I am a married woman and my father is a retired individual. Can I apply for a loan on his property for the construction of a second storey?
B. Prashanthi , Hyderabad
Only some lenders will readily agree to provide a joint loan to an individual with his married daughter as co-borrower. This may be possible if you are your father’s sole heir and he agrees to make appropriate documentation to assure the bank that you will inherit his share of the house eventually.

If the co-applicant is a defaulter as per CIBIL, will joint ap-plicants still be able to get more from a home loan?
Raj Sundaram, Chennai
On the contrary, lenders are likely to reject the loan application if any of the co-borrowers has defaulted in the servicing of loans or for payment of credit cards dues in the past and has been reported by the Credit Information Bureau Ltd (CIBIL). In such a case, it is advisable to make applicant the sole borrower provided his or her income is sufficient.

I am a 23-year-old, who tends to fall seriously ill every year. Please suggest a health insurance policy that covers all the tests and also hospital charges.
Mukul Roy, Hyderabad
You should opt for a regular mediclaim policy with a sum assured of Rs 3 lakh. It is advisable to disclose all facts while applying for the insurance. Your pre-existing illnesses will be covered after a waiting period of three to four years. You must also read the permanent exc-lusions and waiting period for certain diseases. Once your proposal is accepted after disclosing all facts, you will be eligible to claim all expenses of hospitalisation.

The policy also pays for the tests and consultations that lead to hospitalisation, if incurred 30 days prior to hospitalisation and 60 days after it. Normal diagnostic tests and consultation fee is excluded if they do not lead to hospitalisation. You also need to note that the policy cover ceases once you become a non-resident Indian. For pre-existing diseases, there is a three-year waiting period and diseases like cataract, hernia, hysterectomy, joint replacement, hydromel have a waiting period of two years.

I would like to get a health insurance of Rs 2 lakh for my two-month-old son. Which company would suit me best?
Nilanjana Ghoshal, Bengaluru
Most insurance companies start covering child after the age of 3 months and if the one of the parents is already covered under the same policy. In case you have a mediclaim policy for yourself and your wife, you can include your child after the completion of thr-ee months at the time of next renewal.

I am 47 years old. I plan to invest in a traditional child plan policy with an annual premium of Rs 20,000. My child is one year old. Please provide advise on the suitability of the plan.
Thomas Mathew, Kochi
Traditional plans are known to offer very low return in a range of five per cent to six per cent per annum in a best-case scenario. These are neither flexible nor transparent. In case you are looking to keep your investments safe, you should buy a term insurance of the sum assured you are looking for and put the remaining money in your public provident fund (PPF) account. This will give you a better return of around eight per cent per annum on your total investments, providing the same insurance cover like in the traditional policy as well as same tax benefits. We advise you not to mix your insurance and investment goals.

Harsh Roongta is the CEO of Apnapaisa.com.
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