FINANCIAL TASKS CHECKLIST (PART 3 OF 3)
· Either it is laziness or constraints that prevent you from finishing a pending financial task.
· Enlist the most pressing ones and set a realistic time frame to complete them.
· Keep aside 30 minutes a day for clearing the backlog.
· Streamline your financial life by handling financial tasks as they surface.
E. INSURANCE
1. Update your nomination
· It is mandatory to nominate a beneficiary when you buy a life insurance policy.
· The nominee receives the insurance amount in case of your untimely death.
· You can also change your nomination depending on your specific circumstances.
· The full name of the nominee, address, age and the relationship with you must be mentioned in the application form.
2. Complete electronic auto-debit formalities
· To avoid missing crucial payments like life insurance premium, you can give an electronic auto-debit mandate to your bank so that even if you forget, these are paid from your bank account when they are due.
· It is even better to set up such a mandate with your credit card just in case there is not enough balance in your account when the auto-debit date is triggered.
3. Sign up for online facility
· Opting for online transaction facility will save you from dropping premium cheques in the office or drop box of the insurance company each time.
· You will also be able to track your premiums, and also have the policy details before you.
4. Change your callous health insurer
· If you are not happy with your health insurer, you can switch to another company without losing the benefits of pre-existing diseases.
· The new insurer must be approached at least 45 days before the policy expires.
· Fill up the prescribed form for portability and a proposal form with the new company.
· The company will then approach your existing insurer for details and shall inform you of its decision to offer you insurance within 15 days.
· Keep in mind that it can also refuse you the cover or increase the premium.
· You can go for portability only at the time of renewal, not during the term of the policy.
5. Revive lapsed policy
· If your policy has lapsed due to non-payment, the insurance company may revive it under certain circumstances by allowing you to pay the outstanding premium.
· However, you may have to undergo a fresh medical test in certain cases and your premium could also be increased slightly.
6. Get a duplicate policy
· If you have misplaced the insurance papers, you can get a duplicate one made.
· Write an application to the insurance company, giving policy details and stating the circumstances under which the papers were lost.
· You might have to publish an advertisement in a newspaper besides signing an indemnity bond stating that you will pay for any loss due to misuse or fraudulent use of the original policy documents.
F. ESTATE PLANNING
1. Write a will
· A will is the final word on how your assets will be divided among your legal heirs.
· This document helps avoid ugly legal disputes between heirs after the individual passes away.
· There is no prescribed format for penning a will and it can be handwritten on a plain paper.
· However, it is best to get it typed in a clear and legible font to avoid any dispute.
· The registration of a will is not compulsory, but it removes any ambiguity about the document being forged or written under coercion.
2. Make changes in your will
· You can modify your will at any point of time.
· If you have acquired more property or assets and want to add these in the will, use a codicil which is an amendment to a will, or write a new will.
· A fresh will supersedes the existing one and takes effect from the date on which it is written.
· The procedure for writing a new will is identical to that for the first one.