Ask Mint Money | Rahul Aggarwal
Ask Mint Money | Rahul Aggarwal
I have got a new phone worth ₹ 32,000. This is the first investment I have made after I got my first job. I want to know if there is any insurance for such a product and how to go about it.
—Snigdha Ghosh
Insurance policies do not cover losses due to mysterious disappearance or misplacing of items. Mobile phones are prone to getting misplaced. Insurers refuse such claims and this leads to acrimony between the insured and the insurer. Electronic gadgets in general and mobiles and laptops in particular also become obsolete or get upgraded very fast. This reduces the market value of the insured item. In case of a loss, the insurers pay the market value, which is very less compared with the price at which the item was bought or insured. This again is a source of discord.
Therefore, insurance companies do not cover portable electronic items such as mobile phones, cameras, laptops unless they are a part of a large corporate portfolio.
I got married last month and bought a lot of new items to set up my new house. The prices of goods I have purchased range from ₹ 3,000 to ₹ 50,000. Is there any insurance policy which can insure my belongings as I am in a transferable job and keep changing locations every two years?
—Payel Sinha
You can get a cover for all your household items under a householder’s policy. The policy covers the risk of fire, earthquake, storm, floods and burglary to household items. You can also get a cover for your furniture, clothes, linen, electronic gadgets and electrical items under the policy.
The policy will mention your current house address. When you get transferred you can always get the house address changed. You can also get the policy renewed from the local office of the insurer in any city for your convenience.
I have got a health insurance policy from my employer for ₹ 50,000. Please advise which other health insurance I can opt to ensure maximum cover with minimum premium.
—Shantanu Duggal
The cover provided by your employer is bare minimum. Depending upon your age and city of residence, the sum insured for the health insurance cover should be between ₹ 1 lakh and ₹ 5 lakh. Your health insurance should also cover your family members.
The important things that you should consider while taking a policy are the size of the network of hospitals where cashless treatment can be taken, the number of years after which the insurer starts covering pre-existing diseases and the number of ailments that are covered under daycare expenses provided under the cover. The premium is not very important because the difference is in the range of 5-10% among most insurers.
Queries and views at mintmoney@livemint.com
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