GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

Health insurance is a medical insurance policy which ensures that you and your family remain protected in the case of sudden hospitalization due to any illness by providing financial coverage for all the medical expenses under such conditions. Health insurance policies are generally claimed in two different ways, by way of cashless treatment or through reimbursement of the cost of treatment at the hospital. All health insurance policies cover hospitalization costs if the hospitalization is more than a specific period but there are many different policies offered by different insurance providers wherein you may also obtain the benefit of coverage of hospitalization costs, pre-hospitalization costs, post-hospitalization costs, accidental covers as well as daycare procedures.

You can buy health insurance by visiting the respective insurance providers’ office but there is an even simpler method where you can buy health insurance online in India with ease with no extra effort. You just need to choose the type of plan that best suits the requirements of you and your family and then start the premium payment process. But, there are many things you need to consider before you finalize on a particular insurance provider and after that on a particular insurance policy provided by that insurance company. One of the most important things to consider when choosing an insurance provider and any policy is to check if most of the major hospitals of the country are included in its network list. Once you see that the network coverage of hospitals is good enough and will be suitable for you, you also need to decide on what should be your policy amount. The decision of the policy amount will also depend on your financial stability because a higher policy amount is directly correlated to the premium amount.

These health insurance providers many different types of health insurance plans, such as:

• Individual Health Insurance Plan
• Family Health Insurance Plan
• Senior Citizen Health Insurance
• Critical Illness Health Insurance
• Maternity Health Insurance
• Personal Accident Insurance Cover

All these insurance providers have lots of different policies ranging from 1 lac to 2 crores, and you can choose the policy that suits you the best. It is rightly said that prevention is better than cure and health insurance policies are the best prevention against any future health problems you may face. You can buy health insurance online in India very easily by directly visiting the website of the insurance provider whose policy you want to buy. You get the complete list of all the policies that insurance provider has available and you can check the complete benefits of all the policies and compare them to find the one that best suits your family. Once you finalize on one particular plan, enter the details of the family members you want to buy the plan for and you will be shown the calculated premium for the policy. This premium amount depends on the number of people you are insuring, their ages, the type of plan you are choosing as well as the policy amount. You will be asked to pay the first premium immediately and this premium has to be paid yearly to keep the insurance plan running. The process of buying an online health insurance plan was as simple as discussed in the last few lines. Most of the time is spent in deciding the plan, and once the plan is final, you can get set with your health insurance plan within minutes.

If you nurture and protect every little thing in your life, why not your car. Your car is something that you will use the most in your life, and it needs to be safeguarded against accidents, natural calamities, theft and malicious damage. Right now, when even minor repairs and maintenance costs can be so high, you can imagine what will be the extent of expenses in case your car gets damaged or in the worst case stolen. To avoid such a huge sudden financial loss, car insurance is important. Every year, a large number of vehicles make their way to Indian streets, and due to this reason, car insurance has been made mandatory by the Government of India under the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act of 2019.

You can easily buy motor insurance online with a very simplified process. There are no hassles such as visiting the office of the insurance provider, and you can compare all the different car insurance policies online just by visiting the websites of all the insurance providers and then choose the one provider that provides the best benefits and the plan that best suits your needs. Before you go and finalize any particular vehicle insurance plan, you should be well aware of what all kinds of damages are included in the plan and what all kinds of damages are not included in the plan.

• Loss or damage caused due to accident, theft, natural calamities, fire explosion is included in the car insurance plan.
• Loss due to gradual wear and tear of different spare parts of the car are not included in the insurance plan.
• Personal Accidental insurance cover is included in car insurance
• Loss or damage to the vehicle as a result of intoxication or drugs is not included in the car insurance.
• Financial liability caused by the injury of a third party or damage to the property is included in the car insurance.
• Loss or damage to the vehicle when it is being driven by a person without a driver's license is not included in the car insurance policies.

Car Insurance becoming mandatory should not be the only reason to buy insurance for your vehicle. You should look at the important aspects and benefits of buying car insurance and then buy a policy that is best for you according to your financial stability.

• The most important reason for buying car insurance is that it is mandatory by law with punishment for failure to do so.
• It is effectively an investment because you will save on costs that are incurred on your vehicle for repairs in case your car is involved in an accident.
• Having car insurance also provides a health insurance boost since many policies also cover injuries that may be caused to the driver and the passenger in case the vehicle is involved in an accident.

Some of the big names in the insurance field, which provide car insurance are:

• Magma HDI General Insurance
• New India Car Insurance
• Bharti AXA General Insurance
• Future Generali India Insurance
• Liberty General Insurance
• National Insurance
• HDFC ERGO General Insurance
• IFFCO Tokio General Insurance

All these companies provide a wide range of insurance policies from which you can choose the one most compatible with your needs and buy motor insurance online in a few simple steps. Along with the basic benefits of each plan, you can also opt for Add-on facilities which cover many different things at the cost of an increased yearly premium.

Even if you live in one of the safest cities of the world, you should not leave your home open and unattended else you might lose all your valuables to thieves. Everyone knows that the first reaction to theft is calling the police but very few people know what to do to prevent such thefts from happening in the first place. There are plenty of expensive as well as inexpensive ways to burglar-proof your home. Some of the best home insurance companies in India provide insurance against theft as well and it is the first thing that must come in your mind if you live in an area which is prone to thievery. Certain steps can be taken to protect your house from thieves and prevent your valuables from being stolen.

• Never leave your house open if no one is there in your house. Always lock the main door and check if it is locked properly if you are leaving your house unattended for a longer duration. Burglars do not need more than 10 minutes of time on an average to identify the most valuable things inside your house and take it away with them. A slight mistake and you risk losing it all.
• Check your locks on a regular basis and see if they are functioning properly and replace them as soon as possible if they are not functioning as they should. If any of the exterior locks are easy to pick, jimmy or bump open, they must be replaced immediately.
• Don’t cover your house from the street. There must be a clear line of sight from the street to your house so that anyone trying to break open into the house is clearly seen by your neighbors. Cut back any trees or bushes that hide your house and obscure the front door.
• Install home alarm systems and sensors so that as soon as there is a break-in inside your house, the fire alarm sounds immediately and informs the neighbours that there is something wrong.
• Upgrade all your doors and windows and reinforce the doors, windows, locks and all hardware required to keep your house safe from burglars and thieves.
• Use motion light sensors inside as well as outside your house, so that they light up in case there is unpredictable movement outside your house. Such sensors can sense movement outside the house and may even warn the owner if there is some unusual movement outside the house.
• Don’t broadcast details about your upcoming trips on social media. This is one thing that thieves may be on the lookout for and if there is no one at your house, they will have the perfect moment to attack your house and take away your valuables.
• Always keep your valuables inside lockers and safes. The keys to such lockers and safes must also be kept secured and out of normal sight.
• Garages and garden sheds are the softest targets for entry into your house. An automatic lighting system attached to your garage or your garden shed can be a useful deterrent to protect your house from burglars.
• Keeping a good relationship with your neighbours can help you in making your house look occupied even though it is unoccupied. You can tell your neighbours to collect the mail, clean the porch or to mow your lawn and some neighbour can even park in your driveway.

An empty house looking empty is the safest target for burglars. A house not looking unoccupied even though it is unoccupied deters the burglars because they can never be sure if it is a safe target to attack. You can keep in mind the above tips to protect your house and also get a suitable policy from the best home insurance companies in India, in case you are going out for that long holiday you have been longing for.

When you buy a car insurance policy online, you enter into a contractual agreement wherein you have to pay a specified amount as premium to your insurance provider in return for the protection the company provides you against damages to your car. In case your car meets an accident, the insurer is liable to pay you the compensation as per the contract but to get that compensation you need to file a claim with the insurance provider. The insurance claims are generally classified into two types:

1. Cashless Claim - If the customer has a cashless claim, the customer will not have to pay any amount upfront for repairs at any of the network car garages of the insurance provider. It will be the job of the car insurance provider to settle the claim with the workshop on behalf of the policyholder. In such a claim, the insured has to get their car repaired at the partner workshops of the insurance company

1. Reimbursement Claim - For a reimbursement claim, the insured has to pay for the repair of the damages to the car and later depending on the terms of the car insurance policy, the reimbursement claim is made. In such a claim, the insured does not need to get their car repaired at any of the partner workshops of the insurance company, but all the bills have to be produced at the claim.

To raise a cashless claim, you need to follow certain steps in case your car meets an accident: -

• Note down the license number of all the vehicles involved in the accident and also get the names and contact details of the witnesses, if possible.
• In case there are third-party damages such as injuries/deaths, property damage, or any other such critical issue, you should file an FIR at the nearest police station.
• Contact your insurer and report the accident, and you will receive a claim number.
• Ready all the documents as told you by the car insurance company, which you will have to present before the company representative.
• Take the vehicle to a network garage whose details will be provided to you by the insurance company to get your vehicle repaired.
• A Customer Service Manager will get in touch with you within 24 hours, and you will have to show him all the documents related to your car and its insurance.
• If the Customer Service Manager is satisfied with your papers, he will give the go-ahead for the repair work and you can get your vehicle repaired.
• Once the repair work is completed, the insurance company will make the claim payment to the garage for the repair costs.
• You will have to pay the deductibles which will be intimated to you by your CSM once the repairs are done.

You can also make a Reimbursement claim if you need to get your car repaired after meeting a severe accident:

• Take a note of the details of all the cars involved in the accident and if possible, try to get the contact details of some witnesses.
• Report the accident to your insurance provider immediately through a toll-free number provided by the company.
• A Customer Service Manager or CSM will get in touch with you within 24 hours and will tell you to submit all the bills and invoices to the company to get the claim.
• Once the claim is approved, the company will start the claim settlement process.
• The claim amount is sent directly to the customer according to the terms and conditions of the contract.
• If you have proper documents, you will get your claim, but your claim can also get rejected if you were driving without a valid driving license or if you were drinking and driving. Once you buy a car insurance policy online, make sure to read the policy documents completely, so that you do not face any issues while filing a claim for the damages to your car.