What is General Insurance ?
General Insurance comprises of insurance of property against fire, burglary etc,
personal insurance such as Accident and Health Insurance, and liability
insurance which covers legal liabilities. There are also other covers such as
Errors and Omissions insurance for professionals, credit insurance etc.
Non-life insurance companies have products that cover property against Fire and
allied perils, flood storm and inundation, earthquake and so on. There are
products that cover property against burglary, theft etc. The non-life companies
also offer policies covering machinery against breakdown, there are policies
that cover the hull of ships and so on. A Marine Cargo policy covers goods in
transit including by sea, air and road. Further, insurance of motor vehicles
against damages and theft forms a major chunk of non-life insurance business.
Why should I buy home insurance?
Owners: To protect both your house and personal property. Tenants: To protect
your furniture and personal property. Everyone: Protection against liability for
accidents that injure other people or damage their property.
How much home insurance do I need?
Asset Protection: More coverage generally means you will have less to pay out of
your own pocket if disaster strikes. You must determine the amount you can
financially afford to lose. Depending upon your determination, more insurance
may be the answer. You should insure your property to the value you believe your
home is worth to obtain maximum protection. You need enough liability coverage
to protect yourself from lawsuits resulting from your possible negligence.
Lender Requirements: Your lender may require you to cover the house for at least
the amount of the mortgage. This may be too little or too much for your
individual circumstances. You are not required to purchase insurance from the
insurer recommended by your lender. Policy Requirements: Insurers may impose
some conditions for replacement cost protection, to include your insuring the
property to value.
Where can I obtain information about insurance?
Information is available to consumers from a number of sources. These sources
include any website of general insurance companies or your insurance agent.
What affects home insurance prices?
Type of Construction: Frame houses usually cost more to insure than brick. Age
of House: New homes may qualify for discounts. Some insurance companies offer
limited coverage or may not insure older homes. Local Fire Protection: The
number of fire hydrants and fire departments and the availability of water are
just some factors which determine your area's fire protection class. If you
reside in an area without fire protection, you will pay more for fire insurance.
What deductible should I choose?
The deductible applies only to coverage's on your house and personal property.
It is the amount you have to pay out of your pocket on each claim. Insurance
only attaches once the deductible amount is exceeded. A policy with Rs100
deductible will cost more than one with an Rs250 deductible. Higher deductibles
may be available at a reduced price, but purchasing, for example, a Rs.250
deductible in lieu of a Rs.100 deductible will mean you will normally pay Rs.150
more out of your pocket at the time of a loss.
What basic coverage's are available?
The most common basic coverage's are: Property damage, Additional Living
Expenses, Personal Liability, and Medical Payments.
What does "property damage" cover?
Property damage coverage helps pay for damage to your home and personal property
caused by such perils as fire, lightning, windstorm or hail. The perils of flood
and earthquake are not covered.
What does "contents insurance" coverage include?
In general, the contents of your home and other personal belongings owned by you
or family members who live with you will be covered under the policy in an
amount equal to 50% of the limit of liability carried on your dwelling. However,
high valued personal property such as jewelry and cameras should be scheduled on
the policy so that you are adequately protected to avoid the possibility of
these items not being fully covered at the time of loss.
What does "additional living expense" or "loss of use" covers?
Most home insurance policies provide for the necessary increase in expenses you
incur if your home is damaged by an insured event and you cannot live there
while repairs are being made or if you are denied access to your home by
government order. The coverage is generally subject to duration limits and
commonly covers any expense incurred by you so that your household can maintain
its normal standard of living. In some instances, this coverage may include the
costs of a motel, eating in a restaurant, or storing some of your property.
What Is "personal liability insurance" coverage?
Personal Liability Coverage protects you and all family members who live with
you against a claim or lawsuit resulting from (non-auto and non-business) bodily
injury or property damage to others and for which you become legally obligated
to pay. Defense costs are included, but the insurance company has no duty to
defend you after the limit of liability on the policy has been exhausted.
What does "medical payments insurance" cover?
Regardless of who is at fault, this coverage pays the reasonable expenses for
others accidentally injured on your premises or the areas immediately adjoining
your property such as sidewalks or alleys. Medical Payments Coverage does not
apply to your own injuries or those of family members living with you or
injuries arising out of activities involving a business that you operate out of
your home, your intentional acts, or arising out of the rental of your premises.
What is "replacement cost"?
Replacement Cost is the amount necessary to replace or rebuild your home or
repair damages with materials of similar kind and quality without deducting for
depreciation.
What is "depreciation"?
Depreciation is the decrease in the home's value since the time it was built
because of age or wear and tear.
What is "actual cash value"?
Actual Cash Value usually means the sum of money required at the time of the
loss to repair or replace the property destroyed, less an amount for
depreciation. Actual Cash Value equals the replacement cost less depreciation.
Most standard home insurance policies cover the contents of your home (i.e.,
personal belongings) on an actual cash value basis, but it is possible to
purchase replacement cost.
What is a "peril"?
A peril is a condition which can cause a loss. Three examples are fire,
windstorm, and theft.
Will filing one claim on my home owner’s insurance cause my rates to go up?
No. In most cases, once an insurer reviews your loss history and finds none, one
claim should not affect your rates. If the claim exposes some greater risk on
your property, however, such as owning a trampoline or new swimming pool, then
you may face a rate increase
Do I need to buy flood insurance?
If you want your belongings covered against damages caused by a flood, the
answer is yes. Basic homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover damage from
flooding. Because flood damage happens so infrequently, most insurance companies
won't even consider writing flood coverage.
We're going to build a house. How do we insure it while it's under construction?
Basically, you just need a standard homeowner’s policy. You should make sure to
tell the insurance company or your agent that the house is currently under
construction.
I own a home that no one is currently living in. Will it be difficult to insure?
it certainly could be. There are several factors that will influence whether or
not you can get insurance for your vacant home. Is the house currently for sale?
How long do you plan to leave it vacant? Does someone check on it regularly? Is
the house secluded from view?
What is Motor Insurance?
Legally, no motor vehicle is allowed to be driven on the road without valid
insurance. Hence, it is obligatory to get the vehicle insured. Motor insurance
policies cover against any loss or damage caused to the vehicle or its
accessories due to the following natural and manmade calamities.
Natural Calamities: Fire, explosion, self-ignition or lightning, earthquake,
flood, typhoon, hurricane, storm, tempest, inundation, cyclone, hailstorm,
frost, landslide, rockslide. Man made Calamities: Burglary, theft, riot, strike,
malicious act, and accident by external means, terrorist activity, and any
damage in transit by road, rail, inland waterway, lift, elevator or air. Motor
insurance provides compulsory personal accident cover for individual owners of
the vehicle while driving. One can also opt for a personal accident cover for
passengers and third party legal liability.
Third party legal liability protects against legal liability arising due to
accidental damages. It includes any permanent injury / death of a person and
damage caused to the property.
• Protection from a financial loss arising out of loss or damage to your
vehicle.
• Protection from liability towards third parties for personal injury.
• Protection against death and property damage on account of any accident
involving your vehicle.
What is Exclusion?
A loss or risk that a policy does not cover. The exclusion clause in an
insurance policy means a peril, events or circumstances whose risk is not
covered by the insurance policy.
What is third party liability coverage?
Third party liability coverage, also called PLPD, insures you if you cause
injury to someone, cause someone's death, or damage someone else's property
through a motor vehicle accident.
What extension of cover can be obtained with regard to private car?
The following are the prominent extra risks that can be covered in addition to
the standard cover:
1- Personal accident of insured, spouse and unnamed passengers.
2- Legal liability of the employees of the insured.
3- Wider Legal Liability to Drivers
What are the circumstances under which discounts are offered in premium?
The following are the significant circumstances under which a discount is
offered on the amount of premium to be paid: Where the insured is prepared to
bear a fixed amount in respect of every claim for damages to the vehicle A
discount commonly referred to as bonus is allowed on the premium when no claims
are made against the policy during the relevant previous year
Who is a Third Party?
According to the Motor Vehicles Act, a third party is any person who is not the
insured or the insurer and includes the Government. Pedestrians constitute a
large section of third parties. The pedestrians have not only a right to use the
footpath but also occasionally to use the road and also cross it. Fare-paying
passengers are those who are carried in a public service vehicle.
What factors influence the premium for car insurance?
The cubic capacity, use of car, normal area of operation and the value of car
proposed for insurance decide the premium payable and also various extensions
opted for.
How much would the insurance company pay in the event of an accident?
In case of an accident, the insurance company pays for cost of damaged parts
which are replaced and the labor cost towards repair cost of the vehicle. As per
the revised regulations, depreciation is not deducted from the cost of the parts
except for the tires and tubes for which 50 percent depreciation is deducted.
What do you mean by Cashless claim settlement?
AIG IS or ISOS will pay up to 100% of the claim to the hospital in case of
hospitals in the preferred network (subject to deductibles under the policy
conditions). The same will be done either by placing a Guarantee of Payment
(GOP) or making a payment to the hospital. This will be applicable for all
Inpatient Claims provided the same is Admissible under the policy.
What is the minimum duration for which insurance can be purchased?
The minimum duration varies for different insurance plans. It is typically for
as little as five days.
What is a deductible?
If your plan has a Rs.100 deductible, you pay the first Rs.100 of expenses and
then the insurance company picks up the rest.
Are there any restrictions on the hospital where the treatment should be taken?
There is no restriction on the hospital where treatment should be taken. The
treatment can be taken in any hospital in the world outside India. However, the
only restriction is that the hospital should be a registered hospital under the
local jurisdiction. However it is advisable in pre planned hospitalization, the
insured informs the Assistance Company who will direct them to a Network
Hospital in the same locality.
Is the sum insured mentioned under each category applicable to all members
traveling on the policy and is there any restriction on number of claims?
The sum insured as mentioned in the policy schedule is for each traveling
member. For e.g. If there are 3 family members traveling under a single Gold
Plan policy, each of the them will be covered for a SI of $200,000 under the
Accident & Sickness benefit. Also this limit of $200,000 is per accident which
means that the limit gets topped up once a claim is settled. For e.g. If
Individual A has had an accident and had filed a claim for $10,000, in the event
of another sickness claims he/she will be eligible for $200,000 in full and the
same will not be deducted from the $10,000 already claimed under the first
claim. However the deductible of $100 will be applicable for a single
claim/incident there is no restriction on the number of claims per person in the
policy period.
Is a newborn child covered from day one under the Group Travel Policy?
A newborn child will be covered after 6 months of birth.
What are the two types of claim settlements?
Reimbursement & Cashless settlement.
What about Claims relating to Travel Emergencies?
For claims relating to Baggage Loss/Delay, Passport Loss, Trip Delay please keep
necessary proof of documents relating to the incident as well as bills for
expenses incurred as a direct result of the said incident. For e.g. For Passport
Loss, documents such as Police FIR, Duplicate passport issuance charges, other
incidental expenses can be claimed under this head, provided bills for the same
are available. Once all the bills are available, submit the same to the
Assistance Company along with the claim form for reimbursement. The list of
documents to be submitted for all travel emergency claims are available on the
intranet site of the insurance companies.
Is the insurance plan purchased on a calendar monthly basis, or can a plan span
2 calendar months?
A month is calculated as 30 continuous days from the start date requested and it
can include two partial calendar months.
What is the minimum duration for which insurance can be purchased?
The minimum duration varies for different insurance plans. It is typically for
as little as five days.
What information do I need to complete the online application?
All the information required to complete the application is available in the
applicant’s passport. The main data elements are the applicant’s complete name,
passport number, date of birth, mailing address and telephone number in India,
the assignee (the beneficiary for the policy) and the correct travel dates.