The insurance for my bike expired on January 14, 2012. Unfortunately, I met with an accident just a few days after that. When I informed the insurer about the incident, they said my insurance had expired two days back. But, why isn’t the grace period to make my premium payment considered? Is there any action I can take against the insurer?
While many health and life insurance policies offer a grace period up to 30 days there is no grace period available for renewal of motor insurance policy. The policy has to be renewed before its expiry date. Most insurers follow up for the renewal well in advance. Hence, it is important to update your latest contact details like address and mobile number with the insurer to get the renewal reminder in advance. In case you haven’t renewed the policy yet, you should approach the insurer immediately as most companies offer insurance coverage post vehicle inspection.
I have a personal accident policy for Rs 3 lakh. An insurance agent said it is not enough and I must go for a comprehensive policy. Could you help me understand what that means? Please advice on the sum assured that I would require.
Personal accident policies provide an insurance cover against death or permanent total disability due to an accident. Additional covers like permanent partial disability, temporary total disability and medical expenses due to an accident are also offered in the same policy. A broad rule for determining the sum insured level should be four to five times your annual salary.
A personal accident policy provides for a lump sum benefit in the case of an accident whereas a comprehensive health insurance policy provides for reimbursement against hospitalisation due to any illness or accident. Thus, a comprehensive health insurance policy has wider coverage compared to a personal accident policy, which does not take into account the inpatient hospitalisation expenses due to any sickness/ailment.
It is advisable to have a health insurance policy covering yourself and your family members. There is typically a wide choice of sum insured along with a variety of additional covers, such as maternity, critical illness, outpatient treatment, new born baby cover, wellness, preventive health-care, hospital daily cash, nursing at home covers and road emergency ambulance.
The writer is MD & CEO, ICICI Lombard General Insurance