What is an Insurance?

An Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.

An entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer, an insurance company, an insurance carrier or an underwriter. A person or entity who buys insurance is known as an insured or as a policyholder. The insurance transaction involves the insured assuming a guaranteed and known - relatively small - loss in the form of payment to the insurer in exchange for the insurer's promise to compensate the insured in the event of a covered loss. The loss may or may not be financial, but it must be reducible to financial terms, and usually involves something in which the insured has an insurable interest established by ownership, possession, or pre-existing relationship.

The insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insurer will compensate the insured. The amount of money charged by the insurer to the policyholder for the coverage set forth in the insurance policy is called the premium. If the insured experiences a loss which is potentially covered by the insurance policy, the insured submits a claim to the insurer for processing by a claims adjuster. The insurer may hedge its own risk by taking out reinsurance, whereby another insurance company agrees to carry some of the risks, especially if the primary insurer deems the risk too large for it to carry.

There are basically two kind of insurance available in India?

1. Life Insurance, and
2. General Insurance.

Life Insurance - Meaning

Life Insurance can be defined as a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurance company, where the insurer promises to pay a sum of money in exchange for a premium, upon the death of an insured person or after a set period. Here, at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, you pay premiums for a specific term and in return, we provide you with a Life Cover. This Life Cover secures your loved ones’ future by paying a lump sum amount in case of an unfortunate event. In some policies, you are paid an amount called Maturity Benefit at the end of the policy term.

There are two basic types of Life Insurance plans -

1. Pure Protection1.
2. Protection and Savings

What is Pure Protection Plan?

A Pure Protection plan is designed to secure your family’s future by providing a lump sum amount, in your absence.

What is Protection and Savings Plan?

A Protection and Savings plan is a financial tool that helps you plan for your long-term goals like purchasing a home, funding your children’s education, and more, while offering the benefits of a Life Cover.

Click here to know more about different types of Life Insurance Plans.

Let us understand some commonly used terms in Life Insurance:

• Life Assured: It is the person who is covered under the insurance policy
• Proposer: It is the person who pays the premiums of the policy. For example: If you have bought the policy for yourself, then you are both the Life Assured as well as the Proposer. Similarly, if you purchase an insurance policy for a family member, then you are the proposer and the family member is the Life Assured.
• Nominee or Beneficiary: It is the person you appoint at the time of buying the policy to receive the benefits of your insurance policy, in your absence.
• Insurer: The insurance company that sells the life insurance policy is called the Insurer (for example, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance).
• Life Cover: It is the amount that the Insurer will pay to your Nominee in case of an unfortunate event.
• Maturity Benefit: For Protection + Savings policies, the Insurer pays a certain lump sum of money on completion of the policy term. This amount is known as the Maturity Amount.
• Premium: A premium is the amount you pay to the insurer for receiving the benefits of the insurance policy. These payments can be made on a regular basis throughout the policy duration, for a limited number of years or just once, as per the options available under the policy you choose.
• Premium Payment Term: The number of years for which you pay the premiums is known as the Premium Payment Term.
• Policy Term: The number of years for which the Life Cover continues.

General Insurance - Meaning

Insurance contracts that do not come under the ambit of life insurance are called general insurance. The different forms of general insurance are fire, marine, motor, accident and other miscellaneous non-lifeinsurance.

Description: The tangible assets are susceptible to damages and a need to protect the economic value of the assets is needed. For this purpose, general insurance products are bought as they provide protection against unforeseeable contingencies like damage and loss of the asset. Like life insurance, general insurance products come at a price in the form of premium.

General Insurance are further classified as:

1. Health Insurance
2. Asset Insurance.