General insurance covers insurance of property against fire, burglary, theft; personal insurance covering health, travel and accidents; and liability insurance covering legal liabilities. This category of insurance virtually covers all forms of insurance except life. Other covers may include insurance against errors and omissions for professionals, credit insurance etc. Common forms of general insurance are motor, fire, home, marine, health, travel, accident and other miscellaneous forms of non-life insurance.
Unlike life insurance policies, the tenure of general insurance policies is normally not that of a lifetime. The usual term lasts for the duration of a particular economic activity or for a given period of time. Most general insurance products are annual contracts. There are however, a few products which have a long term.
Motor insurance covers all damages and liability to a vehicle against various on-road and off-road emergencies. A comprehensive policy even secures against damage caused by natural and man-made calamities, including acts of terrorism.
Motor insurance offers protection to the vehicle owner against:
Motor insurance is mandatory in India as per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and needs to be renewed every year. Driving a motor vehicle without insurance in a public place is a punishable offence.
In fact, third party insurance is a statutory requirement in our country i.e. the owner of the vehicle is legally liable for any injury or damage caused to a third party life or property, by or arising out of the use of the vehicle in a public place.
A comprehensive motor insurance policy would include personal accident and liability only policy (third party insurance) in addition to own damage cover (damage to owner’s vehicle) in one policy.
Common motor insurance categories include:
Some attractive benefits of motor insurance include roadside assistance, cashless servicing at nation-wide network of workshops and garages, personal accident cover, towing assistance.
Commercial insurance encompasses solutions for all sectors of the industry arising out of business operations. Insurance solutions for automotive, aviation, construction, chemicals, foods and beverages, manufacturing, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, power, technology, telecom, textiles, transport and logistics sectors. It covers small and medium scale enterprises, large corporations as well as multinational companies.