Varsha who works at a media office in Ahmedabad met with an accident on her way to work. She was rushed to the hospital where she was treated for four days before being discharged. The hospital bill amounted to about Rs.60,000.
Fortunately, she had a health insurance cover of Rs.3,00,000. The hospitalization and treatment charges were taken care of by the insurer. Had there been no insurance coverage, she would have had to pay the entire amount out of her own pocket.
Insurance is your cushion against unexpected financial losses or damages. An insurance policy is what Varsha signed with the insurance company which was a legal statement of her agreement with the company, which agreed to cover costs in case of a damage, in exchange for a periodic premium paid by her.
Here, the company is the ‘insurer’ while Varsha is the ‘policyholder’ as well as the ‘insured’. A policyholder is not always the same as the ‘insured’. Such cases will be explained further in this read.
Insurance is not only procured by individuals but also by businesses to insure against specific types of risks. Premium, Deductible and the Policy Limit are three essential components of an insurance policy. A good understanding of what all an insurance policy entails can be gathered by enrolling in the taxation course in Ahmedabad.
Components Of An Insurance Policy
- Premium – A premium is a regular payment – annual, semi-annual or monthly —made by the policyholder to the insurance company for purchasing a policy. The amount of the premium depends on factors like the type of coverage (business-specific, medical insurance, home insurance etc.), the amount of total coverage, an individual’s insurance history (to determine risk factors), as well as competition in the insurance industry. Higher the risk factors, more the amount of premium you have to pay.
- Deductible – It is the amount that a policyholder has to pay on her own while the insurer pays a claim. Deductibles are meant to work as disincentives against minor or insignificant claims. The policyholder usually has the choice to decide their deductible. As a general rule, higher the deductible, lower is the premium and vice versa.
Policy Limit – It is the maximum amount the insurance company will pay for a covered claim. These maximum amounts can be determined per-damage, per-time-period or over a policy’s lifetime. Higher policy limits have higher premiums.
Policy limits can vary within a policy according to various aspects of the damage. To delve into understanding these, one may consider taking the tax practitioner course in Ahmedabad.
Types Of Insurance Policies
Life Insurance or Term Plan
It is particularly an essential coverage in cases where the beneficiaries are heavily dependent on the insured person. Life insurance policies promise to compensate the beneficiaries of the insured person, in case they expire during the policy term, or after a set period. The payment made for life insurance is deductible under section 80C of Income Tax Act,1961. To know details about how much you can save as tax you can learn by taxation course in Ahmedabad.
Health Insurance
For medical emergencies, health insurance covers the costs of treatment, hospitalization and medication. Health insurance plans in India also come with tax benefits on premiums as mentioned in section 80D of Income Tax Act, 1961. Types of Health insurance plans include
- Individual plans
- Family plans
- Senior Citizen plans
- Critical Illness plans
- Maternity plans
- Group plans
- Unit Linked health plans
- Coronavirus plans
Employees these days are mostly covered under Group insurance plans by employers, who pay the premium instead of the employees.The same is allowable expense for the company. Though the amount is usually not great, yet it is advisable to be covered under such plans since some benefits still count against zero-premium paid.
Vehicle Insurance
It ensures monetary compensation in case of any accidents that may have led to the damage of the motor vehicle. A four-wheeler insurance policy is mandatory in India as per the Motor Vehicle Act 1988.
Vehicle insurance includes all expenses in case of death and damage suffered due to collisions or natural calamities, hospitalization expenses in the event of an accident, legal/financial damages due to third party liability, as well as rider benefits like roadside assistance. Major types of car insurance plans available in India are –
- Comprehensive car insurance: Insures car damages and third-party liability cover
- Third-Party car insurance: Only third-party legal liability cover
- Pay as you drive insurance: Insurance premiums are decided by the kilometres driven (suitable for people who own more than one car, and each of the vehicles is not used very frequently)
The taxation training in Ahmedabad is a good option to consider if one wants to learn about new policy developments like the ‘Pay as you drive insurance’, that are created as a response to changing lifestyles and newer needs.
Education Insurance
Securing their child’s future is the biggest concern of a parent. Education insurance policies aid in the same by providing an amount of education cost when the child is ready to indulge in higher education; 18 years of age and above. This is the kind of policy where the ‘policyholder’ is not the same as the ‘insured’. Here, the parent/guardian is the policyholder while the child is the insured.
Home Insurance
It covers all expenses in case of damages incurred to a house due to any sort of physical damage caused either due to human-caused accidents or natural calamities. Home insurance covers not only the building or structure but also the contents of the house and any other detached structures that may be a part of it. Home insurances are aimed at providing indemnities for a variety of damages and include-
- Fire and Special perils
- Public Liability cover
- Building structure insurance
- Burglary or Theft
- Personal accident
- Contents insurance
- Landlord insurance
- Tenant insurance
Professional Liability Insurance
It ensures professionals like lawyers, trainers, tax preparers, accountants, doctors, beauticians and so on, against claims of damage made by clients. It indemnifies professional liability for the policy period only. The cover is provided mainly on a claims-made basis.
The aspect of a retroactive date is also available in the case of Professional Liability Insurance, which means that damages caused before the beginning of the policy period, which is being claimed during the policy period, are also covered.
Knowledge about insurance and its acute parts and mechanisms can be expanded by enrolling in the best tax course provider in Ahmedabad. A deeper understanding will help one to better analyze and choose the perfect insurance needed for a specific case and time. Knowledge so gathered will assist in making wiser decisions when choosing financial safety nets for oneself or clients.