Now pay Rs 100 to change nominee

Cancellation or change in nomination in insurance policies now comes at a cost – regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has allowed life insurers to charge up to Rs 100 for any such modification. For policies obtained online, the fee is up to Rs 50. The IRDAI guidelines for ‘Registering Cancellation or Change of Nomination’ have come into effect from 1 April 2015.

The Insurance Act allows the holder of a life policy to nominate on his own, while effecting the policy or any time before it matures, a person or persons to whom the money shall be paid in the event of his death.

“In respect of policies other than those, the fee collected shall not exceed Rs 100,” the IRDAI said in an order.

“No fee other than what has been prescribed shall be collected for registering a nomination either at the time of effecting a policy of life insurance or at any time thereafter or towards any other services relating to nomination,” the regulator added.

Pensioners to register Aadhaar numbers with banks

All central government pensioners should register their Aadhaar numbers with banks in order to avoid any problems faced by them in getting pension, the Centre has said.

“All the pensioners or family pensioners are advised to get themselves and their family members registered for Aadhaar and furnish this information to the pension-disbursing authority,” an order issued by Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said. Further, banks by linking the Aadhaar number with bank accounts and pension payment order (PPO) numbers will ensure authenticity of pension and other payments, it said. As per the order, this exercise may be completed at an early date so as to avoid inconvenience at the time of submission of life certificate in November 2015.

The move is a part of initiatives being taken by the Centre to ensure a hassle-free disbursal of pension to pensioners. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in November last year launched an Aadhaar-based biometric verification system, Jeevan Pramaan, to enable pensioners to submit digital life certificates online. It aims at sparing pensioners the trouble of visiting banks or any other pension-disbursing agency for submission of life certificates. It is possible to submit the life certificate from personal computers and laptops or by visiting a conveniently located common service centre.

There are about 50 lakh central government pensioners.