Your queries
Can I buy a health insurance policy online for my mother who is 67 years old?
? Vishwa Mohan
Yes, some insurers offer online health insurance policies to senior citizens. The terms and conditions of each company as regards the maximum age of entry, pre-medical tests required, sum assured, premium, exclusions, co-payment and plan renewal will be different. You are advised to compare them and select the company that best matches your need.
Should I invest R1 lakh in PPF at one go every April or in 12 equal instalments?
? Ravi Sharma
If you have the surplus, it is always preferable to invest at the beginning of the year in April so that you can get interest for the full year. If you want to invest monthly, then ensure that the amount is deposited before fifth of the month so that you get interest for the month. The instalments may not be equal, but the maximum deposit in an account should not exceed R1 lakh in a year.
What are the riders I should look at for my family health insurance policy, which is due for renewal next month?
? Vikas Kumar
Riders are add-ons to insurance policies, which help you cover yourself for additional set of risk events or reduce the cost of insurance. Some of them are hospital cash, critical illness, surgical cash and accident cover. You can opt for deductibles and co-pay to reduce insurance premium. Nowadays, top-up and super top-up policies are also becoming popular as they bring additional coverage at very low premiums.
Should I go for a floater or
individual coverage in health insurance?
? Rupesh Rao
Individual indemnity policies, along with a super top-up, are good options. Family floater will be preferable if the probability of all members not getting hospitalised during the year is low. Further, the cost advantage a family floater is reduced if the senior-most member is of higher age. The family floater may not cover independent children and children above 25 years.
How do I select a mutual fund for my daughter who is 10 years old. I need the money for her marriage when she is 25.
? Ranjit Bhushan
Since you have a 15-year horizon for investment, you can opt for the equity SIP route. If you are willing to take higher risk, you can select diversified equity schemes with a combination of large-cap and mid- & small-cap funds. If you are willing to take a moderate amount of risk, you can go for balanced/index schemes. Among the category, you can compare historical return, expense ratio, alpha, sharp ratio, AUM of the fund and the funds manager track record.
For deciding on monthly
SIP, the starting point is
the amount of money you want to spend for marriage at the current price. If you want to spend around R10 lakh at current expenses, you have to invest R6,000 per month in diversified equity schemes for 15 years. At 12% assumed return, it will amount to over R30 lakh after 15 years, which is the future value of today?s R10 lakh at 7% inflation.
The writer is founder and chief financial planner of Max Secure Financial Planners
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