Term Insurance Plans compared!

This has been due. And I've kept postponing this since quite a few months. Last few weeks, I spent time in understanding different parameters to consider while taking a call on the insurance provider that your family would be reaching out to when you are no longer with them :( 

Just wanted to share whatever info I gathered so far!

Plan comparisons:

FACTORS	Insurer	HDFC Life	Aegon Life	ICICI Prudential	Max life
	Plan Name	Click to protect 3d plus - Life option	I term Plan	I protect smart - Lumpum	Online Term Plan Plus - Lumpum
USP	Claim settlement ratio	2016 - 2017 = 97.6 %	2016 - 2017 = 97.11 %	2017 - 2018 = 97.8%	2016 - 2017 = 98.2 %
	Unique Feature	1. Centres in maximum cities for claim assistance 2. Flexibility to choose premium paying terms 3. Increase sum assured upto 10% every year to match inflation	1. All types of death are covered 2. Switch payout to monthly mode after death of insured (free of cost) 3. Housewife can be life insured	1.Voted 'Best Term Insurance Provider' at Money Today Financial Awards 2017-18 2.Centres in maximum cities for claim assistance 3.Flexibility to choose premium paying terms	1. Claim Relationship Officer is assigned 2. Can pay entire premium till 60yrs of age
Basic Plan details	Death Benefit	Lumpsum payout of sum assured upon death	Payout upto Sum Assured	Lumsum payout upto sum assured upon death of insured	Lumsum payout upto sum assured upon death of insured
	Terminal Illness Benefit (Payout on diagnosis)	Payout upto Sum Assured	Payout upto Sum Assured, waiver of premium post diagnosis	Payout upto Sum Insured	Not available
Payment terms	Mode of payment	1. One-time payment 2. Monthly/ Quarterly/ Yearly 3. Choose your own premium paying terms	One-time payment Monthly/ Quarterly/ Yearly	1. Monthly/ Half-Yearly/ Yearly 2. Limited pay till 60 years	1. Monthly/ Quarterly/ Yearly 2. Limited pay till 60 years
Riders	Return of premium	Not available	Not available	Not available	Not available
	Accidental Disability (Income substitute for accidental disability)	Add on available	Add on available	Not available	Add on available
	Accidental disability - Waiver of future premium	In-build feature	Add on available	In-Built feature	Add on available
	Critical Illness (Payout on diagnosis of critical illness)	Add on available for 19 Critical illness	Not available	Add on available - Covers 34 critical illnesses	Add on available - Covers 40 critical illnesses
	Critical illness - Waiver of future premium	Add on available	Not availlable	Not available	Add on available for 11 critical illnesses
	Accidental Death (Payout for death due to accident)	Not available	Add on available	Add on available	Add on available
Waiting period	Payout for Sucidal Death	Not covered in first policy year	Not covered in first policy year	Not covered in first policy year	Not covered in first policy year
	Critical Illness payout	After 90 days of issuance	NA	After 90 days of issuance	After 90 days of issuance
Medical checkup for issuance	Pre-policy checkup	Only if All of below criteria are met- Age - 45yrs and above Education - Graduate or less Income - Less than 4lacs Cover - Less than 1cr Employment - Self-employed	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cancellation of proposal	Free Look Period - Cancellation of proposal	Annual payment = 30 days Monthly payment = 15 days	Annual payment = 30 days Monthly payment = 15 days	1. Annual payment = 30 days 2. Monthly payment = 15 days	1. Annual payment = 30 days 2. Monthly payment = 15 days

Best Schools in Hyderabad - Research that I have done so far

Like many parents, I have also been searching for the right school for my kid, who would be entering LKG next year [2018]. Talking to many friends and colleagues besides online reviews (PT, Social/FB/Google) to understand the respective school's support in bringing up the kids with all-round skills.

Here is the snapshot of consolidated feedbacks, that I've collected (as on 8-Dec-2017) on the schools near HiTech City (I have also included HPS, Chinmayananda though they are a bit far from Madhapur/Gachibowli zones)...

Should you have any additional queries, please feel free to DM me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/udaymannam

You may also share your opinions in the comment section below so that I can add new schools and/or amend the existing ones accordingly!

Just FYI; There is no good or bad school. From all this analysis, what I understood is that everyone is actually doing a great job in their own space. You may choose based on your location, budget, curriculum and food/transport preferences.

And another suggestion is; please make sure you visit the school 2-3 times before making a decision. Because first impressions may always be blurry!!

What are the Best Petrol/Diesel/Gas filling stations in Hyderabad

Because this could be an useful information for everyone, I have just compiled and summarized different emails which were exchanged among our friends.

Thanks,

Uday

On 17 December 2013 11:37, Sarath wrote:

The following petrol pumps are known to be supplying good quality & quantity of fuel (both petrol and diesel).  Please feel free to check them out.

1. IOC pump Kailash Fuel Station at Nagole RTA, close to Volkswagen Deccan showroom (simply the best quality for diesel; try once to believe).  Every time I filled from them, I have got at least 1 to 1.5 km extra KMPL, the engine feeling much smoother than anytime ever - an indication of high quality diesel).  Actually there are two fuel pumps just adjacent to one another; the one housing SBI ATM is Kailash.  
2. IOC pump operated by AP Civil Supplies Corp Ltd, Hafeezpet Flyover 
3. HP pump Venkatadri Fuel Point just after crossing Gachibowli Flyover - towards BHEL from Mehdipatnam
4. HP pump operated by AP Civil Supplies Corp Ltd., at Secreatariat Complex ("crudely" opposite of British Library)
5. HP pump opposite to BHEL complex (I think it is a Company operated one, don't remember exactly).
6. IOC COCO pump (earlier it was an IBP one) near Begumpet airport/flyover.  

I heard about  "Yagnayya" Petrol Pump near Mahindra cars' showroom at R P Road being the best amongst all petrol pumps in Hyderabad/Secunderabad, I haven't had a chance to buy fuel from them.  

As far as Diesel is concerned, avoid buying from the IOC COCO pump adjacent to Cyber Pearl/Opp., TCS. Everytime I fuel from this pump, I have observed increased black smoke plus increased engine harshness in my car.  And filling up the next tank-full from Venkatadri HP Pump brings the engine instantaneously back to its smoother conduct & almost zero smoke (even during cold start) - a revelation indeed.  

Regards,

Sarath.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Krishna K
Date: 17 December 2013 11:30
Subject: Re: Is 1 liter petrol/diesel really 1 liter?
To: Sharing Hyderabad

+1 for Shell Petrol Pump, Raidurgam.

In any normal petrol pump, they will fill between 4.8 ltrs to 5.1 ltrs in my Honda Activa (full tank capacity is 5 ltrs :D ). But in Shell, I never had to fill beyond 4.65 ltrs. So the extra cost on petrol is actually balanced and the extra mileage I get is a profit.

Thanks,

Krishna

---

From: Imran J
To: Sharing Hyderabad
Sent: Monday, 16 December 2013 11:29 PM
Subject: Re: Is 1 liter petrol/diesel really 1 liter?

Slightly expensive but I always tank up at the Shell station in Rai Durgam.

Price of petrol is 80.15 per liter. Thats about Rs 100 more for every 30+ liters.

Thanks,

Imran

On Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 11:08 PM, Manoj kumar wrote:

Hi all,

So which one is better fuel station closeby hitech city?

Thanks

Manoj

On Monday, December 16, 2013, P Prasad wrote:

Do not Pump Full Tank of Petrol.......

Recently I came across a very useful tip. I was surprised to know it but had a doubt so I talked to one of the pump technicians and he too accepted it as a fact. I think apart from providing space for the gas generated inside the petrol tank this is yet another reason why we shouldn't fill the tank to the brim. Many of us are not aware that the petrol kiosk pump has a return pipe-line (in Pink). When the petrol tank (in the car) reaches full level, there is a mechanism to trigger off the pump latch and at the same time a return-valve is opened (at the top of the pump station) to allow excess petrol to flow back into the pump. But the return petrol has already pass through the meter, meaning you are donating the petrol back to the Oil Dealer.

Also only fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the petrol, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your liter is not exactly a liter. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your Petrol tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more Petrol you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. petrol storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the Petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a petrol truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy Petrol, DO NOT fill up; most likely the petrol is being stirred up as the Petrol is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

On 12/16/2013 4:56 PM, Hari V wrote:

Hi,

I faced issue with hitech city petrol pump regd meter jumping. If you observe carefully, meter will not be consistent. For eg movement between 0 -100 may not be same as 100 - 200. Once i observed this when i filled petrol in my bike. When i raised the issue, they told they will measure petrol in my bike by unfilling the tank. That time my bike just came to reserve, so i was refilling. Obviously petrol in the tank will be more than what they filled... I did not accept for this and lodged a complaint. They gave me a complaint number, i donot know what happened to the complaint. Also i heard in hitech city petrol pump, they mix wax. Unless it's urgent better not to go for this petrol pump..! .

Thanks

Hari

From: Rakesh K
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2013 4:42 PM
To: Sharing Hyderabad
Subject: Is 1 liter petrol/diesel really 1 liter?

Last week I thought of checking mileage of my new 2 wheeler and took the petrol in 1 liter empty water bottle(Tata water plus). In the petrol pump opposite to TCS Building the person loaded the petrol for 80Rs saying that 1 liter bottle will "ACTUALLY" hold more than 1 liter and the meter showed 1.03 lt. Surprisingly the bottle still had some space empty near the neck which he maintained to insert the gun with which petrol was filled. I paid 80Rs.

When the petrol was over after 2 days, I poured the petrol from the bottle and just to clear the doubt in my mind I went to other petrol pump this time which was near hafeezpet flyover and asked the person to fill the same bottle.

The person filled only 0.91 lt petrol and he said it will overflow if 1 lt is poured. When I checked the empty space near the bottle neck it was exactly the same space which was left two days before. I paid 70Rs.

Either the bottle has shrunk in size or there is something wrong with the Hitech City petrol pump meter. If the later is true then I lost 10Rs+ in this small transaction and what about the people filling their car tanks full.

If its due to some chemical reaction! between plastic and petrol that the bottle size has shrunk then its fine.

Comparative Analysis on different HMDA Layouts near Adibatla & Raviryal

I was taken aback by hearing following news from my friend during a Lunch-Table discussion....

      "My brother-in-law's college-mate (who works in TCS) have purchased a plot in Adibatla after reading one email (that he got from TCS PR/Communications team) which mentioned that 'TCS will be setting up a new campus at Adibatla'. He had taken it in some GP layout near to the campus @1000/- Per sq.yrd and have recently sold it @4850/- Per sq.yrd"

Many of his TCS counterparts might have simply Shift-Deleted that email. But, thanks to his patience in reading all such organization-wide communication emails; he has got ~5 times of appreciation in <2 years time-frame. Considering the time factor, that's a big margin, one can get.  

Ok...That's what inspired me to visit that place. Just for your reference, here is the snapshot of Backside-View of TCS campus that is being constructed by L&T:

                                                    Note: Above picture was captured on 18-Oct-2013. I'm sorry for the long-shot, it was taken from my car.

TCS Campus? Really??
Yes. TCS Software Development Campus will be coming up @Adibatla in 3.1 Million Sq.Feet area. 

L&T is doing the construction work for this campus. And California based Saga Architecture, which had received prestigious International Property Award in 'Asia Pacific Best Office Development' category for Tata Consultancy Services Sahyadri Park (Pune) campus, has bagged the architecture design contract of Adibatla Campus either. 

For more details, you may check the following web-page...
https://sagarchitecture.com/adibatla-2/

And following video should depict the proposed view of TCS Adibatla campus. 
Source: Saga Architecture



The question that I had in my mind was: "Given that values already appreciated 5 times, is it worth investing now?"

Answer is Yes. Because of following points(these are only few I can think of) it is a lucrative opportunity to invest in this zone...

1. Hyderabad is already a well-known IT/Software hub in India - No one can deny that
2. ITIR: As I read in English newspapers and Tech Blogs, Hyderabad is fortunate to get this deal by beating many states like Odissa, Karnataka,..etc
3. India wide respected education institutes like IIIT, BITS, ISB... are here 
4. Metro Rails - Once all the proposed phases finishes up (with L&T doing them, its just a matter of time) Hyd will be another Delhi or Bengaluru
5. Proximity to Airport: As we all agree, software companies and its promoters prefers SEZs that are located close to International_Airports
6. ORR
7. Prices in common-man's range: Unlike Vijayawada or Ongole or Vizag or Guntur, where realtors have already hiked the prices for obvious reasons, in areas like Adibatla, prices are still in acceptable range. 
8. Developments & Future-Prospects in that Maheshwaram/Raviryal/Adibatla belt: Be it already functioning SEZ's like Tata AeroSpace(Adibatla), HCL Infosystems(Maheswaram) [or] upcoming offices like TCS, CTS (Bhoomi-Pooja by L&T have already completed on 08/Oct. I have seen their banners inviting Cognizant delegates). And thee areas already have got Schools like RainTree International, Aga Khan Academy, Brilliant Grammar High School...etc.

Next doubt I had was "Will Telangana have any impact on future of Hyderabad [if it is going to be part of T only!]?"

Again, I did my own study. Spoke to elderly people who have been living in Hyderabad since 1981 (who bought plots in HMT Colony, Kukatpally areas @40/- Per Sq.yrd). Also read several blogs, 99acres Discussion/Forums, consulted realtors from both Andhra & T regions.

Answer is No. Justification points that I arrived after above discussions/study are...

1. If Hyderabad is declared as UT or Common Capital (which is least-likely case) for both the states, then there won't be any questions
2. In case if Hyderabad is declared as capital to Telangana; there are some advantages like (i) People will be more focussed (ii) Revenue that gets generated in Hyderabad would be invested in just 10 districts as opposed to 23 districts today
3. BTW, investors or NRI who hails from Andhra region and fear to buy properties in Hyderabad have already slowed-down. Not recently, such people have started investing near their native places since 2009 or so (when T agitation was at it's peak)

Note: Just wanted to hint that I am from Andhra region only! But, just like many, I own a flat, a job here. Hence, I don't have any plans to leave this great city. End of the day...all Andhra & Telangana people are Telugu speaking brothers and of course, we all are Indians. 

OK. Now that I am convinced to take buy a plot in Hyderabad near this zone, question was "Where, Which Project to invest in ? What is Best ??"

Visited this area by sacrificing many weekends including Dasara like festivals. Following is the snapshot of comprehensive research I did...

                     Note: Please be informed that the rates and HMDA approval statuses mentioned above are as on 15-Oct

As I highlighted above, each project has its own Pros & Cons in-terms of Cost-vs-Distance (from TCS/ORR like assets). You can go for any one of them based on your own study and budget. My advice is to invest in a HMDA layout than in GP (Grama Panchayat) layouts. 

Disclaimer: All the points I stated above are my own. Please...Please do not misinterpret them. As always, I just wanted to share that info what I have gathered so that it can help you to take wise decision. 
I do not have any relationship with any of the developers nor I am a marketing guy :-)