Job Loss Insurance

Job loss always hurts, but people find ways to make money out of other’s misery. I knew about job-loss insurance being available in other countries, but recently it got introduced in India. So insurance companies are now willing to pay EMIs in case of job loss.

Under the cover extended by ICICI, customers will get their three EMIs paid in case of a job loss due to retrenchment or layoffs. Moreover the job loss due to the closure of a division because of poor financial condition or action taken by any public authority resulting in the closure will also be covered by the insurer.

Can a job-loss insurance give you a piece of mind after a job loss? I have my doubts!!

Excellent Article – Holes in the Ground

I earlier wrote about “why not to buy a house” (Part-1, Part-2). But I recently came across an excellent write-up from Deepak on a more balanced approach towards buying a house. He writes scathingly on the way builders cheat the prospective buyers:

Typical deals are: you sign on a piece of paper looking at a hole in the ground. The builder promises to give you a "ready" house in say three years. The apartment size is shown to you and the "amenities" you will get, like a swimming pool, a tennis court, water to drink, air to breathe etc. You then get a bank loan for 20 years for some part of it, and the rest will fall in place.

The most eye-opening was the youtube video by a Unitech buyer who got really pissed-off by the way the company delivered the house. This reminded me of one of my friend who purchased a flat (~1700 sq. feet) near Sarjapur Road at the exorbitant price of Rs 2350 per sq. feet. The worst it is located not on the main road, but almost 3-4 KM inside. He recently shifted with not even the compound wall completed (no question of amenities in place yet). It was shocking and I have begun to agree more so with Deepak that the best buy for a house is the one that is either “ready to move” or “second hand purchase” :

But I'll pay well to get a ready house: if I'm buying for emotional reasons I would rather not have the worry and pain.

So true!!