General Insurance (Non-life)

General insurance is an insurance policy other than ‘Life Insurance’. The coverage period for most general insurance policies and plans is usually one year, whereby premiums are normally paid on a one-time basis. However, there are few products that are long-term.

The risks that are covered by general insurance are:
• Property losses, for example, stolen car or burnt house
• Liability arising from damage caused by yourself to a third party
• Accidental death or injury
• Errors and Omission insurance for professionals
• Credit insurance

The main products of general insurance includes:
• Motor insurance
• Fire / Houseowners/ Householders insurance
• Personal accident insurance
• Medical and health insurance
• Travel insurance

The general or non-life companies also offer policies covering machinery against breakdown, there are policies that cover the hull of ships and so on. A Marine Cargo policy covers goods in transit including by sea, air and road. Further, insurance of motor vehicles against damages and theft forms a major chunk of non-life insurance business.

In respect of insurance of property, it is important that the cover is taken for the actual value of the property to avoid being imposed a penalty should there be a claim. Where a property is undervalued for the purposes of insurance, the insured will have to bear a rateable proportion of the loss. For instance if the value of a property is RM100,000 and it is insured for RM50,000, in the event of a loss to the extent of say RM50,000, the maximum claim amount payable would be RM25,000 (50% of the loss being borne by the insured for underinsuring the property by 50% ). This concept is quite often not understood by most insureds.

Personal insurance covers include policies for Accident, Health etc. Products offering Personal Accident cover are benefit policies. Health insurance covers offered by non-life insurers are mainly hospitalization covers either on reimbursement or cashless basis. The cashless service is offered through Third Party Administrators who have arrangements with various service providers, i.e., hospitals. The Third Party Administrators also provide service for reimbursement claims. Sometimes the insurers themselves process reimbursement claims.

Accident and health insurance policies are available for individuals as well as groups. A group could be a group of employees of an organization or holders of credit cards or deposit holders in a bank etc. Normally when a group is covered, insurers offer group discounts.

Liability insurance covers such as Motor Third Party Liability Insurance, Workmen’s Compensation Policy etc offer cover against legal liabilities that may arise under the respective statutes— Motor Vehicles Act, The Workmen’s Compensation Act etc. Some of the covers such as the foregoing (Motor Third Party and Workmen’s Compensation policy) are compulsory by statute. Liability Insurance not compulsory by statute is also gaining popularity these days. Many industries insure against Public liability. There are liability covers available for Products as well.

There are general insurance products that are in the nature of package policies offering a combination of the covers mentioned above. For instance, there are package policies available for householders, shop keepers and also for professionals such as doctors, chartered accountants etc. Apart from offering standard covers, insurers also offer customized or tailor-made ones.

Suitable general Insurance covers are necessary for every family. It is important to protect one’s property, which one might have acquired from one’s hard earned income. A loss or damage to one’s property can leave one shattered. Losses created by catastrophes such as the tsunami, earthquakes, cyclones etc have left many homeless and penniless. Such losses can be devastating but insurance could help mitigate them. Property can be covered, so also the people against Personal Accident. A Health Insurance policy can provide financial relief to a person undergoing medical treatment whether due to a disease or an injury.

Industries also need to protect themselves by obtaining insurance covers to protect their building, machinery, stocks etc. They need to cover their liabilities as well. Financiers insist on insurance. So, most industries or businesses that are financed by banks and other institutions do obtain covers. But are they obtaining the right covers? And are they insuring adequately are questions that need to be given some thought. Also organizations or industries that are self-financed should ensure that they are protected by insurance.