Top Insurance Policies in India

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About Insurance Policy

In insurance industry terminology, an insurance policy is an agreement, which is more often than not a standard form of contract, between the insured and the insurer. The insurance policy is used to decide the claims that a policyholder is legally entitled to and the insurer is supposed to pay as per the terms agreed to in the contract.

The insurer pays the damages to an insured for any situation that is covered in the policy - the payment is done according to the premium that is paid by the insured. Insurance policies have various types of features and conditions that vary according to the type of policy taken and the requirements that the plan is supposed to satisfy.

As the insurance policies are standardized contracts they feature a similar sort of language in spite of differences in kind.

How to buy insurance policies?



The basic function in purchasing an insurance policy is to do comprehensive research on the internet or in the insurance market and find out which companies are the best in the type of insurance that one is looking for.

Interested proposers can also look up policy aggregator sites that provide comparative information on particular types of policies so that they can get a fair idea of how much a policy costs and how much it is providing. These websites also provide one a good idea of the various terms and conditions applicable for the proposers.

Following are some important factors that need to be kept in mind while buying insurance policies:
  • How much is the premium
The proposer needs to carefully factor in whether he or she would be able to pay the premium throughout the policy term period. If they are unable to pay at any time they might incur penalties or the policies might be cancelled.

  • Is the insurance plan serving the purpose
One should not avail an insurance policy just because it is being provided by a top insurer or because the sum insured is very rewarding. They should carefully look at what the policy covers and what procedures have to be followed to recover claims - this is especially applicable for health policies that cover critical illnesses and accident plans.

  • Claims procedures
The proposers should have a proper idea of how quickly their claims will be settled and they should discuss this with the agent or the company, depending on the entity that has provided them the policy in the first place.

They should also have a clear idea of which documents will be required to file the claims and what process of hospitalization needs to be followed in order to make a claim.

Certain policies require the third party administrators to be informed within a specified period of time of hospitalization in order to make the claim. So these things have to be kept in mind as well.

  • Terms and conditions
The proposers should know every term and condition mentioned in the policy properly so that they are not caught unawares in a critical situation. This includes important areas like how much of the sum insured will be paid in various conditions or what tests will have to be taken in order to avail a policy, and also when the payments would be made.

  • Coverage
This factor needs to be covered while deciding on the riders associated with various policies. Like someone who is not very healthy can look for a critical illness rider or someone who is facing financial problems with his or her treatment can look at various cash benefits provided by the insurers. Proposers who are married with children and stay with their parents can look family cover riders.

When to buy insurance policies

Just like a loan, the ideal time to buy an insurance policy is best taken when the proposed is young and earning on a regular basis. This has two major benefits - firstly due to the young age and presumably lesser physical complications the premiums are lesser and secondly due to the regular income it is easy to pay the premiums.

In case someone decides to avail insurance during old age then the premiums are normally double than their younger counterparts. Then they often need to undergo several pre-acceptance tests on which the chances of getting the policy depend. Moreover, since the senior citizens are most likely to make claims, it can make them less attractive propositions for the insurers.

Types of Insurance Policies

Following are the various types of insurance policies:

Health Insurance

  • Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
  • Long term care insurance
  • Dental insurance
  • National health insurance
  • Disability insurance (Total permanent disability insurance)
  • Payment protection insurance
  • Income protection insurance
  • Vision insurance

Life Insurance

  • Mortgage life insurance
  • Universal life insurance
  • Permanent life insurance
  • Variable universal life insurance
  • Term life insurance
  • Whole life insurance

Business Insurance

  • Bond insurance
  • Protection and indemnity insurance
  • Directors and officers liability insurance
  • Trade credit insurance
  • Fidelity bond
  • Umbrella insurance
  • Professional liability insurance

Residential Insurance

  • Contents insurance
  • Lenders mortgage insurance
  • Earthquake insurance
  • Mortgage insurance
  • Flood insurance
  • Property insurance
  • Home insurance
  • Title insurance
  • Landlords insurance

Transport/communication Insurance

  • Aviation insurance
  • Satellite insurance
  • Computer insurance
  • Travel insurance
  • Public auto insurance
  • Vehicle insurance
  • Marine insurance

Top Insurance Plans in India

Following is a list of the leading insurers in India and their best products:

Insurer Products
LIC LIC Jeevan Vaibhav
ICICI Prudential ICICI Pru Child Plans
ICICI Pru iCare
Reliance Life Insurance Classic Plan II
Money Multiplier Plan
Care for You Plan
Bajaj Allianz Family Floater Health Guard Plan
Car Insurance
CashRich
Birla Sun Life BSLI Guaranteed Wealth Plan
HDFC Life Insurance HDFC Life Smart Woman Plan
Click2Protect Online Protection Plan
Tata AIG Insurance Tata AIG Motor Insurance
Tata AIG Travel Insurance
Tata AIG Wellsurance Family
ING Vysya Life Insurance ING Star Life
ING Market Shield
Kotak Life Insurance Kotak Assured Protection Plan
Kotak Assured Income Plan
Kotak Ace Investment Plan
Aviva Aviva i-Life
Future Generali Future Generali Smart Life
Future Generali Health Suraksha
MetLife Retirement Plans
Shriram Life ShriLife
Wealth Plus
Money Back
Shriram Ujjwal Life SP
Bharti AXA General Insurance Car Insurance
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Bharti AXA Life Secure Savings
Bharti AXA Life Triple Health Insurance Plan
AEGON Religare iTerm
IDBI Federal Life Insurance Termsurance
Wealthsurance
Childsurance
Lifesurance
Healthsurance
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Dream Smart Plan
Secure Smart Plan
Grow Smart Plan
Smart Sanchay Plan
Future Smart Plan
DLF Pramerica DLF Pramerica Income Rakshak
IndiaFirst Life Insurance IndiaFirst Maha Jeevan Plan
Sahara India Life Insurance Sahara Vatsalya-Jeevan Bima
Apollo Munich Health Insurance Optima Senior
ICICI Lombard ICICI Lombard Complete Health Insurance
Star Health Insurance Family Health Optima
Senior Citizen Health Insurance
Star Comprehensive Insurance Policy
IFFCO-TOKIO General Insurance Auto Protector Private Car
Medishield
Travel Protector
New India Assurance Householder's Policy
Motor Insurance Policy
Overseas Mediclaim Policy
Fire and Machinery Policy
Industrial All Risk Policy
Shopkeeper's Policy
Oriental Insurance Motor Insurance
Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Chola MS Family Healthline
Chola MS Student Travel
Chola MS Private Car
HDFC Ergo General Insurance Motor Insurance
Travel Insurance
Health Insurance
Home Insurance
Universal Sompo General Insurance Individual Health Insurance
Travel Insurance
Shopkeepers Insurance Policy
Motor Insurance Policy
Householders' Insurance Policy
L&T Insurance my:health Medisure Prime Insurance
RELIGARE Health Insurance CARE


Last Updated on 09/11/2012



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