In India, insurance business is divided into four classes, life insurance deals with life & general with the rest.
Life - insurance upon human life, including any contract whereby the payment of money is assured on death (except by accident) or happening of any contingency dependent on human life.
Fire - insurance against loss by incidental to fire or other occurrence customarily included among the risks insured against in fire insurance policies.
Miscellaneous - insurance upon vessels of any description including cargos, freights, goods/wares/merchandise/property of whatever description insured for any transit by land or water or both and whether or not including warehouse risks or similar risks in addition or as incidental to such transit.
Marine - insurance which are not principally or wholly of any kind/kinds included in life, fire, and marine insurance.
A part of the premium paid goes towards payment of fees and other charges, another part towards buying the insurance cover, remaining are invested in funds. Based on the investments, insurance plans can be of two types:
Unit Linked Insurance Plans - here, insured chooses the investments.
Traditional Plans - here, the insurance company chooses the investments, insured has no knowledge of returns, break-up etc.
Based on the term i.e. period covered, they are of two types
Whole-life - they cover a person for the entire life. Favorable only for people with many dependents whose financials are not good e.g.: sole breadwinners of the family.
Term-life - they provide cover for only a certain number of years. They are normally suitable for the general public.
Insurance works by pooling-in. The exposure to risk is covered by pooling in money from a large number of people who are exposed to that risk. You pay for the probability of the occurrence of an event, as a protection against loss in case the event does occur.
We try to reason out why individuals should go for insurance
It gives them protection against loss due to a particular event.
The amount invested on insurance is free from tax.
On maturity, they may get the entire amount, plus, gains made through their premiums.
Here, we reason why insurance companies offer insurance to general public.
The business model of insurance companies ia given by a simple equation : Profits=earned premium + investment income - underwriting expenses. Earned premium is the premium paid by the insured, investment income is the income generated due to investments, underwriting expenses is the claims & expenses in excess of investment income and premium.
Life
Health
Group
Life Insurance
Life insurance meets dual needs - saving for life's important goals, and protecting assets.
Asset protection - through life insurance, the financial interests of one's family remain protected from circumstances such as loss of income due to critical illness or death of the policy holder.
Goal based savings - insurers offer different life insurance schemes for people with different needs to suit their goals.
Following are the life insurance plans offered by ICICI Prudential.
Educational Insurance Plans
SmartKid New Unit-linked Regular Premium (ULIP)
SmartKid New Unit-linked Single Premium (ULIP)
SmartKid Regular Premium (Traditional)
Wealth Creation Plans
Life Stage Assure
Life Time Gold
Life Link Super
PremierLife Gold
Life Stage Rp
Protection Plans
Health insurance is generally regarded as the insurance that pays for medical expenses. It may also include disability and long-term nursing or custodial care needs.
Hospitalization Plans
MediAssure
Hospital Care
Critical illness Plan
Crisis Cover
Health Assure Plus
Cancer Products
Cancer care
Cancer care Plus
Diabetes Products
Diabetes Care Active
Diabetes Care
Diabetes Care Plus
Diabetes Assure
Group Super Annuation.
Group Gratuity Plan.
Annuity Solutions.
Group Term Insurance Plan.
Group Term Insurance in lieu of EDLI.
Group Super Annuation: This flexible plan for both, defined benefit and defined contribution, provides retirement & tax benefits applicable to an approved superannuation trust.
Group Gratuity Plan: This hassle-free plan enables you to effortlessly fund your statutory gratuity obligation.
Annuity Solutions: This suite of retirement plans enables you to provide your employees with a steady income all through their retired lives.
Group Term Insurance Plan: This insurance plan provides affordable cover to all your employees.
Group Term Insurance in lieu of EDLI: This plan is certified by Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) as a superior alternative to Employee's Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme