Why do you need insurance?
What Is The Real Purpose Of Insurance
Insurance is a way of managing risks. When you buy insurance, you transfer the cost of a potential loss to the insurance company in exchange for a fee, known as the premium. Insurance companies invest the funds securely, so it can grow, and payout when there’s a claim. The life and property of an individual are surrounded by the risk of death, disability or destruction. These risks may result in financial losses. Insurance is a prudent way to transfer such risks to an insurance company.
What is Insurance?
Insurance is defined as a contract, which is called a policy, in which an individual or organisation receives financial protection and reimbursement of damages from the insurer or the insurance company. As part of the contract, the insurance company promises to make good the losses of the insured on happening of the insured contingency. The contingency is the event which causes a loss. It can be the death of the policyholder or damage/destruction of the property. There’s uncertainty regarding the happening of the event and therefore it is termed as a contingency. The life insured pays a premium in return for the promise made by the insurer.
Why is Insurance Needed?
Here are some of the reasons why insurance could prove to be essential:
Insurance plans will help you pay for medical emergencies, hospitalization, contraction of any illnesses and treatment, and medical care required in the future.
The financial loss to the family due to the unfortunate death of the sole earner can be covered by insurance plans. The family can also repay any debts like home loans or other debts which the person insured may have incurred in his/her lifetime.
Insurance plans will help your family maintain their standard of living in case you are not around in the future. This will help them cover the costs of running the household through the insurance lump sum payout. The insurance money will give your family some much-needed breathing space along with coverage for all expenditure in case of death/accident/medical emergency of the policyholder.
Insurance plans will help in protecting the future of your child in terms of his/her education. They will make sure that your children are financially secured while pursuing their dreams and ambitions without any compromises, even when you are not around.
Many insurance plans come with savings and investment schemes along with regular coverage. These help in building wealth/savings for the future through regular investments. You pay premiums regularly and a portion of the same goes towards life coverage while the other portion goes towards either a savings plan or investment plan, whichever you choose based on your future goals and needs.
Insurance helps protect your home in the event of any unforeseen calamity or damage. Your home insurance plan will help you get coverage for damages to your home and pay for the cost of repairs or rebuilding, whichever is needed. If you have coverage for valuables and items inside the house, then you can purchase replacement items with the insurance money.
What are the Different Types of Insurance Policies?
There are several types of insurance plans available. Some of the commonly preferred ones include the following:
Life Insurance: Life insurance is what you can avail to safeguard your family in case of your death during the tenor of the policy. Term insurance is the most basic form of life insurance available to buyers. Life insurance helps secure your family financially with a lump sum amount that is paid out in the event of the policy holder’s death within the policy period.
Health Insurance: This is purchased for covering medical expenses revolving around various health issues, including hospitalization, treatments and so on. These insurance plans come in handy in case of medical emergencies; you can also avail of cashless facility across network hospitals of the insurer.
Child Plans: These insurance policies are savings instruments that help in generating lump sum funds whenever children reach a certain age for pursuing higher studies. In these plans, the life assured is that of the child or the recipient of the funds while the parents are the policy owners.
Home Insurance: These insurance plans cover any damages to the home on account of accidents, mishaps and natural calamities, among other such events.
Auto Insurance: These are insurance plans for vehicles, including cars and bikes. These offer protection against natural calamities, damages to third parties (people who have incurred losses or been hurt in an accident with the policyholder’s vehicle) and also damages to the vehicle along with mishaps and accidents.
How do Insurance Policies Work?
Individuals and companies can seek insurance from an insurance company, however, the decision to provide insurance is at the discretion of the insurance company. The insurance company would evaluate the claim application to make a decision. Insurance companies generally do not provide insurance to high-risk applicants.
The insurer and the insured enter into a legal contract for the insurance, which is called the insurance policy. This contract or insurance policy has details about the conditions and circumstances under which the insurance company will pay out the insurance amount to either the insured person or the nominees.
Insurance is a way of protecting yourself and your family from a financial loss. Generally, the premium for a big insurance cover is much lesser in terms of money paid. The insurance company takes this risk of providing a high cover for a small premium because very few insured people end up claiming the insurance. This is why you get insurance for a big amount at a low price.
FAQs
What is a life insurance policy?
A Life Insurance policy is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company wherein the later promises to pay a predefined amount called sum insured to the beneficiary /nominee after the death of the life insured, within the policy period. While the policyholder, to avail the benefits, agrees to pay premiums for a certain period either monthly, half-yearly or yearly.
Can I get my policy cancelled once bought?
Yes, if you do not agree to any of the terms or conditions under the policy, you can get it cancelled within the free-look period stating the reason. In a life insurance policy, the free-look period is 15 days from the date of receiving policy documents.
Why do I need Insurance?
Insurance is a hedge against the occurrence of unforeseen incidents. Insurance products help you in not only mitigating risks but also helps you by providing a financial cushion against adverse financial burdens suffered.
End Note
Whether it is life insurance, health insurance or general insurance, one can easily buy an insurance policy offline as well as online. Today, many websites can allow you to get a policy from. Make sure that you conduct basic research before choosing and investing in an insurance policy.
