General Insurance

Cheap Travel Insurance

Compare from our travel insurance plans and choose the one that suits you best. Bajaj Allianz travel policy offers cashless hospitalization worldwide. 

Health Insurance by Life and General Insurance Cos

By now you know how the increasing cost of hospitalization and healthcare expenses have made health insurance an inevitable necessity for all, right? Let’s now understand how buying health insurance from a general insurance company and a health policy from a life insurance company can mean two totally different things. And it is when you know this difference, can you select the best for yourself and can you avail of all the benefits you are entitled to.

Health insurance vis-à-vis General Insurance Company: (or non-life insurance)

Any insurance which is non-life insurance typically falls under the category of General health Insurance. This includes insurance for myriad things including car, fire, travel, household, marine etc. But this is not all. As general insurance pertains to non-life insurance, it also includes Health Insurance, wherein a person insures his and his family’s health against hospitalization due to various unforeseen ailments and growing medical expenses.

Hence, health insurance comes under general insurance as the latter provides protection against unforeseen events such as accidents, illness, et al. General insurance companies offer health policies which are mainly short term in nature. This means, that the health insurance policies can be renewed year after year and the premium amount varies with age.

Health insurance covers offered under general insurance, include mainly hospitalization covers either on reimbursement or cashless basis. The Third Party Administrators (TPAs) mainly offer cashless service as they have arrangements with various hospitals, who are the service providers. The TPAs also help in reimbursement claims.

Health insurance vis-à-vis Life insurance Company:

Many of us tend to confuse health insurance or mediclaim with life insurance. Though, both of them are vastly different in structure and content, while health insurance primarily caters to your health related expenses until you are alive, life insurance typically means insuring a person’s life wherein the returns are accrued due to your death or at the end of the term of the policy.

There are various life insurance companies that offer health benefits and packages. Firstly, the health related policies under life insurance companies cover certain critical illnesses. For example, certain private companies that offer life insurance to customers cover about 36 critical illnesses which include heart attacks, stroke, cancer, paralysis etc. Now this in turn means that once a person visits a doctor for treatment, and if the doctor then after diagnosis confirms a serious illness, then on the basis of the doctor’s report, the insured will get a lump sum amount from the company.

[Source:http://www.medimanage.com/my-health-insurance/articles/health-insurance-by-life-and-general-insurance-cos.aspx]

General Insurance

Two-Wheeler Insurance Policies To Get Cheaper, Easier To Buy

Comprehensive two-wheeler insurance policies would soon get cheaper once policies with three-year validity come into effect. Large insurance companies General Insurance, apart from government-owned companies, are planning to launch policies with riders for customers.

To enable long-term motor insurance for two-wheelers, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has introduced a long-term motor third-party insurance policy for two-wheelers with a three-year term.

Irda said the total premium charged for the third-party coverage would be three times the annual third-party premium for two-wheelers as decided by the regulator. Motor third-party premium is regulated by Irda and the regulator brings out revised rates for these policies every year based on the claims experience. Third-party motor insurance is mandatory in India.

The insurance regulator also said that the premium would not be revised upwards or downwards during the period of the policy. According to insurance industry executives, two-wheeler owners would opt for these, since there would not be any premium fluctuations for the three-year term unlike one-year policies where the premium would be revised every year.

Sector officials said the firms would save costs by not having to renew policies every year. This, they said, would be passed on to customers in the form of discounts on the ‘own damage’ front. Customers would also get an option to stay with their one-year policy or opt for a three-year policy.

Third-party motor insurance includes two parts, own damage that protects the driver/owner from accidents and third-party cover that covers liability from third-party accidents. Third-party cover is mandatory, while own damage is optional.

General Insurance companies have already planned to launch products. General Insurance companies said his company would file a product in tandem with the Irda guidelines.

He added add-ons could be offered with the policies, subject to Irda approvals.

“With respect to the pricing of the product, we are analysing the past trends for a suitable pricing mechanism.”

From April 1, 2014, third-party premiums in the two-wheeler category were raised by 9-10 per cent, compared with the proposed 1-45 per cent across segments – sub-75cc, 75-150cc, 150-350cc, and more than 350cc.

had earlier said the insurer would launch a motor third-party policy for two-wheelers after filing the product with Irda. Thereafter, the company would file a comprehensive two-wheeler plan, he added.

Irda also said that the entire premium would have to be paid in one instalment and insurers would not be able to cancel the standalone third-party cover in any circumstances except for ‘total loss’. In case of cancellation of policy under total loss, premiums for the full unexpired years would be refunded. Non-life companies wanting to introduce these policies will have to submit a letter of intent to Irda.

According to the regulator, since there is also a need to have long-term comprehensive cover including own damage and third-party covers, insurers can also file three-year term comprehensive policy for two-wheelers. While the ‘own-damage’ motor segment covers losses to self during accidents, motor third-party covers liability to a third-party caused by a vehicle owner during an accident.

[Source:http://insuranceblog.asia/two-wheeler-insurance-policies-to-get-cheaper-easier-to-buy/]

Be Forearmed with Travel Insurance When You Travel

We work for a decent living. First and foremost the physiological needs – food, clothing and shelter. Once these needs are met, we turn to recreation. Recreation can be as small as going out to watch a movie or going abroad to see new places.

Traveling is said to improve our understanding of the world we live in. It makes us understand how our fellow inhabitants of Earth go about living their lives. It makes us realize how small the issues we crib about are when compared to troubles faced by the less privileged. Not only is traveling recreation, it is the ultimate teacher of life.

We travel for many reasons, to see places, on business, to attend a function, to witness an event, or on diplomatic missions. It involves moving from one place to another and spending some days in the destination. You are removed from the safer confines of your home.

At each point in travel, there are possibilities of something going wrong. Seldom may such inconveniences happen, when they happen, they may lead to a lot of troubles. Remember, problems in life strike us when we least expect them. It is better not only to be forewarned, but also to be forearmed.

Cheap Travel Insurance takes a lot of worries out of travel. Like any insurance cover, travel insurance provides for unforeseen, unpleasant events, so that the tour you have taken for pleasure doesn’t leave you poorer. With years of experience, travel insurance companies provide cover for such happenings that are likely to happen and should they actually happen, the insured is financially covered.

Our health is of utmost importance of everything else. Almost all travel insurance policies provide adequate cover for medical emergencies, from hospitalization costs to medicines. While they don’t cover pre-existing medical conditions, most of the unforeseen medical emergencies are covered.

Changes to ones travel itinerary that are forced upon one, may be because of adverse weather conditions, unrest, or any extraneous factors, can be quite inconvenient. Should your itinerary be disturbed because of any such events, travel insurance ensures you are compensated for it. Lost or stolen baggage on a tour, particularly if you are carrying something valuable such as jewellery, will make you wish you had never taken that journey.

If you have purchased a policy that adequately covers the value of items in your baggage, it will leave you with that peace of mind that is so important when you are traveling. Sometimes even a delayed baggage might force you to buy emergency items you are carrying in your bag, and travel insurance comes to your help.

There may be instances when regular travel insurance may not address your specific need, which you might have to separately purchase, such as traveling to high-risk countries, traveling to indulge in sports that have some elements of risk such as scuba diving or skiing, when you have some pre-existing condition which you want to be covered, etc.

Though you may have to spend a little extra compared to regular travel insurance, the knowledge that if anything goes wrong, you are not left to fend for yourself, is reassuring.

[Source: http://www.01webdirectory.com/blog/be-forearmed-with-travel-insurance-when-you-travel/]

7 ways to make the best use of a dual Income!

After you get married, you not only share life with your spouse but your income and expenses too! The biggest challenge that most young earning couples face is to manage their finances. Here are some of the best post-nuptial financial planning tips that every couple should consider using.

It is essential to have a short term, medium and long term financial plans that can be used as a yardstick for measuring your financial success. It also keeps a tab of the road map you have set for achieving your joint goals. These goals may be further categorized into needs and wants to mark their importance.

1. Debt Free Living: The main issue that most young couples deal with is debt. Whether it is a credit card, personal loan, home loan, education or the car loan, the first priority should be to pay it off. Paying off the debt earlier than scheduled relieves you of mental anxiety, can save you on hefty interest that you pay to the financier over a period and also makes you cash rich. As per RBI’s instructions, banks are not charging pre-payment penalty on floating rate home loans. This gives freedom to the borrower to prepay their loans.

Let’s look into a scenario wherein you have availed multiple loans like home loan, car loan, credit card loan etc. In this situation, we suggest you an action plan to on how to pay down your debt:

Let’s look into a scenario wherein you have availed multiple loans like home loan, car loan, credit card loan etc. In this situation, we suggest you an action plan to on how to pay down your debt:

a) Make a Budget: The budgeting has to be proper and more importantly, realistic. The surplus has to be saved or invested towards your goals. Ideally, try to be slightly strict with yourself. Among your expenses, you must be prepared to make viable cuts that you can stick with in order to make a difference to the overall state of your finances.

b) Choose which debt to pay first: Debt management experts advise paying off the loans with higher interest rate first. This is called the debt ladder or the ladder method of debt repayment.

Third Party insurance: Since you have worked hard to build a solid financial footing for you and your family, you want to be sure that everything is protected. Accidents and disasters can and do happen, and if you are not adequately insured, it could ruin you financially. You need insurance to protect your life, your ability to earn income, and to keep a roof over your head. It offers peace of mind, security and a safety net. Having insurance policies in place is extremely important for every couple. Here are some that you should consider investing in:

The other option allows you to pay down debt starting with the smaller principal balances, which will quickly free up money to put toward other loans with larger principal balances. This is called the reverse ladder or the snowball method, because you build momentum and confidence as you pay down debt.

Review your finances thoroughly, crunch the numbers, and see which method would be the most effective for your situation. The rule of thumb is, you must prepay something each month to get rid of the debt as soon as possible.

[Source: https://blog.bankbazaar.com/7-ways-to-make-the-best-use-of-a-dual-income/]

General Insurance

Today life insurance is too common for us and most of us are still not fully aware of other sort of insurances. General insurance is the oldest and productive insurance for any insurer. General insurance offers us to live free and safe, anytime and anywhere. General Insurance can be simply defined as a non life insurance. Insurance that cover anything other than your life is known as general insurance such as motor insurance, health, fire insurance and many others. General insurance is a contract between two parties, insurer and insured. Insurer is organization or a company and insured might be an individual or item or goods or organization.

Under this contract, insurer guarantees the insured to cover him against non life mis-happening in future. General insurance has been introduced many centuries back by Babylon tribes as they offer security to the merchants for safely delivery of their goods and against it they receive extra amount on the contracted amount. Since then general insurance has spread all over the world and form into a business. General insurance is not only a business rather it offer you security against your property, goods, office and health. Here are types of general insurance offered by some of the leading organizations.

Types of General Insurance –

·         Auto Insurance – Auto Insurance is the most popular and demanded insurance all over the world. Under this insurance, insurance company covers your vehicle or motor with insurance against theft, loss or accident. On such cases, insurance company will pay back the insured amount to the owner of the vehicle or motor.

·         Health Insurance – Another most demanded insurance plan now days. Health is the main concern these days and people have to spend huge part of their income on the medical and hospital expenses. Insurance companies cover an individual or a group of individual such as family against health concern. With this cover, insurer guarantees to bear total hospital and medical expenses occurred on insured person or group.

·         Liability Insurance – This insurance is specially designed for corporate organizations. Under this insurance plan, insurer covers the liability of the insured corporate and in case of bankruptcy, insurer is liable to clear all the debts and liabilities of the company or individual.

·         Home Insurance – Home insurance is for household. Under this insurance plan, insurer provide cover or protection to the insured person’s house against disaster and hazards such as fire and natural hazards. In case of destruction of house under proclaimed norms or cases of insurer, insurer is liable to pay the cost of house reestablishment.

·          Marine Insurance – Marine Insurance is generally taken by such corporate organizations who operate on seas such as cargo, logistics and many other. With this insurance cover, insurer guarantees to pay the amount of loss due to water while shipment to the insured company or individual.

·         Fire Insurance – Fire Insurance is one such insurance plan which one can commonly find in any organization or home. Under this insurance plan, insurer is liable to pay the compensation for losses due to fire to the insured house or organization.

·         Property Insurance – This is a new insurance plan which defines to offer protection to the insured person’s property against natural hazard, theft, mishap or accidents. This plan is for both movable and non-movable properties.

·         Pecuniary Insurance – Pecuniary Insurance plan is one of the best plans of its type. Under this plan, an individual or group get insured for his wealth or money against any inconsequence such as loss, theft, miscarriage or any other. Insurer guarantees to pay for the value of his insured wealth in such mishaps in future.

·         Aviation Insurance – Aviation insurance is a high profile plan and differs on its basis. Aviation Insurance could be for an individual or for an organization. Under this plan for an individual, one gets insured for his or her air travel and insurer pays the insured amount against the loss in case of any mishaps during the air travel. Another for an organization, aviation companies gets the insurance for their flights against any accident in air.

·         Cattle Insurance – Cattle insurance is for the agricultural or rural individuals who get this insurance for the cattle such as cow, bull, sheep and many other against their losses in future. It helps them to minimize their loss due to the loss of their productive cattle.

·         Accident Insurance – Last but not the least, accident insurance is another most popular and demanding insurance in market. Under this insurance plan, insurer guarantees to bear all the expenses occurred on medical and pathological of the insured person due to accident.

      [Source: http://blogs.rediff.com/generalinsurance/2016/02/04/general-insurance-2/]