Insurance protects oneself, one's family and assets from the financial consequences of unforeseen events. A classic insurance policy, i.e. a term plan, provides financial assistance to your family when you are not around. In addition, modern day policies have evolved to help you to build up your corpus of wealth, plan for retirement, protect your house and personal belongings, reimburse medical expenses, hospitals bills, etc.

The value of the cover that you opt for should depend on your need for protection. If you are applying for asset insurance, the value should ideally cover the cost of replacing your asset. Similarly, the final payout of a term plan should compensate your family for the financial loss that they will face in case of your demise. If you go for ULIPs, endowment or whole life policies these should fall in line with your overall financial plan and enable you to receive funds when you expect to use them.

At times, it is not possible for one policy to fulfill all your requirements. In such cases, you can purchase a combination of plans which will meet your needs.

Most importantly, don?t keep your insurance arrangements to yourself; tell your spouse or nominee about your policies. Also remember to keep your policies in a safe place, as they are legal documents.

Nomination is a right conferred on the life insurance policyholder to appoint a person to receive the policy monies in the event of his or her death.

Yes. You can change your nomination any time before the date of maturity.

Yes, a minor can be the nominee of a policy. However, he or she must have a legal guardian.

A claim refers to the payment made by the insurer to the insured or nominee on the occurrence of an event specified in the contract, in return for the premiums paid by the insured.

Yes. The premium that you pay on your insurance policy is mainly dependant on your age and the tenure of the policy. The younger you are, the lower your insurance premium amount is. Moreover, in the case of policies that double up as investment vehicles, you benefit from the power of compounding, if you begin investing early.

Health insurance refers to protection against the costs of hospital and medical care or lost income arising from an illness or injury.

No body can predict illnesses or accidents. These health hazards and hospitalization can cost you dearly in terms of medical bills and leave you with a major financial burden. To enable you to cope with such situations, insurance companies have launched health insurance plans. Health insurance takes care of your hospitalization and medication expenses. It could also provide financial support to you and your family.

In a insurance application form, you are required to provide various details, including details of the illnesses you have suffered from during your lifetime until then. Such disclosures are important and if it is discovered that your responses in the form have been misleading, you could lose the benefits of the policy.

While traveling abroad, you would not like anything to ruin your trip. However, unfortunate events such as baggage loss, passport loss, a medical emergency or an accident can affect you. Having travel insurance compensates you for such events.

You can choose either a single trip or a multiple trip policy. If you choose a single trip policy, the cover will be valid for the duration of the specific trip, as selected by you. If you choose a multiple trip policy, the cover will be valid for one year from the start date of the policy.