Mutual Funds | Insurance | Investment |

An ideal investor in debt fund is one who is looking for more return than is being offered by bank fixed deposit. So, in a scenario, if the bank FD is giving a 6% interest pre-tax, the investor in debt fund is looking for anything above 6%. Tax benefits associated with debt mutual funds are an additional incentive for taking exposure to these funds! If you have invested in a debt fund and read the market happening on a regular basis then you must have observed that the past 1-2 years have been quite eventful for debt markets! On one hand, the investors have seen defaults by companies like IL&FS, DHFL, Yes Bank, Vodafone-Idea, and lastly closure of schemes by Franklin Mutual Fund thus blocking thousands of crores of investors money. On the other hand, the one-year and two-year returns of various good quality debt funds are in the range of 11-12% which is around a third more than the 5 year average of around 8-9% (see chart). Compounded Annual Returns of Debt Funds Across Categories

With COVID treatment bills running in lakhs, people are becoming aware of the need for medical insurance. Insurance companies are cloaking in high premium growth rates all thanks to the pandemic. People are buying health insurance out of FOMO effect (Fear of Missing Out). Although increasing medical insurance penetration is a good signal, one needs to see if the coverage is adequate enough to take care of medical emergencies. Health insurance offers individual as well as family floater plans. Treatment for serious illnesses including COVID can cost lakhs of rupees. In the case of communicable diseases, the infection can be spread to other family members further multiplying the treatment cost. To tend to this problem a higher sum assured is desired. But getting a higher sum assured comes at a higher cost. For a 30-year-old male residing in Delhi with his wife and two kids, the premium for Max Bupa Health Companion for a floater cover of Rs. 5 lakh is Rs. 17,217. If the person wants to i