Published in Mint on 2 February, 2016, Written by Abhishek Bondia
Is there an insurance that can be taken for a pet’s healthcare?
—Kunal Rudranath
Policies to cover medical expenditure to treat a pet are not prevalent. Some insurers offer insurance for pets, such as dogs, to cover their life. So, if the dog dies due to an accident or disease, the sum assured is paid to the owner. Such policies can have several extensions such as burglary and accidental poisoning.
Is a travel insurance valid on foreign trips? How do I make a claim?
—Ashutosh Mishra
Yes, travel insurance is meant to cover foreign trips. Travel insurance has multiple components, which includes emergency hospitalisation, loss of baggage, and personal accidents. For all claims under the policy, you can claim reimbursement from your insurer after you come back to India. You should inform the insurer immediately on occurrence of loss over phone or mail. Once you return to India, you can submit the necessary bills and documents for reimbursement.
Specifically for emergency hospitalisation, there is an additional provision to get a cashless claim. Most insurers have a tie-up with an international network of hospitals in major countries. At the time of hospitalisation, you can share your travel insurance details with the network hospital. It will coordinate with your insurer and process the claim.
I have bought a house and furnished it recently. Can I insure all my furniture and fittings? What is the process for this?
—Kashi Singh
You can insure all contents of your house, including furniture and fittings. These can be insured for fire, natural calamities such as earthquake or flood, riot, burglary and a host of other perils.
As a first step, you need to estimate the amount of sum assured at risk. Making a list of all assets is ideal. However, an estimate of the total value of all contents with a broad classification is also accepted. Thereafter, at the time of purchasing the policy, you should get them endorsed. There are certain home insurance products where the sum assured is pre-defined. In this case, irrespective of the actual value of the contents, the insurer offers coverage for the pre-defined sum assured. This helps in faster issuance and ease of administration.
I have a health insurance policy. I want to get one for my wife. Should I ask the insurer to include her in my policy or buy a new one for her? I pay an annual premium of Rs. 12,000.
—Ramesh K.
Both options are possible. At the time of renewal of the policy, you can request the insurer to convert your plan to a family floater to include your wife. If the renewal date is far away, you could buy a new plan for your wife. Premiums for a family floater often work out to be cheaper as the sum assured is shared among the family. You would do well to increase the family floater sum assured to cater for a larger family.
Media
