Individual Insurance Policy

Individual Insurance or Personal Insurance policy provides much needed financial security to individuals to face medical emergencies in life. It also provides policies that cover for loss and/or damage to your home, vehicle, and offers hassle free travel Insurance.This is why Individual insurance is increasingly becoming part of the financial planning of many families. By paying affordable premiums periodically, one can without worrying about heavy hospital bills, vehicle damage or losses, home repair/reconstruction and losses one face while traveling.

Personal insurance therefore is no longer seen as just a simple instrument for Individual’s risk management, but as an instrument of overall financial and economic planning. Section 80D allows the policyholder to save tax by claiming medical insurance incurred on self, spouse, dependent children & parents as a deduction from income before paying the taxes. Therefore, a well-thought of insurance plan covers you and your family holistically providing direct benefits like;

• Coverage against risks
• Financial security
• Tax benefits
• Mental peace

Health Insurance

Individual health insurance plan offers medical coverage to a person on an individual sum insured basis. Most individual health insurance policies provide comprehensive coverage to an individual for emergency medical expenses resulting from hospitalization, day care procedures, road ambulance services, alternative treatment, maternity cover, organ donor expenses, etc. You can add coverage such as critical illness cover, top-up option etc. to widen the coverage net.

Motor Insurance

Motor insurance offers you a financial cushion in case your vehicle is damaged due to accident, earthquake, lightning, floods, etc. The Motor Insurance segment which had witnessed a decline in FY21 seems to be returning to the growth path in FY22.

Home Insurance

Any damage to your house has an immense emotional and financial repercussions. Rebuilding a house and/or reinstalling its contents is painful, difficult and tedious. Home insurance offers coverage for damage to your property. Home Insurance protects the structure of your house or building, your personal and valuable possessions within the house and takes care of your personal liability too.

Travel Insurance

Traveling has changed post-pandemic and travel insurance is being looked at seriously now. As per the latest study, International travel insurance has seen a growth of about 22% over the pre-pandemic levels. Domestic travelers are catching up fast to enjoy its benefits as well. A traditional Travel insurance feature allows travelers to get reimbursed for a canceled trip, flight delays, medical care, and potential losses like lost or damaged luggage or Passport etc. Besides travel insurance now covers health emergencies due to corona virus.

• Customization-Individual or Personal Insurance allows you to customize policy coverage as per your own needs and preferences. Most policy plans provide you with the option of buying add-on covers, such as critical illness cover, OPD benefit, restoration benefit, maternity benefit, etc. Same goes for Home, motor & travel insurance plans as well where an individual can opt for add-on covers like; Tyre Repair/Replacement, Engine & Gearbox Protection etc. and
• Sum Insured-Sum insured means the maximum cap on the costs that can be covered in a year against any unfortunate event. Therefore, the higher the sum insured, higher will be the health insurance premiums and higher sum the Insurer will pay you in case of a claim. Usually, the entire sum assured is paid against one claim i.e. sum assured is a lump sum pay out.
• Wider Coverage- Most Individual Insurance policies offer a wider coverage to policy buyer’s health insurance plan covers all essential parameters providing relief to the buyer. It provided cashless access to hospitals
• Add-on Covers- Most Personal insurance plan offer add-on covers that give additional policy coverage that policyholders can avail by paying a little extra premium amount. The policy coverage extension helps individuals to deal with various situations with ease.
• Family Discount- Most Personal Insurance plans offer a discount if two or more family members are covered on an individual basis. You can discuss with your insurer or broker to get the maximum discount.
• Multiple Claims- One can make multiple claims in a year as long as the sum insured is not exhausted.
• Cumulative Bonus– Insurer provides a discount on premium if you do not file a claim in the previous policy year. Also called no claim bonus (NCB) this is a discount ranging between 20%-50% and is extended to the insured while renewing a policy
• Renewal for Life– This clause in the health insurance plan allows you to renew the coverage without re-qualifying for a new health insurance policy. As per the IRDAI guideline, it is mandatory for all health insurers to offer lifetime renewability.
• Tax Benefits– Personal or Individual Insurance policy offers tax savings on the paid premium under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act.

Individual Insurance, also called Personal insurance, usually covers non-life assets - such as your health, vehicle, home, and travel, from untowards incidents.

A traditional health insurance generally covers treatment expenses incurred at hospital, provided the treatment is on in-patient basis and lasts for a day at least. The expenses covered include hospital bed/room, nursing, surgeon's fees, consultant doctor's fees, blood transfusions, oxygen and operation theater charges. Here it is important to note that some plans come with sub-limits for each of these heads. Generally they do not cover pre-existing diseases or its related-complications for the first 3 to 4 years of the policy. Besides, there are specific medical conditions that may not be covered for a certain initial period

In case of Home Insurance it provides coverage against fire, earthquake, flooding, theft, accidents and other man-made disasters. With add-ons you can bolster the homeowner policy as a safeguard against

When traveling within the country or internationally you are exposed to many risks. With a well devised travel insurance policy cover yourself from cost incurred due to: Baggage Loss, Passport Loss, Flight Delay and Hospitalization. Some health plans charge no extra cost for pre-existing diseases.

Many people who are covered by individual insurance policies buy coverage through traditional insurers. Coverage is also available for an individual through managed health-care systems. Before an individual insurance policy is issued, the insurer would like to know everything about your personal health history. It is always wise to try not to hide a pre-existing medical condition from your insurer

There are some medical conditions and treatments that are not covered under the Individual health insurance plan. Policy holders have to bear these expenses from their own pockets.

• Pre-existing medical conditions
  Generally for pre-existing diseases most health plans have a lock-in period ranging between 2 to 4 years from the date of purchase of policy.


• Alternative therapy
  Most insurance companies do not provide coverage for the use of alternative therapies like Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Unani, magnetic therapy, acupressure, chiropractic, and other treatments.


• Lifestyle related conditions
  Diseases that relate to the lifestyle of the insured are not covered under health plans. Few examples for lifestyle disease can be lung and liver disease caused due to smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol respectively.


• Cosmetic treatments
  Cosmetic treatments to enhance physical appearances are not covered by health insurance companies. However, medically recommended cosmetic procedures such as plastic surgery to treat burns or an accident victim will be covered.


• Pregnancy and childbirth
  Many health policies do not provide coverage for childbirth and pregnancy related expenses. Similarly, infertility treatment and abortion are not covered.


• Diagnostic expenses
  Routine imaging or laboratory tests that are not covered under health policies unless they yield a positive result for any illness or injury that requires hospitalization.


• Dental, hearing, and vision
  Both dental, hearing and vision procedures are considered cosmetic in nature and are not covered under your health policy. These medical procedures generally do not require hospitalization.


• Injuries caused due to suicide attempt
  Injuries that are caused as a result of self-harm or suicide attempt are not covered under the health insurance plan.


• Waiting period clause
  Every insurance company has a general waiting period after which, one can avail all the benefits of the policy. It is very important for people to know before they invest in any insurance policy.


• Permanent Exclusions
  Injuries due to war, HIV, intentional injuries, congenital diseases, and others fall under this category of permanent exclusions.

There are two methods of payment of claims made by policyholders:

• Cashless option- In this option the treatment is taken from the network hospital and pre authorization is obtained from the Insurance provider/TPA. This option is an ideal method in case of planned surgeries or immediately on admission into the Hospital. It helps avoid the reimbursement formalities as medical bills are directly settled by the insurance company, provided the total bill amount falls within the assured limit and the hospital where treatment has been obtained is a network hospital.


• Reimbursement of Claims- In this option the Insured takes the treatment at hospital of his choice which is a non-Network Hospital, or if he opts to take the treatment even in Network hospital but he has neither taken the pre-approval from the Insurer. Here Policyholders first make all the payment to the hospital and subsequently submit all the necessary medical papers and prescriptions, investigation reports, bills/proof of payment and receipts to the TPA or the Insurance Company.. TPA and Insurer post verification of submitted documents and as per the terms and condition of the Policy, reimburses money to the claimant. All Individual Insurance policy claims can be made online following some general procedures and simple steps. Insurance representatives also work with their clients to ensure fast settlement of claims.

Some key benefits of buying an Insurance Policy online:

• Lower Cost- Most online life insurance products are at least 50% cheaper than their offline counterparts. When customers buy online insurance, they directly deal with an insurance company. Hence, they save on agents’ and the distributors’ commission. Also since the entire process requires less paperwork as it is done via the internet.
• Higher Sum Assured- Because of the low cost involvement in online policy the average sum assured tends to be higher as compared to offline individual insurance products.
• Empowering the customer- One of the biggest benefits that you can enjoy if you buy an Individual insurance policy online is that it allows you to make an informed decision. Insurance companies provide all the information regarding the product, its features, tenure and riders clearly on their website for prospective buyers. Buyers can easily check crucial factors like Claim settlement ratio, Reputation, claim process etc. your insurance provider:
• Easy reputation check- With rampant use of social media and the customer review forums, it has become easy to check the reputation of the insurer and the insurance product offered.
• Policy Document Security- By purchasing an insurance policy online you eliminate the chances of losing these important documents because you will have a soft copy available with you.

Individual insurance, also know as Personal insurance, is bought by those individuals want themselves enrolled for various Insurance plans covering individual’s health, motor, home & travel related expenses. This may be for several reasons: for instance, if one is self-employed; if they work for a small business that does not provide a health plan, or if they have a family and want personal insurance.

As per Motor Vehicles Act, it is mandatory for all vehicle-owner / operators using any public space to have a motor vehicle insurance cover. Even when opting for the basic insurance plans. There are many reasons why Motor vehicle insurance is mandatory in India. It becomes all the more important considering the high number of road- accidents, and resulting damages and deaths. policyholders must have at least 'third party liability' motor insurance cover.