General Insurance

Know your General Insurance Company

Insurance is basically of two types namely life insurance and general insurance. Life insurance covers the risk of death of individuals. General insurance comprises health insurance, motor insurance, fire insurance, marine and hull insurance, cargo insurance and householder's insurance etc. There are total 27 general insurance companies in India. Out of 27 general insurance companies in India, 4 companies offer only health insurance products. Rest of the companies provides all varieties of general insurance products.

General Insurance Companies in India

1. Agriculture Insurance Co. of India Ltd.
2. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.
3. Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Limited
4. Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd.
5. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd.
6. Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited
7. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd.
8. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.
9. IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd.
10. L&T General Insurance Company Limited
11. Liberty Videocon General Insurance
12. Magma HDI General Insurance Company Limited
13. National Insurance Co.Ltd.
14. Raheja QBE General Insurance Company Limited
15. Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.
16. Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd
17. SBI General Insurance Company Limited
18. Shriram General Insurance Company Limited
19. Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd.
20. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd.
21. The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.
22. United India Insurance Co. Ltd.
23. Universal Sompo General Insurance Co. Ltd.
24. Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company Limited
25. Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Ltd.
26. Religare Health Insurance Company Limited
27. Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited

Types of insurance provided by general insurance companies in India

Health Insurance

Most of the general insurance companies in India provide health insurance products. Health insurance policy (mediclaim) covers your hospitalization expenses which may include room, boarding expenses as provided by the hospital/ nursing home, surgeon, anesthetist and medical practitioner etc. It also covers pre and post hospitalization expenses. However, there are certain exclusions to these kinds of policies. There are other types of health insurance polices like critical illness, personal accident and disability and hospital cash etc.

Motor Insurance

Motor insurance is available for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers. In India, it is mandatory to have motor insurance for all vehicles. Motor insurance cover is equal to the Insured Declared Value (IDV). This IDV changes i.e. it depreciates every year at a fixed rate (the rate varies depending on the vehicle) on renewal of the policy. Motor insurance pays you incase of theft of vehicle or damage to the vehicle due to accident. It reimburses the amount upto the extent of the IDV of the vehicle.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is important to buy if you are going overseas, because your health insurance (mediclaim) does not cover your medical and hospitalization expenses out of India. Most of the general insurance companies in India provide travel insurance policy that covers your medical, hospitalization expenses, and loss of baggage during the trip, personal liability and loss of passport etc. It is not compulsory to buy travel insurance cover for 1 year like health insurance policies, they are available for few days as well, and so you can choose the term of policy depending on the days you are going to travel abroad.

Householder's Insurance

The householder's insurance policy covers loss of house appliances, jewellery, valuables, electronic appliances, etc due to fire and other allied perils like earthquake or floods. The policy also covers loss of contents of the house due to theft or burglary. The sum assured for the policy is decided by calculating the present value / market value of the household item (i.e. the value at which the household item can be bought or sold in the market). Most of the general insurance companies in India provide householder's insurance policy.