless services or offer reimbursements at a wide network of hospitals.

Best health insurance plans to consider

Religare health insurance care

A comprehensive health insurance plan, Religare care is known for offering multiple benefits such as
• Coverage for expenses on room rent, ICU charges, day care procedures, ambulance charge, medical check-ups, pre/post-hospitalization.
• Coverage against any medical expenses, incurred for treatment at home, for more than 3 consecutive days.
• No upper age limit for enrolment.

HDFC ERGO Health Suraksha - Medical Insurance Plan

HDFC ERGO Health Suraksha- Medical Insurance Plan is among the best health insurance plans. It offers cashless hospitalization access to over 6000+ hospitals and health care centres countrywide and covers the following

• Pre-hospitalization expenses, in-patient treatments, domiciliary treatments and 144 day-care procedures
• Cumulative Bonus benefit on completion of every claim-free year
• Reimbursement on health check-ups after completing 4 years of cash-less service
• No sub-limits on the hospital room rents, hospital charges, specific diseases and doctor fees

Max Bupa Health Companion Health Insurance Plan

With this plan you can opt for a customized insurance policy that suits your different needs. Its main benefits are

• Covers all hospitalization, including pre and post hospitalization
• Customers can avail in-patient treatment up to the base sum insured under Aayush
• Provisions for Daily cash allowance.

Bajaj Allianz Health Guard

Bajaj Allianz Health Guard insurance policy offers the following benefits

• Coverage against pre and post hospitalization expenses including consultations, medicines, investigations, etc. as per the policyholder’s illness
• Lifelong renewability of the plan.
• Cashless facility at over 4000 network hospitals across India

You can purchase all these health insurance plans online but remember to read the fine-print of all plans before purchasing one.

Travel insurance policies – types and benefits

Who doesn’t love to travel? Planning a trip to a new destination is exciting and fun. There is just so much to look forward to. But what do you do if your trip gets plagued with uncertainties. You lose your luggage, misplace your passport, or worse you require medical attention. Even though you may hate to think of these scenarios, when faced with the actual situation, it is worse, especially if you are in a foreign land. Such scenarios lead to lots of stress, not to mention, thrust you into a situation where you end up spending so much more. To avoid these unforeseen scenarios, you need travel insurance.

What is travel insurance and what does it cover?

Travel insurance policies are usually comprehensive policies that insure you for both financial and medical emergencies that may arise while you are travelling, especially abroad. You can choose from different travel policies offering protection for travel to domestic and international destinations. Such policies cover significant things such as loss/delay of checked-in luggage, loss of passport and other important documents and offer cashless hospitalization in case of medical emergencies.

Types of travel insurance

You can choose from three different types of travel policies available in the market viz. single trip insurance, multi-trip insurance and family travel insurance.

Single Trip insurance: Single trip insurance policies are created to cover occasional travellers. Most single trip policies are valid for a period of six months. These policies are best for businessmen and tourists travelling abroad for a limited period of time.

Multi trip insurance: Designed for frequent travellers, multi trip policies are valid for one year and vary depending upon your insurance provider. Such policies are available for people travelling for 30-90 days. This plan helps frequent travellers save money. You just pay the premium once and you are secured for a complete year of travel with no limitations on the number of trips you make in this period.

Family floater plans: These plans are designed to provide comprehensive financial coverage to your entire family on your overseas trip. It covers every single member of your family, and can only be availed under single trip policy for a single premium. The sum assured is shared by family members.

Benefits of travel insurance

Although travel insurance covers a whole plethora of circumstances, here are a few worth considering
• Emergency medical assistance and hospital/medicine costs overseas
• Coverage can be availed anywhere in the world
• Accommodation and travel expenses in case you fall ill abroad and cannot travel back until your health is better
• Cover for your travel partner
• Delay/loss of luggage
• Loss of passport
• Permanent disabilities; you are covered for a period of at least 12 months upon your return home.

Availing insurance

Premiums of policies generally depend upon the destination country and travel duration. You may have to pay higher premiums if you are travelling to countries prone to natural disasters. You can now purchase policies for travel insurance online. Just ensure you fill in all your details correctly, disclosing all relevant information which comes in handy while making claims.

4 important things you must know about fixed deposits

Fixed deposits have always remained a popular investment choice in India. Most people, especially senior citizens prefer to lock their money in fixed deposit accounts owing to their general characteristic of being a safe option, guaranteeing a surety of returns. Many people rely on the monthly interest generated from the FDs as a main or additional source of income. Despite the falling rates of interest on FDs in the past few years, people continue to invest in them. Most people prefer to opt for long-term deposits, purely because they offer far more decent rates of interest than short-term ones. Here are a few things you must know if you’re planning to invest in an FD.

You can choose how your interest is paid: When you fill your FD form you can opt to receive interest either on a monthly or quarterly basis. The money will be credited to your account on a stipulated date mentioned on your FD receipt. Most banks offer an interest rate of 6-8 percent per annum. Senior citizens can get an additional .25-.75% interest on their deposits. A third option for receiving the interest is the cumulative fixed deposit where you can get your entire sum plus the interest only when the FD matures.

You can choose to reinvest your interest: Return on FD and interest received are two separate things. Most people opt to reinvest the interest paid on their FDs. This basically means that you do not make any withdrawal on the interest paid, thus increasing your principal. Let’s say that you opt for quarterly interest payments, but without withdrawing the interest. In this case, your bank will add your interest to your principal amount, and pay you interest on this compounded amount. If you keep repeating this process, your return on interest will be higher. This option is ideal for people who are not dependent on income from their fixed deposits. It therefore makes more sense for them, to opt for reinvestment of interest drawn, to earn higher returns.

Premature withdrawals invoke penalties: At times you may be tempted to break your FD. This could be because you need the money urgently, due to unforeseen circumstances or because another bank is offering a higher rate of interest. Whatever the circumstance, if you break an FD, you must pay the cost attached to it. If you choose to prematurely withdraw the FD, your bank may allow you to make the withdrawal for an interest that is 0.5% lower than the actual applicable interest for the period that the deposit remained with the bank. Some banks also allow premature withdrawals on pro-rata basis.

Interest earned on fixed deposit schemes isn’t tax free: The interest you earn on your FD gets added to the income you earn in a given year. You are therefore taxed according to the tax bracket you fall into. If you fall into the top tax bracket on income through FD, you are taxed at the rate of 33.99%.

National Electronic Fund Transfer – the process and benefits

We live in the age of electronic banking where we don’t have to wait for days for a check to clear or stand in long lines to deposit cash anymore. Ever since the world became accessible on the computer, people are not shying from making the most of its benefits. Net banking has become a common practice. Transferring money to different bank accounts within a matter of seconds has become an everyday activity. One such mode of transferring money online is NEFT or National Electronic Fund Transfer.

What is NEFT?

Like its name suggests, NEFT is a national payment system that allows you to transfer funds to any account on a one-to-one basis. NEFT has emerged as one of the most prominently used online fund transfer systems in India. Several businesses, big corporations and small companies, all rely on NEFT to transfer salaries to their associates. Bank customers can transfer funds securely through an electronic message generated by the system. The facility is available all over the country, in over 30,000 bank branches. You can transfer cash of any amount, without any minimum of maximum limits using NEFT.

How to use NEFT?

Electronic fund transfer can be done very easily. All you need to know is the beneficiary customer’s name and bank details such as the bank’s branch, its IFSC code, the type of account and most importantly, the account number and finally the amount. When this information is fed into the system, it generates a one-time password (in most cases) to your registered phone number, to authenticate the transfer. Once you authorize it, the money is transferred into the beneficiary’s account within a few minutes.

What are the charges for using NEFT?

The bank charges a minimal processing charge for every NEFT. All banks across the country charge the same fees in accordance with the government laws. For instance, if you make an NEFT fund transfer of ₹10,000, you pay a service charge of ₹2.50+applicable GST, whereas for amounts above ₹10,000 you pay ₹5+applicable GST. The maximum amount you pay for using NEFT services is ₹25+GST if you are transferring a sum of up to ₹1,000,000.

Benefits of using NEFT

Secure: With NEFT, you can move money seamlessly and securely form one bank account to another. The money is transferred to the beneficiary account within a matter of minutes. Furthermore, the bank using multiple layers of security, such as the use of OTP mentioned, above to authorize the transfer of funds.

Low service cost: As mentioned before, you can transfer huge amounts of money for negligible costs. You can move money to the tunes of several lakhs, and the service costs much less when compared to archaic money transfer methods like pay orders and demand drafts.

Efficient: One of the greatest advantages of NEFT fund transfers is that it comes in handy in cases of emergency, example huge amount of cash to be paid in a hospital. Since the transfer is co-ordinated by the Reserve Bank of India, you can rest assured that it is extremely reliable.

Credit cards: the plastic friends that make your life easy

From a young age, we are taught about the importance of saving money. How we must invest wisely, and develop disciplined spending habits. If you can inculcate this discipline in managing your spending, you will find that your credit card can be your best friend. It can aid you in times of financial crises and unforeseen circumstances. They also allow you to indulge when you are tempted to buy something. The key however, is to pay off your debts within time. Here are the some advantages you can reap if you use your credit cards responsibly.

Benefit from the rewards programs: There are several types of credit cards that offer great reward programs. The smart thing to do is to choose a credit card that offers benefits that you could actually utilize. You can redeem your reward points on booking flights, shopping and several other things. In fact, if you have additional points, you can also utilize them to pay your annual credit card fees.
Get frequent flyer miles: If your life-style involves travelling for days on end and spending hours at airport lounges, you could consider buying a frequent flyer credit card. Every time you make a purchase, you earn points, which you can in turn use to purchase flight tickets, lounge accesses and concierge services. What’s more you can also use your points to upgrade from economy to business or
first class.

Cashback offers: While reward cards earn you points on the money spent, cashback cards pay a percentage of your money back into your account. Cashback cards are the best credit cards in India, designed to save your money on monthly expenses with amounts depending upon the credit card’s cashback policy. You can get anywhere between 1% to 10% cashback with the right card, depending on where you shop.

No need to worry about currencies: No matter what part of the world you are in, with your credit card, you can make purchases in any currency across the world. While some types of credit cards charge a relatively minor currency exchange fee, a few of them waive of the charge altogether. Travel credit cards are ideal for spending money abroad. You can also set authorizations on your card as per your comfort.

Fraud Protection: In a world of scamming and phishing occurrences online, most credit-cards have stepped up to provide fraud protection to their customers. Cards with fraud protection services cover security and keep your money safe from any fraudulent purchases. If your card has been fraudulently used, you must report to your creditor within a stipulated time. You will not be charged for the transaction and new card would be sorted for you soon.

Get complimentary insurances: One major reason to consider purchasing a credit card is for the insurance and protection it offers. Most credit cards offer insurances on various things like rental cars, purchase protection, warranty extensions, as well as travel insurance to the tunes of 2-10 lakhs or more. Credit cards offering travel insurance rank among the best credit cards in India.

Forex cards – uses and benefits

If you’ve travelled abroad on a business or pleasure trip, you would know the importance of carrying money. And while you can travel with your cash, debit card or credit card, there is one option; far more fitting than any other form of money you could carry. This is the forex card; one of the most convenient travel cards to have on your person on your exploits abroad.

So what exactly is the forex card?

Simply put, a forex card is like your bank’s debit card. It holds your money and allows you to make electronic transfers when travelling abroad. You can use the card for purchases and payments and withdraw money from ATMs abroad. You can choose between single currency cards or multi-currency cards, and load and store currencies from 18 countries.

Purchasing and loading your forex card

The Forex card is a prepaid card that you can purchase from any Indian bank offering it. Let’s say you buy forex card from HDFC Bank; you must then load it with the currency you intend to use. If you are travelling to Europe with the intention to visit the UK, France and Switzerland, you must purchase a multi-currency card and load it with Pounds, Euros and Swiss Francs.

Using your forex card abroad

All you need to do is to swipe the card at a PoS terminal, and the card will detect which country you are in. The payment will go through according to the pre-loaded currency of the country in which you make the purchase. If the balance on your card runs out, you can reload it anytime, online. You can also use your forex card online for transactions on web-shopping.

Advantages of the forex card

You get better exchange rates: You can load foreign currencies for a much better rate than the money you spend on purchasing foreign currency in cash because it is a cheaper option for banks. Instead of paying ₹2 per euro, you may end up spending only about 0.75 paise.

Foreign currency rates are locked in: You don’t have to worry about currency rates fluctuating with forex cards as they are loaded at a locked-in exchange rate. If you load £1000, you on your forex card, it will remain £1000 regardless of fluctuation in the INR-GBP (Great Britain Pound) rates.

Forex cards eliminate risks: Your pre-paid forex cards are not linked to your bank accounts, eliminating all risks for fraudulence.  Also, if the card gets stolen, you can block it immediately and have your balance frozen.

You needn’t pay transaction charges: While you may end up spending exorbitant exchange rates on purchases on your debit/credit cards, you needn’t pay any additional costs when shopping with your forex card.

Forex cards are accepted globally: Forex cards can be used at more than 30 million establishments globally. From withdrawing money from an ATM to paying your cab driver and buying coffee, you can use your pin-secured forex card just about everywhere.