What is the importance of general insurance covers?

While life insurance still remains a priority for most people, general insurance policies are not far behind. Owing to the risks posed by natural calamities, diseases, medical emergencies, and accidents, general insurance covers is something that can provide a blanket of financial protection from them.

Accidents and misfortunes cannot be predicted, but it is in our hands to make sure that we are prepared. That is why investing in the right general insurance covers is something that should be on the top of your to-do list.

What are general insurance covers?

Any non-life insurance policy can come under the purview of general insurance. These policies are not as long drawn as life insurance ones and are mostly applicable for a period of 1 year. The most common ones among these general insurance covers are:

•  Health insurance
• Motor insurance
• Travel insurance
• Home insurance

Let us now take a look at each of these general insurance covers and their importance.

Health insurance

Health insurance is a general insurance cover that provides protection against various surgical and medical expenses incurred by the insured person. In fact, in recent years, health insurance has been customized to fit the needs of patients with specific illnesses (e.g. cancer patients, people with diabetes, etc.).

Some of the benefits that come with this general insurance cover include cashless treatment, pre and post hospitalization benefits, etc.

Importance:

•  1. Hospitalization and surgeries can be extremely expensive, and arranging for substantial amounts of cash can become a liability during emergencies. With health insurance, people are assured of financial backup at the time of getting treatments.
•  2. With health insurance, you can get reimbursement for a lot of things, thus making it a lot easier to manage your expenses during treatment.

Motor insurance

For car owners, this general insurance cover is the most crucial one. Since accidents can happen at any point of time, motor insurance can make sure that you are covered for all the damages that your vehicle might cause or incur.

Motor insurance is widely categorized into two types - for the car and for two-wheelers. Also, getting your vehicle insured is mandatory under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

Importance:

•  1. When an accident occurs, a third party might suffer damage because of your vehicle. Motor insurance safeguards you from such situations by taking care of third party liabilities.
•  2. Motor insurance also safeguards you from theft, natural disasters, etc.
•  3. Since motor-related accidents can have extensive financial damages, motor insurance provides coverage for limiting your financial losses.

Home insurance

Your home is surely among your most valuable possessions, which is why you must ensure that it is secured with a home insurance policy. This general insurance cover provides protection for your home and its contents from various natural and man-made perils that might befall it.

Natural disasters like fire, lightning, earthquake, floods, storm, and hurricanes are unpredictable risks that can cause extensive damage to your house. The same can be said for man-made calamities like strikes, riots, etc. A home insurance policy ensures protection for your home in the event of such disasters.

Importance:

•  1. Repairing a house can be quite an expensive affair, especially if the damage has occurred due to a calamity. Home insurance helps you on the financial front during such events.

Travel insurance

Traveling is an inevitable part of life, and so are the risks associated with it. That is why having a travel insurance cover is essential regardless of whether you travel domestically or internationally.

Travel insurance provides coverage against emergencies while traveling, accidental death, loss of baggage, flight cancellation/delay and the likes. Therefore, there’s no downplaying the role of travel insurance on your travels.

Importance:

•  1. Medical treatment in foreign countries without insurance can be very expensive. Having health insurance cover helps a lot.
•  2. It accounts for common occurrences like flight delays.

When you take all of the above into perspective, the significance of having general insurance covers for different needs in life becomes clear. If you have been skipping out on any of these, it is time to change that for the better.