Introduction

Every Insurance which is not Life comes under the category of General Insurance. It provides Insurance for expensive products other than Life. There are various types of General Insurance called (Health, Travel, Motor, Marine, Commercial) Insurance. General Insurance in India is also called Non-Life Insurance in India.

 

General Insurance is divided into parts

• Health Insurance
• Motor Insurance
• Travel Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Marine Insurance
• Commercial Insurance

History

In 1972, When the Indian Parliament passed the General Insurance Business Act, The General Insurance Business was nationalized from 01st Jan 1973. This Act nationalizes 100 General Insurance companies and merges into 4 companies. These companies were National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, and United India Insurance. The General Insurance Corporation of India became a company in 1971 and start businesses from 01st Jan 1973.

General Insurance Companies

There are 34 General Insurance companies in India in which 06 are PSU and other remaining a Private undertaking. In 06 Public sectors, 04 carry multiple operations where 2 (ECGC & AIC) are specialized companies.

 

Some of the General Insurance companies are

• ICICI Lombard
• SBI General Insurance.
• Religare Health Insurance
• HDFC Ergo
• Aditya Birla
• Bajaj Allianz
• Bharti AXA
• Chola MS
• Kotak GI
• Magma HDI
• Max Bupa

 

General Insurance

Broad Explanation of General Insurance

There are 2 types of Policy covers

• Individual Policy
• Family Policy

 

Individual Policy

• It generally provides Health cover of an Individual
• It is an Agreement between an Individual or Customer and the Insurance company. The Legal document is valid for 01 years and can be renewed before the contract ends.

Family Policy

• As the name suggests It provides Health cover of an Entire Family.
• This policy covers reimbursement of hospitalization expenses for diseases or injury of the injured person. The Reimbursement must not exceed the Sum Insured that’s all claim in aggregate.
• This policy is also renewed before the contract ends to enjoy the benefits.

Health Insurance

• It covers the medical expenses of the patient due to hospitalization caused by illness or accident. The premium of the Insurance is different and depends upon the coverage.
• It basically covers Accidental illness & Hospitalization, Annual Health Checkups, Psychiatric support, Daycare Procedures. However, it also covers Maternity and Infertility benefits, Organ Donation, AYUSH, and critical illness.
• The Premium is charged on the basis of Age, Lifestyle Habits, Family Health History, Types of coverage, Pre-existing Illness.

Motor Insurance

In 1988, The Motor Vehicle Act is passed, which clearly states that all vehicles (2 wheelers, 4 wheelers, or commercial vehicles) running on Indian roads must be insured.

There are 2 types of Motor Insurance:

• Third-Party Liability cover
• Comprehensive Motor Insurance Policy

Third-Party Liability cover: – This Insurance is Mandatory. It covers losses when your vehicle damages another party vehicle, public property, and person (bodily injury or permanent disability) in an accident.

Comprehensive Motor Insurance Policy: – This Insurance is optional. It provides overall protection to your and third-party vehicle. It covers losses aroused by an accident, theft, fire, Flood.

Travel Insurance

• It covers losses when you are traveling within or outside the country.
• Some of the losses that it covers: Loss of Baggage, Flight delay/cancellation, Medical Emergencies, Loss of Important documents (e.g. certificate, passport, or any other document), Basic Medical treatment, giving compensation if you are hijacked (on-air/sea).
• There are a few types of Travel Insurance: (International, Student, Group, Senior Citizen, Domestic, and Corporate) travel insurance.

 

Home Insurance

• It covers the entire structure of your house and household items
• It provides protection from Fire, Earthquake, Lightning, Aircraft damage, Natural calamities (Flood, Hurricane, Cyclone, Landslide, Rockslide) and Man-made calamities (Riots, Theft, Strike)

Marine Insurance

• It basically covers cargo losses or damage caused to ships, vessels, terminals, and any transport where goods are coming from one point to another point.

There are 3 types of Marine Insurance:

• Hull Insurance: It covers physical damages to the boat or vessel along with its operating equipment and machinery.
• Cargo Insurance:  It covers physical damage to cargo.
• Marine Liability Insurance: It covers injury, illness, or even loss of life during vessel operation.

Commercial Insurance

• It covers risk related to any business. It covers all sectors like automotive, aviation, construction, technology, textiles, food and beverages, telecom, transport, logistic, etc.
• It provides safety for assets and business operations when required.
• There are few types of Commercial Insurance : (Property, Shopkeeper’s, Liability, Energy, Employee Benefits, Aviation, Bankers Indemnity, Automobile) Insurance

 

Conclusion

 There is a few and important General insurances that have been discussed, but it is widely spread from small things like Mobile to bigger commodities like Ship. Each and everything can be covered under General Insurance. So, to get a Sound and Stress-free life, it is highly recommended to take General Insurance in this unstable world.