Insurance companies are of two types, life insurance companies and
general insurance companies or non life insurance companies. General insurance companies insure everything except life and covers almost every risk which can be quantified. There are two types of general insurance companies named as standard and excess lines and the standard lines are the “main stream” general insurance companies.
There are several types of risk which are covered and insured by the
general insurance companies. Some of those risks are:
Business Insurance: This can be any kind of insurance which protects business against risks
Credit Insurance: Repays all or certain part of a loan when something unusual occurs with the policyholder
Crime Insurance: Insures the policyholder against any kind of loss due to criminal activity
Crop Insurance: This insurance is used to manage risks related to growing crop
Auto Insurance: It one of the most common form of general insurance
Financial Loss Insurance : Manages financial risks of the companies as well as the individuals
Liability Insurance: Covers legal claims against the insured
Environmental Liability Insurance: Manages risks due to release or escape of pollutants
Locked Funds Insurance: It is jointly issued by government and bank to protect public funds
Marine Insurance: Covers the ship-loss or damage at sea or inland water bodies
Property Insurance: Covers theft, weather damage, fire, flood, earthquake, etc.
An interesting fact about all the insurance companies is that they are also divided again as mutual or stock companies and also as reciprocals.
As general and life insurance are different in matter of term period, the regulatory laws are also different and general insurances also have different kind of tax and accounting rules.
General insurance premium is gaining gradual growth every year at a rate of almost 10 % and this boom is because of the huge participation of the advanced economies. As a whole, the global insurance industry is gaining strength from this boom.
There are several general insurance companies fulfilling the needs of the market. Some of those are:
Reliance General Insurance Company
ICICI Lombard
Tennessee Farmer Insurance
Illinois Farmer Insurances
Tata AIG General Insurance
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company
