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| To entice individuals into buying particular insurance policies, agents are now offering freebies, like household appliances, restaurant coupons, memberships to car breakdown services or resorts, and even personal accident covers. |
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| For executives buying covers for their firms, insurers are offering free trips to Thailand or Malaysia under the guise of seminar trips. |
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| A private sector life insurance company is even leaving the choice of the city to prospective clients, as long as they do not venture outside Asia. The catch: he would have to pay over Rs 5 lakh as premium for a life insurance cover. |
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| Depending on the policy purchased, some agents are willing to pass on up to 80 per cent of their commissions. The rebate can be encashed in the form of a colour television set or an audio system. |
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| A washing machine comes with the offer of a rebate of 70 per cent. A poor negotiator, who manages to get an agent to pass on 60 per cent of the commission, can even end up with a microwave. |
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| General insurers, on their part, are offering attractive schemes with motor insurance policies. A particular agent, working on behalf of a private insurance firm, was offering free memberships for the car helpline, Race (which comes for around Rs 350 a year), coupons to ritzy restaurants and a personal accident cover of Rs 1 lakh. Another agent, working for a rival insurer, also offered a free membership for a car helpline service. |
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Though agents of state-owned general insurers are not willing to offer services or gifts they are ready to match private companies
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