To help you take the right decisions, here’s a ready-made list of insurance covers one should avoid and a guidance on how to factor in group insurance weightage in your insurance needs.
It’s never a good idea to buy an insurance product without going through its offer document. As the case has been, most of the plain-vanilla health insurance policies today sold in the market are simply inadequate to cover medical needs of an individual. The plans usually don’t provide for coverage against critical illnesses and if they do so, the cover generally begins only after the policy completes a certain time period, say three or five years.
The average customers, it has been seen, fall prey to such policies sometimes because of their lack of understanding and other times due to sheer ignorance. Therefore, if you want to avoid an awkward situation in case of an unforeseen event, make sure you buy yourself a health insurance policy with a critical illness add-on.
Credit card Personal accident cover
If you are a credit card holder, chances are slim you haven’t had to go through a pitch of this product over a phone call. One of the favourite products of credit card companies is a Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh cover against the card while travelling by air. But there’s a catch. The company becomes liable to pay insurance money only if the ticket is purchased by the same credit card and previous dues on the card are clear. Therefore, it is advisable to stay away from this product.
Home insurance for mortgaged property
This comes straight from a insurance broker. Do not buy a separate insurance cover for a house which is already mortgaged with a bank. Today, the financial institutions ensure that the house is insured in case it is mortgaged with them.
“The premium for the home insurance is usually added to the monthly installments paid by the customer,” says Pankaj Arora, senior vice-president and business head, SMC Insurance Brokers. However, if you are still unsure whether your house is insured, it is advisable to check with your lender before proceeding to buy one.
Terrorism insurance
This is one insurance policy which has been extensively promoted in the recent past. It’s a high impact product and usually sold aggressively just after major incidents. Insurance brokers say a standalone terrorism insurance cover should be avoided as most of the standard personal accident policies cover risk of terrorism.
“It’s always better to go for a personal accident policy that includes terrorism cover. Chances of death due to a personal accident are much higher than that in case of terrorism,” feels Yashish Dahiya, CEO of Policy Bazaar, an online insurance brokerage firm.
“Buying the Right Policy from Right Insurance Carrier is very important”, say Niraj Jain, the CEO of www.InsuranceMall.in – India’s first and largest online insurance broking firm. “Merely buying an Insurance Policy is not good enough to cover All Risks. Compare and Buy is the best way to go. It is also important to learn the inclusions and excusions to ensure that at the time of pay-up, Insurance Company will pay”, Opines Mr Jain.
- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ -
Interesting and informative. But will you write about this one more?
Valuable thoughts and advices. I read your topic with great interest.