CONTENTS
LETTER
ISSUE CONTENTS
12 July 2012
FROM THE
EDITOR
T
Debashis Basu MONEYLIFE | 12 July 2012 | 10
HEALTH
Auto Lobby: Public Transport Sidelined; Corruption at SEBI: Time for Vigilance Chief To Answer; SEBI Investigation: Lies, Damn Lies and SEBI Data
The Claim Game he test of any insurance product is not the price you pay and the features of the policy. It is getting your claims passed in full. If you are part of a large company which has negotiated a health insurance plan, you may be fine. If not, you are likely to get lost in a maze, running between the insurance company, broker, thirdparty administrator and the hospital. The whole process becomes even more complex, if you want to take the cashless route. In that context, our Cover Story is unique. We have narrated not a hypothetical case but the actual experience of an office assistant at Moneylife, Rajesh Juwale. So, this is as authentic as it gets. A special thanks to Raj Pradhan who did more than writing the story. He took personal responsibility of Rajesh’s problem, handholding him every step of the way to ensure that Moneylife’s first experience with an insurance claim went off well. We also thank the Bharti Axa team, led by the CEO Dr Amarnath Ananthanarayanan, that was ever-ready to help. Be sure to read this fascinating, real-life story to know the dos & don’ts of making a valid and complete claim. Those who are in the know have been telling us that corruption is rife in Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Nothing moves without paying money. We have written about the suspicious terms of many consent orders. A few weeks ago, one of the SEBI officers in Ahmedabad was caught asking for a Rs25-lakh bribe. Two years ago, this happened in Kolkata too. SEBI continues to remain silent about these incidents. In her Crosshairs section, Sucheta Dalal discusses these issues. Interestingly, while the financial regulators bark but rarely bite, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), just two years old, has been acting in favour of consumers and in a manner that is truly effective, as Sucheta analyses in her Different Strokes column. Yet, a wide variety of services still take customers for a ride, as our columnist V Raghunathan points out about dry-cleaners who use water to ‘dry clean’ and still get away with charging high prices! We need consumer courts to be as active as the CCI. Until then, we will continue to be short-changed daily.
18 DIFFERENT STROKES
Cashless Mediclaim
26 Cover Story Cashless Mediclaim Insurance is easy to buy but tough to claim, if you are an individual. Raj Pradhan narrates a real-life story that takes you through the labyrinth of insurance company, broker, TPA and hospital to explain how to make a valid claim and how to avoid going out of pocket
13
Your Interest
Costlier Medicines; Telecom Disputes under Consumer Courts; Right to Public Service; Doctor Penalised; Cheque Bounced? Six Months Jail
20
Cement Cartel: A Lesson in Regulation
Competition Commission of India again delivers on its mandate. If only older regulators had as much spine as CCI SMART MONEY
22
Investing: Nowhere To Hide
The odds are stacked against us. Invest safely FUNDS
Schemes: 24 FMCG Skin-deep? FMCG schemes have delivered great returns. But how much of it is a matter of chance? STOCKS
14
Your Money
A Long Way To Go; Strong Hiring in Next Three Months; HUDCO Plans Re-entry; No-frills Accounts; Fake Indian Currency; India Ranks 55th in Foreign Money Deposits; Pre-paid Cards for School/College Fees
16 Current Account When Smartness Makes You Stupid
17 LOOSE CHANGE Moneylife Quiz; Soundbites
Disclaimer: Moneylife has a policy of not allowing its editorial staff to buy and sell stocks that are written about in the magazine. All personal transactions in individual stocks are subjected to internal disclosure rules.
36 Street Beat – Rane (Madras): Tempting Valuation – Siyaram Silk Mills: Consumption Story – Unquoted: Kemistar Corporation WHICH WAY
STOCKGRADER 44 Medium Term
Atul Auto skyrocketed 15%, V-Guard Industries surged 12%, while Kennametal India declined 4%
Long Term
Hindustan Unilever advanced 7%, ITC rose 5%, while MRF tanked 4%
POPULAR PICKS
46 Popular but Cheap? As usual, we don’t find too many of them worth investing in, at the current prices STOCKS REVIEW
Our 47 Track Selections A continuous review of our stock selections with precise action to be taken at any time INSURANCE
48 Insurance Trends – Aviva Health Secure: Online Critical Illness Plan – Orphan Policies: Revival of Lapsed Policies – Fine Print: IRDA seeks to develop all-in-one insurance product; Health insurers plan to launch no-frills product; Pension products clarification OPINION
on the 39 Fork Road
49 Dry-cleaners
The path of least resistance is higher
Taking Us to the Cleaners!
STOCKS VALUE PICKS
AUTO
42 Status Quo
Sales: 50 Car Slowing Down
Most of the March quarter results have come out and our list is based on recent fundamentals
Falling auto sales signal that the cost of car ownership must reduce drastically
Ails Modern 52 What Medicine? – New tests, devices and drugs obviously make for very good business – Pulse beat: Medical developments from around the world CAREERS
54 Graceful Exit Why are employee exits often acrimonious? G Venkatesh narrates several real-life stories to drive home the lessons learnt LEGALLY SPEAKING
Right 57 The of Artistes The revamped Bill offers artistes different rights for different media ML FOUNDATION EVENTS
Money, 60 Your Simplified Moneylife Foundation held its flagship seminar, this time, mainly for those affected by multiple sclerosis SAVING AND INVESTING
61 Earning Curve Behavioural Finance: Not Friendly Advice BEYOND MONEY
Counselling on 66 Free Financial Issues Disha provides free, confidential, one-on-one counselling for those who need to understand their finances better, says Seraphina D’Souza
DEPARTMENTS Letters............................. 4 Book Review.....................58 Money Facts.....................63