General Insurance: Rakesh Jain

I have just started my own online business. Are there covers available for small businesses?
Depending on the nature of your business, there are various covers available. To name a few:

• Package policy for the office premises and furniture, fixtures and equipment in the office that give protection against fires, burglary, accidental damage and so on
• Group health and personal accident covers for your employees
• Vehicle insurance for company registered vehicles
• General liability policy to take care of any third-party liability that may be bought upon you and arising in your own premises. In case you are in the business of selling any goods online, you may also opt for a marine policy that will cover your goods' transit as you ship these to customers.

I have a differently abled child. She is 12 and doctors say as she ages, she could have multiple health issues. I would want to buy a health policy for her. I am willing to pay a higher premium. Do insurance companies cover such individuals? How much would the annual cost be?
Insurance companies undertake unknown risks. While pricing a product, the insurance company takes into account the financial obligations which may accrue to them on account of unknown risks. It becomes very difficult to effectively price a condition or payout. Hence, each company has its underwriting criteria for acceptance of an individual, depending upon multiple factors like age, medical status and so on. You will have to approach each of these to ascertain whether they would be willing to cover your child, albeit on a lower sum insured.

There are many high-value health insurance covers being launched these days. Isn't a health cover of Rs 10 lakh sufficient? I, 45, own a Rs 10-lakh family floater cover, which covers my two children (aged 10 and seven), my wife (40) and me. Who would you advise goes for health covers of more than Rs 10 lakh?
The primary criteria that should decide medical cover amount are number of family members to be insured and age, lifestyle and history of health issues/treatment, and the city the family lives in. With the medical inflation rate rising rapidly, especially in large cities, one must opt for a larger insurance cover, accordingly. In case of your family, a Rs 10-lakh cover seems adequate for now. However, you may opt for a bigger cover if you live in a city with expensive medical care.

The views expressed are expert's own. Send your queries to yourmoney@bsmail.in

Today, Rakesh Jain, Chief Executive Officer of Reliance General Insurance, answers your questions