Beginning January 1, 2009, individuals will soon have a choice of insurance covers for their motor cars and companies for their manufacturing plants and offices.
For motor car insurance, owners of vehicles could choose to pay a little higher premium and opt for getting 100 per cent claim amounts, or pay a little less and settle for a certain percentage of deduction from claims by the insurance firm. Currently, car owners have to bear 50 per cent of the cost of replacing rubber parts even if the damaged car is less than one year old.
Relaxing the terms and conditions of insurance coverages, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has allowed general insurance firms to provide insurance cover to immovable assets like laptops for loss or damage due to accidental electrical and mechanical breakdown. “If the premium is good for a high-end car, we can consider offering a no-depreciation (zero deduction from claims) cover for repairs,” said M Ramadoss, chairman and managing director, Oriental Insurance Company.
“Till now, only desktops could be insured under an engineering policy while laptops couldn’t as they are movable,” said R. Chandrashekaran, head (western region), India Insure Risk Management Services, an insurance broker. “With the IRDA relaxation, laptops can now be insured.”