What Does the Indian General Insurance Companies Offer?

The insurance companies in India offer a range of products to cater the Indian population. Almost everything of value to a customer can be covered under different policy plans. The insurance companies in India can be categorized into 2 sectors – public and private. Another dimension for classifying the insurance companies is on the basis of products offered. Based on this dimension, the insurance companies in India can be broadly classified as Life insurance and General insurance companies.

Below is a partial list of insurance companies classified on a broad basis:

	Public Sector	Private Sector
Life Insurance companies	Life Insurance Corporation of India	HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited AEGON Religare Life Insurance Aviva India Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co Ltd Birla Sun Life Insurance
General Insurance companies	National Insurance Company New India Assurance Co Ltd United India Insurance Co Ltd	HDFC ERGO General Insurance Bharti AXA General Insurance Continental Insurance Services Future Generali India Insurance ING Vysya Life Insurance

While the life insurance company pays the family of the insured individual, a predefined sum, in the event of death of that person, the general insurance company has a range of comprehensive products to provide cover for other different entities.

Let us look at what the general insurance companies in India have to offer:

Different Plans by General Insurance Companies:
Motor or Auto Insurance Plans: Insurance plans from the general insurance companies to cover vehicles and the driver from unforeseen damages.

Health Insurance Plans: Policies ensuring medication and treatment costs when the insured is hospitalized.

Travel Insurance Plans: When on international trips, a Travel insurance acts as a shield to protect your travel funds from expenses incurred on medical emergencies, theft, baggage loss, etc.

Personal Accident Insurance Plans: The General insurance company provides the individual covered under this policy, the Sum Insured to pay for the medical expenses and covers for the death or permanent total disability of the insured individual.

Group Insurance Plans: One of the common insurance policy plans opted by most companies in India is the group health insurance plans for its employees. Group plans offer customized benefits at lower premiums and are regarded as one of the best non-monetary benefits to employees.

Commercial Insurance Plans: Under this broad category, a large number of products are offered to insure the business, business property, business projects, factory surrounding, employees and every other entity that endangers the business funds.

Home Insurance Plan: The home insurance policy plans grants reimbursements on damages to home structures and the contents within them.

Rural Insurance Plans: Another broad category to cater specifically to its rural customers, the general insurance companies has come up with different plans to cover rural phenomenon. Policy plans to insure agricultural damages, cattle health and so on are offered to ease off the pressures on the rural customers.

Which General Insurance Company is the best?

With a number of general insurance companies to choose from, it becomes difficult to determine which general insurance company is the best. So, instead of asking this question, you should ask: Which insurance policy plan suits you the best? An insurance policy has various parameters to be looked at:

Premium: Amount of premium that needs to be paid against the policy purchase. Public companies offer lower premiums compromising on the number of benefits offered. Private companies offer a comprehensive package charging more premium than the public players.

Benefits: The benefits derived from policies from different General insurance companies are distinct. Apart from basic insurance, private companies offer company-specific and customer-specific add-on services to policyholders. Carefully analyze them and try to maintain a balance between the payable premium and derived benefits.

Claim: The claim processes are company-specific. Some insurance companies are well-known claim settlers while some are not. Some make the claim process hassle-free, some process the claims faster and some provide a cashless claim. It is advisable to select a company that processes your claims faster with minimum documentations.

Add-ons/ Special features: A policy may offer company-specific add-ons which might be chargeable. Whether an add-on is really necessary for your lifestyle, is up to you to decide. But, ensure that you balance all the four points mentioned above.

The General insurance companies are now providing options to their clients to calculate the premium amounts on their policies online. Such instant quotes helps in making quick and informed decisions. Also, the hassle-free process is evident from the fact that you have the option to book policy and make claims online. Online tracking of the claims made is also facilitated by the insurance companies. Insure your assets and yourself with policies from general insurance companies and enjoy your life with no worries.

Source: HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company