Readers' Corner: General Insurance

Rakesh Jain, chief executive officer of Reliance General Insurance, answers your questions

I own an information technology firm. Should I take a cyber liability insurance policy, in addition to the regular fire and building policy?

Cyber liability coverage for claims from third parties are on account of:

• Unauthorised access to or dissemination of private information
• Infringement of copyright and trademark
• Defamation and invasion of privacy
• System security failures that result in harm to third-party systems
• System security failure resulting in the insured's systems being unavailable to its customers

First-party cyber crime expense for:

• Privacy notification
• Crisis management
• Forensic and PR consultants
• E-business interruption & E-vandalism

Is there a cap on room rent in all health insurance plans?

No, not all health policies come with a room rent capping. There are policies available without this but these could have a room-type capping, like a single AC private room. In such kind of policies, the room type is defined with no capping on room rent.

When I renewed my family floater health policy, the premium had increased, though there was no claim and the sum assured remained the same. Why didn't I get a higher sum assured, since there was no claim?

The premium could have generally increase on two counts. One, either one of the members would have entered into a new age band which commands a higher premium. Two, the company would have enhanced its rates across the product. It's not necessary that all policies offer a cumulative bonus (increase in sum insured) in the event of no claim. You can ask the company for providing you a higher sum insured but whether they grant you one would depend upon their underwriting guidelines and they may charge an additional premium.

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