General insurance helps us protect ourselves and the things we value, such as our homes, our cars and our valuables, from the financial impact of risks, big and small – from fire, flood, storm and earthquake, to theft, car accidents, travel mishaps – and even from the costs of legal action against us. And we can choose the types of risks we wish to cover by choosing the right kind of policy with the features we need.
In general, insurance works by spreading the cost of unexpected risks among a large number of people in the same region who share similar risks. When you take out an insurance policy, you pay a monthly or annual premium. That money joins the premiums of many thousands of other policyholders and goes into a big pool of funds.
Insurance contracts that do not come under the ambit of life insurance are called general insurance. The different forms of general insurance are fire, marine, motor, accident and other miscellaneous non-life insurance.
The tangible assets are susceptible to damages and a need to protect the economic value of the assets is needed. For this purpose, general insurance products are bought as they provide protection against unforeseeable contingencies like damage and loss of the asset. Like life insurance, general insurance products come at a price in the form of premium.
Insurance other than ‘Life Insurance’ falls under the category of 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.
Insurance is a concept that applies to a large group of people which may suffer the same risk in the same conditions or region. The money collected as the premium can be called as a pool and when anyone faces a loss, the person is paid from that pool.
Still perplexed at how does a general insurance policy come into play? Consider that your mother suffered a heart attack suddenly and she needs a transplant.
At the same time, your daughter’s college fee was due. It definitely is a huge expense to be made at the same time and none can be preferred over the other.
In this time of stress, the family’s health insurance policy can save your burden and the fees can be paid from the savings. A General Insurance Policy here works to save your burden for money.
Once we've understood what General Insurance is, let us understand how and when will the policy apply.
Imagine you're driving back home in your car and suddenly, a taxi hits you from behind. Your car has a dent and its bumper has come off too. Now you need about Rs. 2000/- for the dent and Rs.7500/- for the bumper to be able to fix it all.
A car insurance policy, in this case, will play well. You can get the amount reimbursed under the insurance policy. Your car is the asset here in which you have a financial interest. But remember, an insurance policy will pay only as per its predefined conditions.
General insurance plans are beneficial because of the following reasons :
Almost everything is insurable. However, General Insurance in India is bifurcated as Fire, Engineering, Marine and Miscellaneous Insurance.
Let us look at them as per the use and general acceptability. Following are the different types of General Insurances in India:
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