Pronto Insurance has more than 10 years of experience operating large numbers of highly successful insurance agencies. We have developed a competitive product line and an effective business model that consistently outperforms the competition. As a Pronto Franchise, you will receive the advantage of brand recognition. You will also receive extensive training and expert support in operations, marketing and human resources. This low cost franchise opportunity is one-of-a-kind and unique in the industry. There is no need to invest in high-cost equipment, large inventories or a large staff like the majority of franchises. You simply equip an office in a retail location, hire a few employees and you are on your way to running your own Pronto Insurance Franchise.
Our Mission:
Provide peace of mind to the value focused consumer through convenient insurance and financial products.
Our Vision:
Become the industry leader by making Pronto products a reality for all.
Our Values:
We conduct business, serve our customers and care for our employees through these core values:
Integrity. Doing the right thing for the right reason.
Efficiency. Always improving what we do.
Reliability. Earning trust through consistency.
Excellence. Demanding outstanding performance.
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Term assurance
Term assurance is one of the simplest and cheapest types of life insurance that you can buy – but as with all financial products, it's important to understand what policy or product is right for you and your particular circumstances.
Term life insurance should be on your list of things to consider if you're getting married or planning a family.
Becoming a parent?
If you do not currently have life insurance cover, you should consider what would happen to your family if you were to die. Many people – approximately 8 million UK workers, get life insurance cover through their employer so it is important to check what your employer provides. An important point to remember is that cover is lost when you leave that employer so you should check what cover, if any, a new employer provides.
A Term Assurance policy pays out a lump sum upon death to provide for your partner and dependants. Typically, people with dependants would ideally need at least ten times their annual earnings.
A Term Assurance policy can be set up to cover a specific financial obligation such as a loan repayment.
Term assurance policies can include critical illness benefit. When this is included, the sum assured is payable when you are diagnosed as having one of the critical illnesses which are defined in the policy document and company literature, or when you die. Normally, the life assurance cover stops once a critical illness claim is paid.
You can also buy a Family Income Benefit policy, a type of term assurance which pays a monthly income from when you die over a term you stipulate e.g. 25 years. For example, if you died two years into the policy, it would pay out an income for the remaining 23 years.
Whichever policy you choose, it is vital that you ensure that the policy proceeds are paid to the right person. This might sound obvious, but it’s not automatic – you need to make sure the policy is written in trust with a named beneficiary otherwise the proceeds will form part of your estate. Writing in trust ensures that your life insurance pay out will bypass probate and go direct to the surviving partner and dependants.
Getting married?
If you do not currently have life insurance cover, you should consider what would happen to your spouse or partner if you were to die. Many people – approximately 8 million UK workers, get life insurance cover through their employer so it is important to check what your employer provides. An important point to remember is that cover is lost when you leave that employer so you should check what cover, if any, a new employer provides.
A Term Assurance policy pays out a lump sum upon death to provide for your partner. Typically, you would ideally need to insure at least ten times your annual earnings.
A Term Assurance policy can be set up to cover a specific financial obligation such as a loan repayment.
Term assurance policies can include critical illness benefit. When this is included, the sum assured is payable when you are diagnosed as having one of the critical illnesses which are defined in the policy document and company literature, or when you die. Normally, the life assurance cover stops once a critical illness claim is paid.
You can also buy a Family Income Benefit policy, a type of term assurance which pays a monthly income from when you die over a term you stipulate e.g. 25 years. For example, if you died two years into the policy, it would pay out an income for the remaining 23 years.
Whichever policy you choose, it is vital that you ensure that the policy proceeds are paid to the right person. This might sound obvious, but it’s not automatic – you need to make sure the policy is written in trust with a named beneficiary otherwise the proceeds will form part of your estate. Writing in trust ensures that your life insurance pay out will bypass probate and go direct your surviving partner.
Insurance in the United States refers to the market for risk in the United States of America. Insurance, generally, is a contract in which the insurer (stock insurance company, mutual insurance company, reciprocal or Lloyd's syndicate, for example), agrees to compensate or indemnify another party (the insured, the policyholder or a beneficiary) for specified loss or damage to a specified thing (e.g., an item, property or life) from certain perils or risks in exchange for a fee (the insurance premium). For example, a property insurance company may agree to bear the risk that a particular piece of property (e.g., a car or a house) may suffer a specific type or types of damage or loss during a certain period of time in exchange for a fee from the policyholder who would otherwise be responsible for that damage or loss. That agreement takes the form of an insurance policy.
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Insurance provides indemnification against loss or liability from specified events and circumstances that may occur or be discovered during a specified period.
Insurance is a subject listed in the concurrent list (where both centre and states can legislate) in India . The insurance sector has gone through a number of phases and changes. Since 1999, when the government opened up the insurance sector by allowing private companies to solicit insurance and also allowing Foreign direct investment of up to 26%, the insurance sector has been a booming market. However, the largest life-insurance company in India is still owned by the government.
History
In India, insurance has a deep-rooted history. Insurance in various forms has been mentioned in the writings of Manu (Manusmrithi), Yagnavalkya (Dharmashastra) and Kautilya (Arthashastra). The fundamental basis of the historical reference to insurance in these ancient Indian texts is the same i.e. pooling of resources that could be re-distributed in times of calamities such as fire, floods, epidemics and famine. The early references to Insurance in these texts has reference to marine trade loans and carriers' contracts.
Insurance in its current form has its history dating back until 1818, when Oriental Life Insurance Company was started by Anita Bhavsar in kolkata to cater to the needs of European community. The pre-independence era in India saw discrimination between the lives of foreigners (English) and Indians with higher premiums being charged for the latter. In 1870, Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society became the first Indian insurer.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, many insurance companies were founded. In the year 1912, the Life Insurance Companies Act and the Provident Fund Act were passed to regulate the insurance business. The Life Insurance Companies Act, 1912 made it necessary that the premium-rate tables and periodical valuations of companies should be certified by an actuary. However, the disparity still existed as discrimination between Indian and foreign companies. The oldest existing insurance company in India is the National Insurance Company Ltd., which was founded in 1906. It is in business. The Government of India issued an Ordinance on 19th January, 1956 nationalising the Life Insurance sector and Life Insurance Corporation came into existence in the same year. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) absorbed 154 Indian, 16 non-Indian insurers as also 75 provident societies—245 Indian and foreign insurers in all. In 1972 with the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act was passed by the Indian Parliament, and consequently, General Insurance business was nationalized with effect from 1st January, 1973. 107 insurers were amalgamated and grouped into four companies, namely National Insurance Company Ltd., the New India Assurance Company Ltd., the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and the United India Insurance Company Ltd. The General Insurance Corporation of India was incorporated as a company in 1971 and it commence business on January 1sst 1973.
Industry structure
Currently, a US$41 billion industry, India is the world's fifth largest life insurance market and growing at a rapid pace of 32-34% annually as per Life Insurance Council studies.
Currently, in India only two million people (0.2 % of the total population of 1 billion) are covered under Mediclaim, whereas in developed nations like USA about 75 % of the total population are covered under some insurance scheme. With more and more private companies in the sector, the situation may change soon.
Specialisation
ECGC, ESIC and AIC provide insurance services for niche markets. So, their scope is limited by legislation but enjoy special powers.
Acts
The insurance sector went through a full circle of phases from being unregulated to completely regulated and then currently being partly deregulated. It is governed by a number of acts.
The Insurance Act of 1938 was the first legislation governing all forms of insurance to provide strict state control over insurance business.
Life insurance in India was completely nationalized on January 19, 1956, through the Life Insurance Corporation Act. All 245 insurance companies operating then in the country were merged into one entity
The General Insurance Business Act of 1972 was enacted to nationalise the about 100 general insurance companies then and subsequently merging them into four companies. All the companies were amalgamated into National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance and United India Insurance, which were headquartered in each of the four metropolitan cities.
Until 1999, there were not any private insurance companies in India. The government then introduced the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act in 1999, thereby de-regulating the insurance sector and allowing private companies. Furthermore, foreign investment was also allowed and capped at 26% holding in the Indian insurance companies.
In 2006, the Actuaries Act was passed by parliament to give the profession statutory status on par with Chartered Accountants, Notaries, Cost & Works Accountants, Advocates, Architects and Company Secretaries.
A minimum capital of US$20 million(Rs.100 Crore) is required by legislation to set up an insurance business.
Authorities
The industry recognises examinations conducted by IAI (for actuaries), III (for agents, brokers and third-party administrators and IIISLA (for surveyors and loss assessors). TAC is the sole data repository for the non-life industry.
IBAI gives voice for brokers while GI Council and LI Council are platforms for insurers.
AIGIEA, AIIEA, AIIEF, AILICEF, AILIEA, FLICOA, GIEAIA, GIEU and NFIFWI cater to the employees of the insurers.
In addition, there are a dozen Ombudsman offices to address client grievances.
Insurance Education
National Insurance Academy, Pune is apex education and capacity builder institute in India and only one in Africa & Asia. NIA was founded as Ministry of Finance initiative with capital support from the then public insurance companies, both Life (LIC) and Non-Life (GIC, National, Oriental, United & New India). NIA has 32 acre campus & 30+ faculty member imparting training, conducting research and providing consulting services in insurance sector. NIA run 2 year PGDM (Insurance) to mould youth in insurance specialisation.
Insurance in the United Kingdom, particularly long-term insurance, is divided into different categories. The categorisation is currently set out in sections 333B, and 431B to 431F of the income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (ICTA) with each category of business given a different tax treatment.
Categorisation
Life and non-life
The first basic categorisation of long-term insurance is between life and non-life business. Life insurance business is insurance that is contingent on human life. Examples would include a policy that pays out £100,000 if the policy holder dies within a specified time; a policy that pays out £100,000 in 10 years time, but will pay out £101,000 if the policy holder dies before the policy matures; a pension in payment, which will end once the pensioner dies.
The main example of non-life long-term insurance business is permanent health insurance, but the category includes pensions management. Capital redemption business, which is business written for a premium in exchange for a payment of an annuity over a period of, say, 99 years, is also long-term non-life business. However, for taxation purposes, only capital redemption business written before 1 January 1938 is treated as non-life assurance business.
Basic life assurance and general annuity business
Basic life assurance and general annuity business is defined as being life assurance business not fitting within any other category of business under section 431F ICTA. It is often abbreviated to BLAGAB. BLAGAB is taxed on the so called "I minus E basis" (i.e. the company is taxed on its investment return minus its expenses of management). The I minus E basis raises the UK Exchequer more revenue than it would get if it were taxed on a trading basis. This is because a trading computation would tax Premiums plus Investment return minus Expenses minus Claims, and the expectation is that policy holder claims will be greater than the premiums they pay, as policy holders tend to hold life assurance policies as an investment that they hope will grow. To ensure the Exchequer does not lose out in a year where a trading basis would yield greater tax revenues, E (expenses of management) is restricted so the I minus E cannot be lower than the measure of trading profits, with any restricted E being carried forward and deemed to be E of the subsequent period.
Before 1 January 1992, there were separate tax computations for basic life assurance business and for general annuity business, since then the two categories have been combined into BLAGAB.
Capital redemption business written since 31 December 1937 has been treated as though it were BLAGAB from the first accounting period of a company ending on or after 1 July 1999. Before then, it was treated as a separate business taxed on an I minus E basis.
Pension business
The concept of pension business, in section 431B ICTA, was introduced in the Finance Act 1956, which was introduced as a tax-advantaged way of saving for retirement. The tax advantage comes through taxing it on a trading profit basis rather than on an I minus E basis. The precise definition of what it constitutes is closely defined by statute so that only schemes approved by the Government qualify for the tax advantages. Pension business includes business relating both to the accrual of pension benefits whilst the policy holder is working and pensions in payment. Pension business includes reinsurance of pension business.
Life reinsurance business
Life reinsurance business is broadly just that: the reinsurance of life assurance business, but there are some exceptions. The concept of life reinsurance business was introduced in 1995 as part of an anti-avoidance measure and is in section 431B ICTA. Companies writing basic life assurance and general annuity business were reinsuring their business with reinsurers, typically in Bermuda, but sometimes to another UK company or to another country that would not be taxed on its investment return. Later on they would receive reinsurance recoveries equal to the premiums the UK company paid plus investment return, minus the expenses and profits of the Bermudian reinsurer. The UK company would therefore have converted taxable investment return into a reinsurance recovery and would not be taxed on the reinsurance recovery.
The 1995 Finance Act changed the law to impose an imputed investment return on the UK company. In order to avoid double taxation, a UK company reinsuring this business needed to not be taxed on the same investment return again: therefore "life reinsurance business" was born. There are exemptions to the rules for UK companies within the same group with 90% common ownership, where the imputed investment return would be negligible or nil, and where the reinsurer is in the European Union and is taxed on a regime that produces a result equivalent to I minus E.
