Download Bollywood Movies » recession

ICICI Insurance Cover for Job loss

admin — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:04:17 +0000

MUMBAI: Uncertainty in the job market has led to the introduction of a product that covers the risk of being laid off. Besides assuaging With many companies laying off employees and few new jobs being created, the risk of unemployment has increased. ICICI Lombard has introduced a cover that will pay three equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on any individual loan. The job loss cover is sold as an add-on cover with its critical illness policy. Apart from job loss and, as the name suggests, critical illness, the policy covers risks such as accidental death and permanent total disability.

Such cover is common in the West and has been around for a while. In the UK, there are over two million mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) covers — policies that pay loan instalments if the borrower loses her job. Claims under the policies have jumped 200% on unemployment spurting to a 12-year high in Britain. This has compelled insurers to hike renewal premium on MPPI covers.

Under the newly-introduced cover, the insurer pays three EMIs of the policy holder in the event of job loss. The job loss may be as a result of closure of a division or a department due to financial limitations or action of any public authority resulting in the closure of the employer’s company. The job loss also covers the EMIs in the case of termination from employment due to illness. However, there’s a catch: the policy does not cover retrenchment due to underperformance, voluntary resignation or early retirement.

The validity of the job loss cover is five years. In other words, if a borrower wants the cover throughout the term of a 15-year loan, he will need to renew the job loss cover thrice.

“If the individual uses the job loss cover option, she can renew it only after five years. If she doesn’t use it, the premium is not refundable,” says ICICI Lombard head (customer service, health & accident) Sanjay Datta.ICICI Lombard is reviewing the possibility of increasing the three-month clause given the slowdown in the country. “We are evaluating the possibility. Since this is an in-built feature in the mediclaim product, we have to seek Irda approval before making changes to the features of the product,” Mr Datta adds.

As of now, there is no standalone job loss cover in the country. Even as job loss insurance has picked up in developed countries, it’s still testing waters in India. And even as other general insurers are mulling bundling their products with job loss covers, they aren’t confident of launching a standalone product to cover the risk of retrenchment. “The products come with low premia. Despite recessionary expectations, they haven’t seen significant demand in the market. Unless we see significant volumes, there is no incentive to roll out standalone job loss insurance covers,” an insurance broker said.

President Obama flays Citigroup for $50 Million Jet Plane

admin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:55:10 +0000

Washington: Vikram Pandit-led Citigroup has came under fire from the US President Barack Obama and his administration for purchasing a $50 million jet plane.

While the Citigroup has cancelled the order at the direction of the Treasury Department, Obama lashed out at the banking giant speaking to reporters at White House on Thursday.

“You know, (Treasury) Secretary (Timothy) Geithner already had to pull back one institution (Citigroup) that had gone forward with a multi-million-dollar jet plane purchase at the same time as they’re receiving TARP (troubled assets relief program) money,” Obama said.

Citigroup had recently received $45 billion from the federal government to bail it out from the deep financial crisis and save it from eminent collapse. The company also reported the fourth quarter loss of $8.29 billion.

After the news appeared in US newspapers early this week, resulting in widespread criticism including the government and the lawmakers, the bank said the order for the jet plane, placed in 2005, has been withdrawn.

“We shouldn’t have to do that, because they should know better. We will continue to send that message loud and clear,” Obama asserted indicating that such a wasteful expenditure would not be tolerated by his administration any more.

Jobs lost till now!! | 3,30,815Number of layoffs since Nov. 1, 2008

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:08:02 +0000

Jobs lost till now!!

3,30,815Number of layoffs since Nov. 1, 2008, at America’s 500 largest public companies

IBM to cut 2,800 jobs

Job cuts mount; Pfizer, Barclays reignite optimism

UK union meets Corus amid job cut fears

Dutch ING group to cut 7,000 jobs

Yahoo to freeze salary hike

‘Corus poised to axe 3,500 jobs’

Air Canada to axe 345 flight attendants

Starbucks may cut 1,000 more jobs

Microsoft to slash up to 5,000 jobs

Toyota mulls cutting 1,000 full-time jobs

Intel may slash up to 6,000 jobs

Polaris axes 480 jobs in Dec quarter

Over 21 lakh jobs lost in US since Dec 2007

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:43:34 +0000

More than 21 lakh individuals have become jobless in the US ever since the world’s largest economy entered into recession last December, with more number of employers resorting to mass layoff actions.The number of such layoffs — where 50 or more people are handed pink slips by a single employer — touched 20,712 in the last eleven months.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Bureau of Labour Statistics in a statement said, “From the start of the recession in December 2007 through November 2008, the total number of mass layoff events was 20,712, and the number of initial (jobless) claims was 21,08,743.” The number of job losses due to mass layoff actions stood at 1,41,750 in December last year.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau for Economic Research, which dates the nation’s economic cycles, has said that America officially entered into recession in December 2007.

In the wake of the worsening financial turmoil, companies worldwide are cutting jobs to cut down costs. So far in December, companies across the world have announced more than 1.20 lakh job cuts.

More than one-third of the layoffs happened in America, where unemployment touched a record high of 6.7 per cent.

Reflecting the worsening labor market scenario, the data showed that the number of mass layoff actions rose to 2,328 last month whereas the same stood at 2,140 in October.

In terms of job losses, the November figures reached 2,24,079, slightly lower than 2,32,468 in the same period a month ago.

“The number of mass layoff events in November increased by 188 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 8,389,” data available with the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed.