Plastic surgery covered in health insurance?

Health insurance policies do not cover expenses arising out of plastic surgery, cosmetic surgery or elective surgery done under normal circumstances. So that means, if you are getting plastic surgery done to improve your facial structure, the expenses incurred will not be covered in plastic surgery.

There is only one condition where the health insurance can cover plastic surgery expenses: when the surgery is done to correct a facial distortion that is a result of injury due to accident. Also make sure such a thing is mentioned in the exclusion list of the policy.

Insurance for your mobile phone

You can insure your mobile phone under the 'all risk' category of the householder's policy. You can also take a separate policy. The cover available for both is more or less the same. These policies insure your mobile phone against the risk of theft, riot and strike, malicious act and accident. The householder's policy does not cover normal wear and tear, electrical breakdown and damage due to intentional act of the insured. The compensation is equivalent to the cost of replacement of the instrument by a new instrument of the same specification, subject to the insured.

Top-up loans

As customers find it tough to cope up with high interest rates of home loans, banks and financial institutions provide top up loans which are a combination of personal loans minus the high interest rates. You can use the top up loan to fund business related, personal , educational needs, repayment of personal loans, repayment of outstanding credit card bills etc. A top up loan is cheaper than a personal loan.

Top up loans are offered to borrowers against the mortgage of the existing house. A bank usually takes into consideration a 12 month repayment track record of the customer in consideration of a top-up loan. The other factors are age, income, spouse’s income, number od dependants, educational qualification, assets, liabilities and job stability. As the top-up loan is based on the outstanding loan amount and the current value of the mortgaged property, there are two scenarios in which the applicant is eligible for a higher top-up loan. The first in when the market value of the mortgaged property rises. Secondly, when the customer repays the the homeloan, the outstanding home amount falls. This increases the eligibility for the top-up loan.

Home loans: Look before you take a home loan

Choosing a home loan is a viable option for most of us, while buying a house. But then, we have to make sure that we are not caught up in our own trap, when we apply for a home loan. These pointers will help us choose the ideal house in Mumbai or anywhere else in India:

1. Look at your income, lifestyle and financial obligations before taking a home loan. Plan for an eventuality like a job loss or illness so that you find it impossible to pay the EMIs.
2. Find out if the property prices can fall further. Find out if the home loan interest rates will increase or decrease further
3. Clear off all your credit card debts and other loans so that you can be eligible for a higher loan amount.
4. Banks expect you to pay 10-15 percent of the project money in the form of down payment, while 85 -90 percent of the house funding is done by the bank or financial institution. So keep the requirement amount of money for down payment
5. If you get a salary hike or bonus, prepay the loan amount. Prepaying your home loan will reduce the tenure and help you save on the interest.
6. Research banks, most of them have competitive rates of interest. The loans offered with the term of interest also depend on the credit profile of the borrower.
7. Get in writing from the bank that you stand to get the loan. In case the loan is not approved, you can lose the processing fee to the bank.
8. Read the clauses written in fine print in the loan agreement. These clauses can impact your loan amount, interest rate and tenure.