The effects of climate change are upon us, too; the heavy monsoons and subsequent flooding in Pakistan in 2022 is a strong reminder that we should stop playing with the Earth’s natural balance.  As individuals, we need to protect ourselves and our assets from losses that are caused by climate change and its allied disasters. 

Superficially taken, the effects of climate change do not seem unfavorable for property and business insurers. They can use their annual policy cycle and their advanced understanding of evolving risks to reprice and rearrange portfolios to avoid the long-term risks of climate events while protecting their clients from the impacts of climate-related events. 

Insurance Industry and Economic Security

The insurance industry can offer its customers economic security by offering reliable protection. Insurers must, therefore, make climate risk a part of their management decisions. They should specifically use their understanding of risk and climate science to mitigate the systemic effects of physical climate risk for themselves and their customers. 

Accomplishing these tasks involves five actions.

Stress-Test Portfolios Against Projected Climate Hazards

the concentration of risk can increase as climate-related losses spread over different types of coverage, flood, crop and property damage, and business interruption. The risk of multiple claims raised in connection to a single event is known as Aggregation risk.

 This can extend past geographic bounds as climate change raises the risk of systemic disruption. For instance, an increase in average global temperatures increases the probability of floods and wildfires in a specific region regardless of specific location.

To evaluate risk exposure to climate change, insurers can consider implementing climate-specific stress testing beyond traditional catastrophe models to understand the impact of climate-related risk on their portfolios. 

Insurers can accomplish this task by using advanced analytics techniques to project how various acute and chronic hazards are likely to affect them over time. Insurers should combine detailed climate data, down to the risk of a flood or fire for a single address, with an analysis of the macroeconomic implications of climate change to inform pricing and portfolio adjustments.

Rebalance Portfolios to Improve Resilience 

Post-stress testing, insurers can improve their portfolio quality by considering low-probability catastrophic events, diversifying their portfolio, and strategizing to evolve exposure over time. Risk models that assume nonstationary risk and discount obsolete historical data will be more successful.

Help Clients Mitigate Climate Risk

Once insurers have their own portfolios and strategies in order, they can help their customers mitigate their risks. To do so, insurers need to scale their current incentives for approved options to include supportive measures with clients. The core principle will be to support clients that are trying to mitigate their risks and reduce claims that arise due to climate change-related damages. 

Create Innovative Products to Address Climate-Related Risk

Insurers have an opportunity to offer innovative solutions to cover both new and common hazards, acute (such as floods) and chronic (such as reduced crop yields). Solutions can be as simple as parametric pricing which insures policy holders against events of a set magnitude instead of insuring the value of losses. Whatever the details of the solutions, long-standing actuarial approaches to risk modeling will need to evolve as climate risk changes.

Revise Investment Strategies

Insurers also need to reevaluate their investment strategies as global economies move  toward long-term decarbonization, which will cause asset repricing and portfolio volatility, especially for carbon-intensive investments. Insurers also need tp systematically evaluate the combined exposure of their investment and underwriting portfolios to physical climate risk, especially where both assets and liabilities could be affected. 

What Consumers Should Do:

As consumers, you can take several steps to protect yourself against the impact of climate change on insurance:

Stay Informed:

Keep yourself updated on climate change trends and how they can affect Pakistan. Understanding the potential risks can help you make informed decisions when purchasing insurance policies.

Review Your Coverage:

Regularly review your insurance policies to ensure they provide adequate coverage for climate-related risks. Consider additional coverage options such as flood insurance or enhanced property protection to mitigate potential losses.

Invest in Risk Mitigation: 

Take proactive measures to mitigate the risks of climate-related damage to your assets. This may include refitting your home with features like renewable energy, maintaining a disaster preparedness plan, or investing in renewable energy solutions.

Advocate for Change: 

Support policies and initiatives that promote climate resilience and sustainability at the local, national, and global levels. By advocating for positive change, you can help create a more resilient future for yourself and future generations.

Conclusion:

Climate change is reshaping the risk landscape for insurers and consumers, presenting new challenges and opportunities for adaptation. By understanding the impact of climate change on insurance and taking proactive measures to mitigate risks, consumers can better protect themselves and their properties in an increasingly uncertain environment. Together, we can work towards building a more resilient and sustainable future for all.

Sadia Zaheer

Sadia Zaheer holds a Masters in Business Administration from IBA, Karachi. After working in several financial institutions in Client Management, Corporate Lending, Islamic Banking and Product Management she jumped careers to pursue a career in writing.
She is a Finance, Business and HR Development writer with four years of experience. She reads a lot and takes care of her multiple cats to remain calm.

The post Climate Change and Insurance: Adapting to New Risks appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Islamic ethics outlines clear ethics of road usage that need to be upheld for all mankind. This is due to the fact that the public, in particular, road users have the rights to utilize the road and highways.

The scenario of road accidents nowadays has reached an alarming level of high rates of fatalities and loss of lives. This situation haunts every road user. Among notified causes are the attitudes and actions of the drivers, such as reckless driving, impatience as well as self-centeredness along with disobedience to the road and traffic regulations.

This negligence ultimately brings misery to the mass as affects innocent lives and their families. This study suggests solutions for road users to apply the ethics of road usage as introduced by Islam.

Road safety is a major public health issue in Pakistan. It is estimated that every five minutes someone is killed or badly injured in a road traffic crash in Pakistan. There is enormous human suffering, the economic cost is estimated to be 3-5 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP. [roadsafety.pk, Nov2018]

The Pakistan National Road Safety Strategy 2018-2030 builds on the foundation of the first National Road Safety Plan for Motorways and National Highways 2017-2018. It broadens the scope to address all road networks and all road user groups in Pakistan. It sets out a long-term road safety vision for Pakistan and practical, evidence-based actions to improve safety on national, provincial, and local roads.

The vision of the National Road Safety Strategy 2018-2030 is the initiative of the Government of Pakistan to save more than 6,000 lives. That otherwise will be lost in road crashes. It will also help Pakistan to meet its commitment to regional and global road safety targets.

 Achieving this target will be challenging as Pakistan’s economy grows, vehicle numbers are projected to increase by about four times, passenger and carriage transport to increase five times. The population is projected to increase by up to 30 Million people by 2030. [roadsafety.pk, Nov2018]

This Strategy and the series of road safety action plans which will be developed to implement it addresses all roads and all road users. As the vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, pedestrians, drivers and passengers in three-wheeled vehicles, and children. It is expected that a Model Road Safety Law will be completed early in 2020.

Vehicle safety:

The vehicle safety should be insured under all circumstance regardless of the time and place an individual is driving for instance seat belts should be used at all times, speed meters to be used in the car accurately and be monitored religiously as per the road speed limit.

Stimulating the community

Ethics Rules of the Road defines ethics as knowing right from wrong. following the policies, and remaining legally compliant needs to instilled and implemented in the society. Awareness needs to be raised on a community level to make everyone understand that they need to actively be part of these actions. As it is said: “Charity begins at home”. One needs to be a self-starter to motivate others.

Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the big killers. Fatigue-related crashes can happen on any trip no matter how long or short or what time of day. You should ensure that before getting on the road they are alert and active. If there is any fatigue or stress, hiring a taxi would be a safer option than driving themselves and endangering your own and others life.

Mobile phones

When you’re driving, you can only use a mobile phone to make or receive a call if the phone is securely mounted to the vehicle. It is against the law to touch the phone (except to pass it to passenger) while driving. As using the phone while driving for text message or watt Sapp leads to deviation of attention from the road. Which leads to accidents, injury or even loss of life. Ethically, legally and morally one should avoid using the phone at all and should switch their phone to driving/do not disturb mode.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians can be difficult to see when you’re driving, and their behaviour can be unpredictable. This can make it challenging for other road users to successfully factor pedestrian safety into the decisions they constantly make as drivers and riders. So the people walking on the roads should ensure that they cross the roads only at the zebra crossing and the drivers should consciously stop at the zebra crossing and let the pedestrians cross the streets safely.

Schools and School Zones

Road safety around schools is a major concern for parents and school management. It should be incorporated in the road safety measures that school zones and roads nearby to it should have speed limit no more than 20KM per Hour.

Insurance

One of the most important and legally advised road safety measures is to get your vehicle insured. By law the third party liability insurance is mandatory plus it also secures your risks every time you are driving on the road. Car insurance allows driving to your destination tension and hassle-free.

Conclusion

Ethical aspects of road traffic have not received the philosophical attention they deserve. The measures used to combat deaths in traffic as well as the role of road traffic should be ethically scrutinized and should be given the due importance and consideration, as the impact it has on everyone’s life is magnanimous.

These ethics and safety methods should be instilled in drivers of all ages. so when they get their vehicles on road they understand and comprehend that roads are for everybody to use. While doing that it should be remembered that the other individual is not affected/injured due to their conduct.

Achieving these targets will require significant effort to enhance the safety standard of roads. The strengthening of regulation and demand for safer vehicles, to improve driver, passenger and pedestrian compliance with road traffic laws and to create a safety culture.

Road safety is a shared societal responsibility. We all must do more to protect our communities from death and grievous injury.

Khurram Zahid

The post 7 Road Ethics and Safety Measures appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

At least not in the way they told us. Protecting kids from the harsh realities of life, delaying any difficult, hard hitting or trying to add a bit of fun with fiction, all the parents have told white lies to their kids at times. Here are some of the most common money lies that parents tell their kids and make the growing mind, develop myths about money management, etc.

Money is the root of all evils:

In Pakistani society, this is one of the most common myths told by parents to their children since their early age. In your life, you may have heard of the phrase dozens of times. The phrase is “the love of money is the root of all evils.” Now being older, you can have a clear idea of the difference between the two said phrases. Believing in that money is the root of all evils or success is what have an impact on the financial health of any person and can change the mindset by shifting the understanding of people that there is nothing wrong with considering money as the base of life. This priority also develops the false belief that there is nothing wrong with the money possession.

The actual trouble starts when money begins controlling our lives and we find ourselves helpless without having a penny in our pocket. It can lead to making us pessimistic and losing all hope in life. In a hard time, it also leads us to see nothing like an opportunity but a problem. Believing that money is the key to happiness is what true evil is. However, there are very few who know that this is not a fact. Better is to focus on earning money and placing more and more attention and focus on winning money with the right means. If you can do that you will be able to buy things or life standard that can make you feel happy.

You must save more & more money:

This is one of the biggest misconceptions about money that is told us. This myth has developed the fear of investment in many people. People believe that keeping money bank is the safest thing one can do to the hard earn rupee. This belief blocks the road to progress and making more money and earning benefits out of the saved amount. This is the reason why more people in Pakistan can be seen afraid of considering investment plans and finance programs like mutual funds etc. Although saving money is important, but there can be many reasons to invest partially of the collected amount. Spending means that you are making money for free which can lead to addition in your saved money. The top leading finance experts also suggest investing a part of your saved amount in investment plans or even in learning new skills.

The more you work, the more you earn:

This is another common myth that exists in our society since long, The kids in our society are told that being rich is the best thing and must be the only option in your life. Moreover, to be rich, you need to work hard only then you can make much money. However, the fact is that you need to be smart in earning if you are willing to be rich in life. Working for hours and overtime for a company can earn you a limited amount of money by the end of each month, your job is not secure, you can not make any financial plan with utmost confidence, and thus you cannot be rich in your life. Rather if you are planning things in a way that can spare you the freedom of investing in new ideas and making money out of that, you can not only play securely with your finances but can also lead a happy and satisfied life.

Only becoming a Doctor or Engineer make you rich:

Although the false belief is now changed too much extent still there are parents that believe that a successful future lies only in professions like Doctor or Engineer, and thus their kids must only focus on polishing their skills and earning higher degrees in these fields. Also, they believed that or fields like commerce and arts could earn no financial or professional benefits to anyone.

However, with the inception of technology and the field of Information technology, the parents do not have an idea that if one has the creativity and ability to learn professional skills and degrees, they can make money from the fields like designing and fashion, etc.

Thus with the change in the time, it is no more a truth that one must only become a doctor or an engineer to become rich.

You can’t start a business without a large sum of money:

Once again the idea of doing business with a large amount of money has changed in recent days. Previously parents use to believe and teach their kids to do long hour jobs, save money, earn more and save more, and then start their own business to live a happy life. However, with the passage of time, the idea changed. With the new trends of doing business and making money, there are now options where you can make money by investing a small amount into any business idea as that of freelancing, blogging, YouTube, or mutual fund schemes, etc. It means that one does not need to have a large amount of money before they start settling up their business empire.

So if you need to let your kids play freely and make the right decision about their life without delaying anything and moving ahead with confidence and in the right direction, you must take the first step in diminishing the myths and changing the course of these money myths.

Khurram Zahid

The post 5 Money Myths Our Parents Tell Us That Are Not True appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Get the companionship of an amazing partner, start a new chapter and a whole new life and finally, set a home of our own. Isn’t it? Most of us desire to end up in future this way. To initiate a fresh start, build up an empire of your own and have family, lovely kids and feel complete in its truest meaning.

However during this course of time, while establishing a sound life and family, we tend to forget our own health and mental status. Many couples show negligence toward their own well-being and this affects them adversely in the longer run.

Below are the top 5 health care tips for the couples with kids so they can stay fit and energetic to continue the life cycle and maintain a balance between their own stability and other responsibilities doing full justice to both.

Stay active and fit

This is one of the key factors towards health and well-being. If parents will stay fit and healthy, only this way they can fully concentrate on the grooming of their kids and can stay well for long to spend a happy life with each other. Most couples usually stop exercising once they have kids but it is wrong. Your own energy and fitness comes above any other responsibility. If you have stopped exercising after having kids – resume it. Find alternate ways to adjust your schedule. Your workout doesn’t necessarily need to be inside the gym with heavy machines and fancy clothes.

You can pick up any sport that you enjoy with your partner and play. You can do small and feasible home exercises to keep moving. But don’t be idle. After all, health is wealth!

Know the little things

One of the basic factors upon which the health of the couple as well as the success of the marriage falls upon after having kids and family is – to keep it real and simple, as it was before marriage or becoming parents. Couples are advised to be appreciative and know the little things about each other. Does he have a meeting to attend? Is she going to have a party with her friend? Does he have to go and take the kid to the park? And many other little things that we tend to ignore and forget on daily basis.

Remembering the non significant and otherwise unimportant, minute details will keep the intimacy alive and encourage the partners to talk about their engagements and make your partner feel loved and cared for. These are the little ways that make your spouse feel special and hence so, it leads to the success and healthfulness that proves fruitful in the longer run.

Pre-plan everything

Pre – planning is very important once you become parents. Whether that is you planning about your own future goals or the betterment of your kids; you must have a clear picture of what you are going to do next. From managing own upcoming projects to looking into your kids’ needs, their health, expenditures and other basic demands – planning helps you stay organized and focused and hence saves you from the extra baggage that comes in the form of unwanted worries and tensions at certain phases of life.

Therefore, it is always stressed to plan before hand – plan your upcoming month, week or even the next vacation that you are going to have. Stay systemic will make sure you do not get into sudden issues and hence ensures yours and the happiness of your family for sustaining a healthy environment.  

Get health insurance

This might sound typical and stupid to so many but it is the most crucial aspect to work upon, especially after having kids. It has been proven over and over again that many couples lying to next each other wonder about the money plans and health policies 90% of the times and it should be trusted that the little disagreements can send your marriage to the south. Find individual and family health assurance policies for you and your people at affordable prices.

Having health insurance benefits you in so many ways and keep you tension-free in the bigger picture. You receive the best health care through this, your family’s and kids’ health is safe and secured and above everything else, it saves you from the crisis once any unfortunate health problem is faced. No one plans to get sick, hurt or injured. But everyone needs healthcare at one or the other point of life and having health insurance and medical insurance will promise the best quality care leading to a happy marriage.  Compare health insurance providers in Pakistan and see which plan is best for you and your family.

Related Read: 5 Questions to Ask Before Going for Health Insurance in Pakistan

Have a clear and stable financial strategy 

This might sound unrelated to health but basically, this is what that decides how healthy you are going to be in your life. Don’t get worried if you spend a lot and your partner saves pennies. Having one outlook over the financial issues is not necessary, however, resolving all the money related queries as early as possible and ending up on one unanimous decision saves a lot of disagreements in the future. A logical, clear and justified financial plan helps you handle the household more effectively, enables you to raise the kids in a better way and actually define the stability of your marriage, the quality of your own mental and physical well-being and the success of future goals.

Final Words

Marriage and family are a responsibility. It is a knot that ties us to the most valuable relations in our life. We must respect our parents and be kind to them so that in the future we can also groom our kids in the most amazing ways. Planning and mutual consideration define the success of any marriage and the stability of the family. These tips will help you stay intact to your family members and keep you running in the walk of life.

Khurram Zahid

The post Top 5 Health Care Tips for Couple with Kids appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

There is one thing you should always keep in mind and that is the maintenance of the car. Especially of the new car. Because it is always better to prevent a damage. If you take care of your newly bought car, it will not create problems for you for a long time and will live a longer life. It will also save the maintenance cost of getting it fixed again and again. The first thing to do is to get your car insured. Insurance for your car will save you a lot of trouble should anything unfortunate happen in the future. Research and look through some comprehensive insurance policies that suit your needs and your budget, and then get the best car insurance to save yourself an your car. After doing so, focus on these tips to maintain your new car:

Related Read: 4 Big Reasons Not To Let Your Car Insurance Lapse!

1. Car Washing

Wash your car regularly so it does not start looking old and dingy. Would you want that? Of course, not! So to prevent that from happening wash your car daily or on alternative days thoroughly to remove loose dirt and grime.

You need to be very careful with the cleaning, though. It could leave swirl marks which will make your car look untidy. But you can surely avoid them by using good quality car washing shampoo, wash mitt, and microfiber drying towels. Another important thing you can do to prevent swirls is by using two separate buckets, one for your car and the other for rinsing the mitt. With the usage of high quality products and a perfect way of washing you could make your car look new for a very long time. And who would not want that?

2. Clay Your Car

Give your car a sleeker look by claying your car. Clean the paint of your car by detailing it with clay so that all bonded surface contaminants are removed. It is a common believe that new cars don’t need any claying, but sadly, that’s not true. Contaminants have nothing to do with the fact that your car is new or old, they just appear. But keep in notice, claying your car does not substitute for polishing your car. Your car first stays at a factory, then for shipping, and then at shops, they go through a lot before you take them under your care, so treat them with love and get it clayed as soon as possible.

3. Polish your New Car

This might sound a little absurd, the new car is already in its best shape, why polish? But this is important. Protect the painted surface of your car ( as is mentioned before your car goes through different stages before it is handed to you) so it is not as new as we believe it to be. Protect the paint with car waxes, paint sealants, or paint protectants.

4. Change the Oil

Changing oil goes without saying. It is very important to change oils in a new car. Nothing works better for a car to last long than changing oil and checking oil levels. Similarly nothing would destroy your car more than ignoring either of these things. Fresh oil helps the engine run smoothly and a car is nothing without a good engine. You put your car at risk when you don’t change the oil regularly because the old oil gets dust particles in it which are in no way good for your engine as well as the car.

5. Flush The Cooling System

Not just changing oils but flushing the cooling system regularly is just as important. Flush the cooling system once a year and change the coolant. Always make sure that you mix fifty-fifty of coolant and distilled water to keep the cooling system working better. It keeps the cooling system in good shape as well as prevents corrosion and also does not let deposits build up inside the cooling system.

It is very important to starting to take care of your car as soon as you bring it home for the first time. Because as late as you do it would just increase the problems, it will cost you a lot time and again, and would waste a lot of your time too. And nobody wants to waste time, energy, or money. All these three things are precious to everybody. Why not take care and save all these along with your car and have it run fine for a long long time.

Khurram Zahid

The post Top 5 New Car Care Tips You Should Never Forget appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

In recent days, tensions between Pakistan and India have escalated to such heights that there has been unprovoked firing across the Line of Control due to which many nearby civilian areas have also been affected and there have been causalities as well.  With the risk of war looming around, it’s always a good idea to have insurance cover. In this article we will pinpoint some of the key types of insurance one must avail for sure while living in such sensitive areas of the country.

Life & Health Insurance:
It’s widely said that “Health is Wealth” and this is surely said for all the right reasons. A person can only perform and manage his daily workflow only if he is well and fit enough to do so.  Staying health is one of the most aspects of one’s life.  The organization where you work might have already offered you health insurance as a benefit but the covers associated with health insurance are only for the cost of treatments of any ailments or injuries etc. hence you should preferably get life insurance to counter the omnipresent threat of terrorism hence in the unfortunate scenario of death or major disability, your family gets financial support to continue their everyday life without being interrupted abruptly. Ideally you should buy a cover that provides you around 5 to 10 times of your annual income in monetary compensation and if you have any loans or liabilities then it should be around 15 to 20 times to provide enough timeframe for your dependents or next of kin to cope up and become stable.

Property Insurance:
Next in the line of assets in terms of value is usually one’s property. You should get insurance cover for your property be it for business purpose or residential. It protects damage to property and personal possessions in the case of terrorism and incidents of explosions or fire etc. Choose a policy that covers these incidents under terrorism to ensure adequate compensation.

Car Insurance:
Going forward, let’s talk about cars. Usually these are the most valuable assets after property and should be insured. For those people who live in such areas where terrorist activity is imminent, it’s advised that they opt for comprehensive car insurance instead of just third-party insurance to make sure that their car is safe from risk of fire, damage, arson, terrorist attacks etc. And in case of total loss you’d be reimbursed as per the depreciation and current market value. We’ve our car insurance portal where you can get real time quotations for your new or used car and compare different policies and buy an auto insurance plan online too!

Conclusion:
Lastly we should also mention that these policies do not cover biological, chemical or nuclear attacks. However it’s still encouraged that you opt for the above mentioned insurance plans to minimize the loss of money and property as well as get some compensation against loss of life or disability even though there’s no true replacement of life. Also buying insurance policies for property is a really sane idea because in case your area needs to be evacuated for any military operation, chances are that your property will sustain damage. Government is supposed to compensate people for any losses occurred but as the situation prevails in Pakistan expecting anything from the government within due time would be equal to blowing a trumpet in front of a buffalo. Thus you should consider taking matters in your own hands and ensure that you and your loved ones have a safety cover in case the worst happens though here’s hoping that such a time never befalls upon us however the wise man said that “Prevention is better than cure” and that says it all!

Khurram Zahid

The post Living Near PAK-IND Border? Here’s Why You Should Consider Getting Insurance appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

“Finance Minister Mr. Ishaq Dar is said to have approved a budget proposal to charge a single income tax rate of 31% from the new financial year 2016-17, on all sources of income of insurance companies,” said sources in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

At the moment, insurance income is put into various categories with tax rates from 10% to 32%. It’s pertinent to mention here that it’s not just the insurance sector that gets taxed within different brackets. Other corporate sectors also get the same treatment.

Finance Minister Mr. Ishaq Dar has also cleared a budget proposal to levy a withholding tax on insurance premiums,” added the sources. “A rate of 1% withholding tax may be imposed on life insurance while for general insurance it could be as high as 4%.”

According to an alternate proposal, the government is also likely to increase tax rates on health and life insurance commission agents who are non-filers of income tax returns, while the minimum tax on corporate service providers, who submit their accounts for audit, may also go up from 2% to 2.5%.

The size of the insurance business in Pakistan is very small, constituting about 0.8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) including the public sector insurance companies. This ratio is 3.8% in India, 3% in China and 8.6% in Germany.

According to the Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP), there are six private insurance companies working in life insurance business excluding state-owned State Life Insurance Company. The private life insurance companies’ gross premium stood at Rs74.2 billion and they earned Rs3.2 billion profit after tax in the year ended on December 31, 2015. The 30 general insurance companies had gross premium of Rs61.3 billion and their after-tax profit stood at Rs13.6 billion, according to the IAP.

The government may increase the income tax rates on dividend income and capital gains to bring it at par with the standard corporate tax rate of 31% for the insurance sector, said the sources.

Currently, the income of insurance business, dividend income and capital gains is taxed in the range of 10% to 32%. The standard corporate rate of 32% will be reduced by 1% to 31% next year under a five-year corporate tax rate reduction plan. However, to counter the effects of this reduction, the government has been steadily increasing the rates of other source like dividend income.

The FBR thinks that insurance companies tend to invest in stocks and mutual funds to avail tax benefits and the purpose of a change in tax structure is to discourage this tendency.

The private insurance business hardly exists in the country and any upward revision in tax rates will have devastating effects on the sector and the insurance cost will go up, said Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME) Executive Director Ali Salman.

“The heavy presence of public sector in the insurance business is also detrimental to the sector’s growth. Moreover, the foreign exchange that the country earns by exporting the re-insurance services could also get affected due to these changes,” he added.

The government may also slap 1% withholding tax on life insurance premiums and claims and 4% on general insurance. The insurance sector is so far exempted from payment of withholding tax.

The commission paid to life and health insurance agents is taxed at the rate of 12% for filers and 15% for non-filers. The government may reduce the rate for filers to 8% but for non-filers the rate may be proposed to increase to 16%.

Khurram Zahid

The post Insurance Sector To Become Victim Of Drastic Tax Structure Reform! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

TPL Direct Insurance offers Home, Travel, Auto and Health insurance. The management has now decided to engage into micro-finance which is growing at a rapid pace in Pakistan. According to an official notification relayed to stock, TPL Trakker has started a process to assess and evaluate the feasibility of potentially acquiring upto 100% paid up capital of Asia Care and Life Insurance Company.

Keeping this in perspective, the company is currently recruiting advisory and consultancy firms for the legal settlements and the financial transaction will only take place after an approval from the board of directors and regulatory authorities. As of now, health woes and medical expenditures have become an important concern for those who cannot afford quality medical treatment. Asia Care offers a comprehensive solution to such issues and has introduced health plans via the platforms of micro-finance bodies including the First Micro-Finance Bank, Khushhali Bank and Tameer Micro-Finance Bank. All of which offer affordable health plans to the masses.

Asiacare has also launched multiple products for the retail market including Prepaid Health Insurance Card which offers various benefits including out-patient, cashless claim, emergency care and etc at a reasonable premium amount.

Khurram Zahid

The post TPL Trakker Ltd. plans to acquire Asia Care Insurance appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.