Anyone who believes in leading a risk-free, peaceful life, should get general insurance as soon as possible. The risk we are talking about here can be practically anything and everything associated with you, your family and your property.

We may not notice the importance of general insurance in our busy lives, but our valuable possessions like a car, two-wheeler, home, and business, are at a constant risk of theft, fire, accident, and other such unexpected events. Also, with the increasing rate of diseases globally, we cannot predict which next medical emergency would affect our loved ones and trap us under severe financial pressure. Even a fun-filled road trip with your friends and family can involve risks of baggage loss, accident, theft and more.

Therefore, you must strive to be a responsible individual. If you have not yet secured your family’s health and your valuable property, it is time to focus on planning and securing it with reliable general insurance.

Introduction to General Insurance

For decades, we have seen the insurance sector coming up with new and innovative ideas for securing you financially and providing a peaceful life. Even in a society like India, where almost all insurance policies are thought of as a liability, the insurance sector has recorded noticeable positive changes and growth.

Followed by the establishment of the first general insurance company, the Indian Mercantile Insurance Co. Ltd., in 1907, the public insurance business was nationalised in the year 1972. With the thought of insuring all the valuable assets owned by an individual, other than human life, general insurance was brought into existence. A general insurance policy helps you stay safe against unexpected events like burglary, fire, accident and other similar occurrences. Besides your home, business, and vehicle, a general insurance policy can extend to liability insurance and health insurance as well. Some other insurance policies that fall under the umbrella of general insurance are travel insurance, credit insurance and omissions insurance for professionals.

The main aim of introducing general insurance in the market is to safeguard your hard-earned property and protect you from any possible financial loss. For example, as per the Indian law, it is mandatory to secure yourself from certain liabilities. The law requires you to purchase liability insurance (another type of general insurance) so that the responsibility of paying off the compensation can be transferred to a reliable insurance company. This means that in case you are responsible for any loss caused to a person or a company, you will be entitled to compensation and your insurer will pay that amount.

General insurance is not restricted to any age or financial background. Anybody who owns an asset is eligible to protect themselves from inevitable economic losses with a general insurance policy. However, you can only buy a general insurance policy if you are the one to be directly affected by financial losses that may occur due to events like fire, theft, accident and so on.

General Insurance Plans Benefits

By now we all know that general insurance is not a single insurance policy, but a bunch of beneficial policies purchased for different requirements. Every general insurance policy has its benefits for the policyholder. Here are some types of general insurance and their benefits to the person insured:

#1 Motor Insurance – A motor insurance will keep you safe from all types of liabilities and damages to a vehicle caused due to  off-road and on-road emergencies. If you opt for a comprehensive motor insurance policy, it will also cover damage caused to the vehicle by man-made and natural calamities.

#2 Health Insurance – With the increasing health care costs and stressful, sedentary lifestyle, a medical emergency can drag you to a severe financial crisis. In such a scenario, a health insurance policy not only mitigates the financial risks, but help you lead a healthy lifestyle. It covers all surgical and medical expenses of the insured person.

#3 Travel Insurance – Whether you are on a business trip or a vacation, almost all of your travel worries can be secured by purchasing a trustworthy travel insurance policy. By securing your trip here, we mean keeping you safe from any losses due to baggage or passport being lost, flight delay, medical emergencies and all such events that may cause financial losses during the trip.

#4 Home Insurance – Undoubtedly, your home is the most treasured possession and the most prominent financial investment of your life. So, if you can have an insurance policy to keep your family safe, why not have the policy to safeguard the home that cherishes all your memorable moments with your family? Home insurance protects your property from all kinds of natural and man-made threats and disasters. It includes protection against fire, theft, flood, earthquake, burglary, electrical damage and more.

Other than the above-mentioned general insurances, you can also opt for rural insurance, cargo insurance, and commercial insurance. Commercial insurance will save you from the losses that may occur due to business operations, while cargo insurance will provide financial security on the export and import of goods. On the other hand, a rural insurance policy is focused on the needs of rural businesses and agriculture.

Also, the claim process for any of these general insurances is not complicated. If you are secured by a general insurance, at the time of need, you need to intimate the insurance company, file a claim; and after scrutinizing the claim, the insurer will send you the sum insured.