Health insurance safety, adventure sport boom: Top personal finance stories

Our pick of best stories this week explains why medical claims are rejected and how Indians are seeking thrill

Approximately one-fourth of health insurance claims are denied as policyholders not disclosing pre-existing ailments. Another one-fourth claims are rejected because people lack awareness of their coverage terms, leading to attempts to claim for treatments not covered in their policies. These are some of the insights that have emerged from a recent study by PolicyBazaar. In this week’s lead story, Sanjay Kumar Singh and Karthik Jerome delve into the precautions customers need to exercise to avoid the disappointment of their claims being denied.

Are you keen on high-thrill activities like paragliding, skydiving, and hot-air ballooning? This week Namrata Kohli provides an overview of the burgeoning adventure sports market in India. Read this article to learn about the popular destinations for air-based sports and the precautions participants should observe to ensure their safety.

Unable to handle the dilemma of whether to allocate more to large-cap, mid-cap or small-cap funds? Let a fund manager take care of this question by investing in a flexi-cap fund where the fund manager has complete freedom to tilt her portfolio the way she likes. Look up Morningstar’s review of HDFC Flexicap Fund if you wish to select a fund from this category.

After retirement, one wants a guaranteed income stream. Only annuities can offer this. Look up Policybazaar.com’s table on single and regular premium, deferred and immediate annuity plans and choose one that suits your needs.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

83.36: All-time closing low of the rupee against US dollar

The Indian rupee touched an all-time closing low against the US dollar on November 21. The rupee’s weakness can be attributed to several factors. One is foreign institutional investors (FIIs) pulling out around Rs. 84,351.9 crore out of India since August, as they could earn a reasonable risk-free return from the US debt market amid rising interest rates.

Another reason is the persistent demand for US dollars from oil importers. Rising gold imports also put pressure on the rupee.

Not just in recent times, the rupee tends to depreciate against the US dollar even over the long term. This can affect investors who have dollar-denominated goals such as sending their child to a US university for higher education, purchasing a house abroad, or travelling abroad.

To counter the rupee’s tendency to depreciate, investors should have at least 15-20 per cent of their equity portfolios in US-based or international active funds, exchange-traded or index funds, and stocks.