Insurance has historically been a “push product” and despite the best efforts of the regulator and the various life insurance companies, it has failed to see pull from customers. One of the biggest incentives for buying insurance has been the tax exemption under section 80C of the Income Tax Act. In the Union Budget 2020, the Finance Minister introduced an alternative lower taxation regime wherein a taxpayer can choose a lower tax rate but will have to forgo most of the deductions they enjoy under the existing tax regime.
This has sparked a debate in the life insurance industry. One side believes that removal of exemptions will not have a detrimental impact on the insurance business in general as the customer has evolved over the years and understands that life insurance is mainly meant for protection and not as a tax-saving option.
The other side puts forth the argument that incentives in the form of tax exemptions have worked in driving up the penetration levels and the removal of it will have an impact on consumers. This is because the attractiveness of a life insurance policy will somewhat be diluted and the policyholders will have to be educated to make them aware of the importance of protection.
Esta historia es de la edición March 19, 2020 de Business Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 19, 2020 de Business Standard.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Dividend spurs hope for 1 trn cut in govt borrowing
The RBI approved a dividend of 2.11 trillion for the central government for 2023-24, marking an increase of roughly 141 per cent from 2022-23 (FY23). In addition, the contingency risk buffer has been raised to 6.5 per cent from the previous 6 per cent.
Markets and polls: The Bernstein playbook
With the Lok Sabha election results less than two weeks away, the markets are sitting pretty with the benchmark Nifty and the Sensex closing at record highs.
Adani Group mcap rises to ₹17.5 trillion
Highest since January 24, 2023, when Hindenburg released its report against the group
Weak Q4 may be rare bitter pill for Sun Pharma
DEVANGSHU DATTA Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported a 34 per cent year-onyear (Y-o-Y) jump in net profit to ₹2,654.6 crore in Q4FY24.
Jio Financial seeks shareholder nod to increase FPI legroom
Jio Financial Services has sought shareholders' approval to raise foreign investments (including foreign portfolio investments), amounting up to 49 per cent of the equity share capital.
BSE calls off merger of GIFT City unit with NSE
Talks fail over disagreements regarding merger
Sebi proposes measures to ease ESG disclosures by listed companies
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed measures to ease environmental, social and governance or ESG-related disclosures by listed companies and their value chain partners.
IPL to boxing, IIT Madras packs a punch with Al
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season, but they have made a splash by actively incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to enhance player performance developed by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).
Limits of the global gold rush
Driven by increased demand, international gold prices are at record highs, surging over 30 per cent in the past two years.
The white man's burden on global tourism
On her travels to Konya in central Turkey, a carpet seller she has befriended asks Shahnaz Habib where she's from.