General Insurance: Gaurav Garg

I was supposed to travel to Europe in the coming winter break. I had even purchased an insurance policy covering my wife and myself. However, our plans stand cancelled due to a death in her family. Will the insurer cover the cancellation fees charged by the tour operator?
If the policy you purchased has a Trip Cancellation Benefit, then any charges levied on account of cancellation are reimbursable by the insurance company. Most companies define a family member in specific relationships.

Hence, if the deceased member was covered under the policy, you could claim for cancellation. It has to be a close family member and not a distant relative for the insurer to refund the charges. For instance, parents and siblings could be covered but second cousins may not.

My daughter recently got a learner’s driving licence and has been driving my car since. The car is in my wife’s name and so is the insurance policy. Can I get her designated as the second driver in the policy and have her covered? Then, in case of a claim, for example, if another car is hit and damaged while she is driving, will the insurer cover the loss incurred under third party cover?
Motor policy, including third party policy, covers the risk if the vehicle is being driven by a person who holds a valid and effective driving licence and that includes a learner's licence. However, a person holding a learner's licence must comply with Rule 3 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. That is, he/she must be accompanied by an instructor holding an effective licence and sitting in such a position that he/she can control or stop the vehicle.

There should also be an ‘L’ painted on the front and the rear windshield or on a plate or card affixed on the vehicle. The ‘L’ should be painted in red on a white background and be of a specified size.

The writer is the MD and CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance