GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

Does your company rely on some huge equipment to generate revenue? Even one failure or breakdown will lead to costly repairs to the extent that a company can even be forced to shut down indefinitely. So, how would you possibly have operated, without these key pieces of machinery like heavy machinery or specialized manufacturing equipment?

Usually, considering other things, companies overlook the importance of manufacturing power. The machinery is the backbone that keeps the force running. They're also a major investment and if not insured, any damage can cause not only hindrance but could also stop workflow altogether and huge loss. Therefore, it's important to opt for a machinery breakdown insurance policy. It is a form of property insurance designed to transfer unexpected breakdown risks associated with a company's mechanical and electrical equipment.

This insurance will cover physical damage from the unanticipated breakdown of machinery. By repairing or replacing the additional costs, this insurance will keep your work going and ensure it doesn't halt in the light of such unforeseen events.

Unfortunate and unforeseen circumstances caused due to carelessness, short circuit, electric overpressure, failure of safety device operation, defects in assembly, structural or mechanical, loosening of parts or excessive speed, falling, impact, collision and entry of foreign goods in the machinery are covered. Under this policy, the sum insured includes the following:

• Replacement value of the equipment
• Erection costs
• Freight charges
• Duties paid
• Value of brickwork

These policies are usually flexible and help organizations recoup financial losses related to property damage, interruption and spoilage. The premium, however, is calculated once the type of equipment and factors like their capacity and price are taken into consideration. There is a different premium for different machinery used. The machines that can be insured are-

• All stationery machinery equipment
• Electrical equipment
• Mechanical plant equipment
• Process machinery in industries

The eligibility criteria are that the owner or lessor of the machinery can get the insurance.

Mechanical loss of engineering insurance policy includes compensation for the cost of repair and replacement arising from unforeseeable circumstances. The cover is effective even if the equipment is not in use. The machinery is also covered if the equipment has been dismissed for maintenance and overhauling or is moved to a different location.

Usually, with an additional premium, the machinery breakdown insurance policy also covers third party liability, additional customs duty, air freight, escalation, property surrounding machinery, overtime, holiday wages etc. This makes it an essential complete package.

Since machinery breakdown insurance policy is for electrical and mechanical equipment, electronic material such as computers are not protected or covered. Specific risks that are not included in this policy are wear and tear, war, fire, gross negligence, damage due to overload and known pre-existing defects.

Machinery breakdown insurance is now crucial for businesses of all kinds and provides protection. However, secure the right policy to ensure your business is covered before, during and after an equipment breakdown.

Every hospitalization insurance policy comes with a stipulated waiting period which signifies the number of days that must lapse before the policy coverage begins for specific health conditions. The exact duration of the waiting period varies according to insurance companies. Before you opt for any Health Insurance Policy For Family , the concept of this waiting period must be understood adequately as different coverage have different waiting periods and different rules. There are several cases where customers subscribe to insurance policies offering wrong details. To avoid losses caused by wrongful claims or misrepresented medical history, the concept of the waiting period was introduced by the insurance companies.

Types of waiting periods

• The first is the Initial waiting period, which means that if a person gets hospitalized in the first 30 days from the start of the policy, they won't receive any claim benefit from the insurance. Only after the said waiting period has lapsed would the policy cover the specified health conditions; otherwise, no claim will be entertained by the company. Also, note that this 30 days waiting period is for illnesses but not applicable for injuries.
• Second type of waiting period is the pre-existing waiting period. This waiting period id relevant only for specific health conditions that have been disclosed by the policyholder while subscribing to the policy. This waiting period is the type of waiting period that involves a condition within four years before signing up for health insurance. The length of this waiting period can, however, vary from 12-48 months. Thus, the pre-existing waiting period will be covered under the plan after the passing of the timeframe mentioned in the insurance policy.
• Please check the specific disease waiting period, while taking a policy which applies to specified illnesses as listed in your health policy. In critical illness policy, there is a lump sum amount paid if the ailment is covered under the critical illness section in your policy. However, COVID-19 is not covered under critical illness, except for specifically designed products that were introduced in the market recently.

There are various questions raised as to illnesses like H1N1, Ebola, and the latest one being the Coronavirus are included in the health insurance and whether or not they have a waiting period associated with it. However, many of the policy providers mentioned that COVID 19 could be covered in the health insurance policy, which will ensure that there is no dent on your savings. It is advisable to check with your insurer about the terms, conditions and exclusions.

Health crisis can occur to anyone at any point in time, so it is wise if you take up health insurance plans to keep yourself and your family financially secure. Several companies offer different critical illness plan with different hospitalization, and so before you choose the health insurance plans health insurance for family, you need to research thoroughly to make an informed decision.

So much deliberation goes into buying a car, but car insurances? Not so much. This is one of the most concerning problems as these trivial mistakes are overlooked and more importantly can even be done away with if one is cautious enough.

Car insurance is almost mandatory in times like now but keeping relevant information from your insurance provides is often misleading than not. Here are mistakes to avoid when you're buying a car insurance policy -

• Not comparing prices- Many people who instantly go for insurances provided by someone they know or the insurances their acquaintances have applied for. Although the reliability factor is higher here, you can't be sure that they'd have made the right decision or looked up the new car insurance rates and updated offers in the market. For this one reason at least, compare the prices of different insurance policies till you're totally convinced about a single policy over the other. This will also give you the additional satisfaction of having researched well enough and made a wise choice.
• Cheap insurance policies- Cheaper insurances come with the obvious hazard that there's something flawed or even shady the company is trying to keep from you. Sometimes, companies manage to go about selling these without some key features which you may happen to overlook. Most people usually opt for the cheapest or the insurance policy with the lowest premium, and that doesn't assure the same type of safety as good reliable insurance will offer. Do not make hasty and flippant choices, as it's obvious that a lower premium also means a lower cover is provided when necessary.
• Buying it offline- Even if you know someone who may provide insurance services from a reliable company, there are a lot of unnecessary hidden costs that you'd not know. Rather than going for a cheaper unreliable premium, you can just opt for a good and reliable premium from a reputable company that also gives cheaper options. This is usually overlooked because people still choose or prefer the offline modes of application and payment. However, it is always more beneficial to find the online versions as not only does it come with a greater variety of options and plans, but it will also remove all the hidden costs for the job.
• Low deductibles- This is like choosing for cheap premium except here, deductibles are the charges paid by a customer before receiving the claim. If you're going to focus on this factor, then you'd be missing out on a balanced plan with a good premium as well. Usually, lower deductible plans come with higher premiums. Either way, you'd have to pay that said amount so why not choose a more profitable variation. If you opt for a policy that requires a higher deductible, then you can also attain the no claims bonus. This 'No Claim Bonus' or NCB is when an insurance company pays you if you do not file a claim for a stipulated amount of time. This could be an additional profit you will not be able to enjoy if you pay a lower deductible and a higher insurance premium.
• Driver details and history- Usually, the factors considered for the insurance premium include the details of the driver, including the age and other details like safety equipment installed, driving style. These may increase or decrease your premium accordingly. But because of that, if you choose to hide certain details for a lower premium thinking you've made a smart choice, it's misleading and doesn't assure you the certainty of your insurance. If an insurance provider finds out about the hidden details, they hold the authority to dissolve your policy as an invalid one. So, don't make a mistake like this just to save a few hundred rupees.

Acquainting yourself with the new car insurance rates, terms and conditions, and other essential aspects of the insurance policy is essential to help you maximize the benefits on offer.

Health is a critical aspect of life. Hence the famous phrase health is wealth. With today’s pollution, changing and often unhealthy lifestyles, changing weather, an increase in diseases and mutation in the illnesses that already exist, etc. are extremely hazardous to health and, in turn, life. Not to mention the unknown health hazards that could come out of nowhere; for example, an accident is not something you expect or know off. Also, the medical costs of all these health hazards can be huge and can make a massive hole in your pocket. Some of these diseases could be a long term meaning your investment in the treatment will also be long term. The bills of these treatments go very high and can end up making huge holes in your pocket. To avoid that, you can choose any of the available, AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS in the market. Following are five benefits of a health insurance policy that make it an absolute necessity: -

• The main reason why most people or families choose to go for health insurance is to have medical coverage. As mentioned above, health insurance plans offer coverage for high medical bills and can be extremely helpful. A health insurance plan covers hospitalization expenses, in-home hospitalization expenses, and many other such expenses too.
• Nowadays, insurance providers also offer critical illness cover. This cover can be stand-alone or can be a part of your health insurance plan. A critical illness cover assists in medical costs of critical illnesses related to kidney, bone marrow transplant, a stroke, loss of limbs, etc. and many other such illnesses. If you are diagnosed with any critical disease, you receive a lump-sum amount as part of the cover.
• Cashless claim benefit is also quite a popular part of affordable health insurance plans. In this plan, you don’t have to make any out of your pocket payments. If and when assistance is required, you can settle the hospital bill with consideration from your insurance provider, the hospital, and you. Keep in mind if any such situation arises, you must get admitted into a hospital that is included in the list provided by your insurance company.
• Many companies or organizations cover health insurance for their employees. You must remember that this type of insurance, however, is not custom made for every individual but is instead the same. Also, you could lose insurance if you are not working at the company. Apart from the above specifications, the health insurance provided by your company is also q good. Make sure to go over the terms.
• Almost all health insurance policies have tax benefits. Under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act 1961, part of the premium that you pay towards your health insurance plan is eligible for tax deductions. Of course, there are a few terms and conditions that apply to this based on age, insurance plan, etc.

These are five benefits of a health insurance plan that show how beneficial it can be for you. Keep in mind all your needs and requirements and choose the best health care plan. You will find different types of affordable health insurance plans from which you can choose as per your convenience.

Today, the number of cases with construction workers being a victim of such accidental risks is increasing. There isn't much awareness around it to make every person understand its importance. Physical loss of engineering insurance includes protection from machinery breakdown, machinery loss, contractor's risk, etc. The major focus is on covering losses that are unforeseen and unexpected. This is also called machinery breakdown insurance.

In the workplace, regardless of the precautions taken, it's always possible that there are unexpected and unfortunate accidents that might put you at risk. This is why you need the physical loss of engineering insurance.

Types of engineering risks include -

• Stock deterioration - Stock deterioration includes the depletion of goods kept in cold storage. This is covered if there's a breakdown of refrigerating machinery. It's similar to machinery breakdown insurance and can be seen as a subset of the same.

This type of insurance may benefit you if you're owners or users of cold storage houses, food preservation industry, and meat and fish processing industries, chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

• Movement of Machinery - This insurance covers the damage of machinery during specified operations. This type is important as a lot of machinery is heavy and not always easy to move accordingly. There can be damage during such movement even after the said precaution is taken. This type also often includes incidental storage in transit and moving and unloading to the work position.
• Computer equipment - Computer equipment insurance covers loss of or damage to all computer equipment. Additionally, provides cost required to reinstate lost records. These apply to almost every firm today that can make use of this insurance. Especially with data at threat, companies must safeguard themselves and have an insurance plan to turn to in such a situation.
• Unexpected damage - This policy covers damage that is unexpected and could be due to internal defects or external unfortunate situations. This insurance covers accidental damage most of the time, but it's advisable to check the documents and peculiarities before you go ahead.
• All Risk Cover - The all-risk cover, usually known as the Contractor's all risk, covers all of the above insurances. Usually, the threat of a single kind seems more than the rest, and hence particular insurance opts-in isolation. To easily define it, it covers all risks related to construction.

Here are the reasons why engineering insurance is important

• Machinery breakdown - This is one of the overlooked factors. Be it machines on the ground or even computers; your insurance must cover not only the cost of damage done to the computer installation but also for all the data that was lost. You can opt for machinery breakdown insurance as well.
• Risks of explosions - Such an unsafe work environment comes with its risks and troubles. Insurance will make it one step closer to safety, and you know you're covered in times of crisis.
• If you're in a risky job like that and have the uncertainty of consequences if something unfortunate happens, engineering insurance is your go-to remedy. Insurance covers can be generally applied to, but every insurance does not cover it all in detail. You can always choose multiple insurances, and that's completely alright. But you may need to understand something very important, at a workplace like a construction site; you ought to know that engineering insurance cannot be compromised.

Exercise is a hobby for several people. Many people enjoy going to the gym every day, sweating it out, and keeping fit. For some people, a gym is just too intimidating or even not the most preferred choice. If you are one of those people and are only looking to stay fit without actually going to the gym, there are a few exercises that you can do. These exercises can be done by people of any age to stay fit.

An insurance policy for the elderly is essential. However, exercising is a must as it will help you in delaying using health insurance in India for parents. Staying fit is extremely important, but you need not go to a gym to do that. There are many other exercises that you can do. Following are five exercises that keep you healthy: -

1. The most simple and common exercise is walking. Walking requires no equipment or any fancy things other than a pair of good sports shoes. Walking will help you in many ways. It improves cholesterol levels, strengthens your bones and muscles, and regulates your blood pressure, enables you to stay in a happy mood, lowers your risk toward a considerable number of diseases like diabetes, etc. and, of course, helps you stay fit in general.

2. Swimming is another exercise that is extremely helpful to keep you healthy. Many health trainers say that swimming is the perfect workout. Swimming works all your body parts, and hence your entire body stays fit. Joint pain is a problem faced by many people, especially older people. Swimming is an excellent exercise to deal with joint pain as the water takes the extra strain off your joints and helps you move them fluidly. You may have to go slow and only start walking in a swimming pool. According to research, swimming also helps keep you in a good mood.

3. You must be familiar with the term strength training. Strength training is working out with the help of lightweights. This form of exercise doesn’t bulk up your muscles, but it does help in making them stronger. Not exercising your muscles will make them dormant and lose their function after a while. To delay this, you must give your muscles good exercise. Muscles also help burn calories, so the more muscles you gain, the more calories you will burn this helps in keeping your weight in check as well.

4. Another exercise to keep you healthy is ‘tai chi.’ Tai chi is a Chinese exercise or martial art that combines movement and relaxation – two crucial factors in life. Tai chi is also often referred to as meditation in motion. It is made up of some graceful movements and is all about moving from one movement to another.

5. Yoga is a very popular form of exercise all around the world. It is an exercise that is known to keep you fit. There are many positions and instructions on how to form those positions. Yoga is hugely beneficial to muscles and helps in weight reduction as well.

Staying fit is an integral part of human life. That can be done through exercise and hence you must do some exercise to keep fit. Not only yourself but encourage your parents also to engage in regular exercise. This, along with HEALTH INSURANCE IN INDIA FOR PARENTS , will ensure their well-being.

Marine insurance companies offer a wide range of policies that cover any damage or loss to ships, cargo, terminals or transport by which products are transferred, held or acquired between the beginning and concluding points.

Marine insurance companiesin India cover offshore and onshore exposed property, (ports, container terminals, pipelines, oil platforms), marine casualty, and marine liability etc. It's an alternative to the general insurance specifically for those in the Marine industry or even in the trade industry.

All ship and yacht owners must have appropriate marine insurance keeping in mind the variety of risks at sea.

Importance of Marine Insurance

With India being known for its peculiar geography surrounded by water bodies on three sides and its fame for the earliest trade routes, we've only got better ever since. Marine Insurance is a must for getting easy grants and easy access ahead. It also makes a company more reliable as it has proper protection against different hazards and is legally ready to set off.

The marine industry today is a great source of imports, communication, influx and a means for people to travel to different parts of the world. We all know the stories of the uncertainty of the sea. Hence, it is important to be prepared for such unforeseen circumstances.

Benefits of Marine Insurance

Here are the following benefits insurance companies provide when you opt for Marine Insurance:

• Personalized Insurance - It's very important to find insurance that suits your needs and your business. Are you only trading goods or do you also have travellers and are in the cruise business? Don't worry! Marine insurance companies are now personalizing these important details as they're basic to the kind of hazards you'd want to prepare yourself for and these build the base for your insurance cover.
• All Risks Coverage - It's only foolish to choose risks and get protected by those when you're at sea and stranded, or your goods are not insured just because you didn't tick that option on your insurance form. While choosing Marine insurance, do look out for exclusions before you make a choice.
• Worldwide Claims - You need to stop worrying if you feel your marine insurance won't help in international waters. Marine insurances come with worldwide claims as well.

Now that you know all that comes with the insurance, here's all that your insurance should cover. There are different types of Marine Insurances.

• Liability Insurance - This insurance cover comes handy in case of any injury or damage due to unanticipated ship collisions and crashing even if it's due to persuaded attacks.
• Marine Cargo Insurance – It pertains to the personal belongings in ship voyages. The cargo owner is protected from the loss due to a ship accident and in case of delays in unloading. This also comes with third-party liability coverage and includes damage to the port and docks.
• Hull Insurance - This is chosen by the owner and caters to the hull and the body of the vessel along with other articles and furniture of the ship.
• Machinery Insurance - This insurance covers the machinery breakdown and damage and is duly compensated for.

With this extensive range of marine insurance, a businessman or a ship or yacht owners can be safe and protected against damages like theft or hijack collisions and accidents. Hence it is vital to have appropriate marine insurance if your business requires trade via the sea.

Health insurance is a type of policy that offers coverage for medical as well as surgical expenses incurred by the policyholder when they are hospitalized during the policy period. Most of the health insurances today provide coverage of daycare hospitalization, pre-hospitalization as well as post-hospitalization and the expenses incurred during these periods are either reimbursed to the insured individual or are paid to the healthcare provider directly.

There are many health insurance providers in India which provide numerous affordable health insurance plans for individuals and also for the whole family. Such health insurance plans have many different benefits, and each plan provides different types of coverage depending on the premium amount of the insurance.

Some of the common benefits that are given in most of the healthcare plans are: -

• One of the biggest benefits of a healthcare plan is the cashless settlement of claims. Most of the times the insurance provider will directly transfer the claim amount to the healthcare provider instead of reimbursing the amount to the insured individual.
• Most of the insurance providers cover almost all the major hospitals of the country, and you can use your health card to claim the benefits of your insurance at the hospitals covered by your insurance. There is almost 50% to 75% coverage of the major hospitals in the country with all the big names included in the list.
• You get the premium amount of the insurance tailored according to your needs. You can get the plan for an individual or for all the members of your family, and the premium will be decided based on the age group of all the members of the family. You can also get different insurances for all of your family members if you require.
• Once you buy an affordable health insurance plan, you also get the benefit of free medical checkup for every claim-free year. You can use this benefit to get a complete body checkup.
• In case of a medical emergency that arises suddenly, it can take away all your financial savings for the treatment of the individual very quickly. If you have health insurance, you will have a peace of mind because you will be able to provide financially for the treatment of the particular disease or problem.
• There are many different insurance plans available depending on the maximum entry age of the individual they allow for the insurance. Many insurance providers set a maximum entry age limit of 80 years while there are some insurance providers that have plans with no upper limit on the maximum entry age.
• Nowadays, you can buy an affordable health insurance plan online and pay the premiums online as well. You don’t need to visit the office of the insurance provider to buy the insurance, just compare all the available health insurance plans and buy the one that suits your needs the best. The healthcare plans are active for 1 year, and after that period, you need to renew it. This renewal can be easily done online as well.
• The health care plans are available with a range of coverage that starts from 5 lakhs and can reach to crores of rupees. Choose the one that is most affordable for you and you will have to pay the premium for the plan accordingly.

You need to consider some things before you decide on buying a particular healthcare plan of which financial comes at first. You have to pay the premium yearly, and that premium should be such that it does not cause a problem to you financially so proper care should be taken while buying a healthcare plan.