Insurance Complete Notes
Insurance Complete Notes
. Insurance is a mechanism by which the person exposed to the potential risk, arising out of the events
beyond his control, transfers the financial loss, in part or in full to a third party.
.[Type here] whose risk is insured is called ‘insure’ and the firm which insures the risk of loss is known as
The person
the insurer/assurance underwriter.
. The agreement/ contract is put in writing and is known as policy
. The insurer provides coverage for the potential financial loss for a fee or a consideration which is called the
premium.
. The client/ insured agrees to pay a premium to the insurance company. Such premium may be a fixed
amount that is payable in a single payment or it may be paid as a periodical payment, depending upon the
type and terms of the insurance.
. Instead of the payment of such premium, the insurance company agrees to make some payment to the
client or bear the costs of the client due to financial loss incurred on the occurrence of certain events.
houses get burnt, resulting in a loss of Rs. 8,00,000. If all the 500 house-owners come together and
contribute Rs. 1,600 each, that will be sufficient to cover the risk of up to 4 houses getting damaged on
fire. Thus the risk of 4 house owners gets distributed to 500 house-owners. This is also called as Law of
Large Numbers.
. Thus, insurance is a cooperative device where the risk is spread over among large insurable public. The
losses occurring to one are borne by the society of insured people. “ All for one and one for all” is the basis
of cooperation.
pg. 2
FUNCTIONS OF INSURANCE
• Providing certainty – Insurance provides certainty of payment for the risk of loss due to uncertain
events.
• Protection
[Type here] - Insurance cannot prevent the risk/ loss from occurring but can compensate for losses
arising out of it.
• Risk sharing – In insurance, the loss likely to be caused by an uncertain event is spread over several
persons who are exposed to it and who prepare to insure themselves against such an event.
• Assist in capital formation - The accumulated funds of the insurer received by way of premium
payments are invested in various income-generating schemes.
.
The modern form of life insurance came to India from England in the year 1818.
Oriental Life Insurance Company was started by Europeans to look after the needs of the European
. community and Indians were not insured by these companies. This Company however failed in 1834.
Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society heralded the birth of the first Indian life insurance company in the
. Later foreign insurance companies started insuring Indian lives but treated them as sub-standard lives and
.
year 1870 and insured Indian life at normal rates.
Bharat Insurance Company (1896) was also one such company inspired by nationalism.
.. The Swadeshi movement of 1905 – 1907 gave rise to more insurance companies including United India in
Madras, National India, National Insurance in Kolkata, and Co-operative Assurance in Lahore.
pg. 3
. In the year 1912, the Life Assurance Companies Act and the Provident fund act were passed , The Indian
Life Assurance Companies Act, of 1912 made it necessary that the premium rate tables and periodical
.
valuations of the companies should be certified by an actuary.
But the act discriminated between foreign and Indian companies on many accounts, putting the Indian
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companies at a disadvantage.
. In 1938 to protect the interest of the Indian insurance companies, the earlier legislation was amended with
the enactment of the Insurance Act 1938 , which consist of comprehensive provisions for effective control
.
over the activities of insurers or insurance organizations.
19th January 1956, life insurance in India was nationalised. About 154 Indian insurance companies, 16
non-Indian companies and 75 Provident societies were operating in India at the time of nationalisation.
Nationalization was accomplished in two stages; initially, the management of the companies was taken
.
over using an Ordinance, and later, the ownership too using a comprehensive bill.
The parliament of India passed the Life Insurance Corporation Act in June 1956 which was created on 1
September 1956 to spread life insurance much more widely and in particular to the rural areas to reach all
insurable persons in the country, providing them adequate financial cover at a reasonable cost. st
1818: Oriental Life Insurance Company , the first life insurance company on Indian soil started functioning.
1870 : Bombay Mutual Life Assurance Society , the first Indian life insurance company started its business.
1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act was enacted as the first statute to regulate the life
insurance business.
1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act was enacted to enable the government to collect statistical
information about both life and non-life insurance businesses.
1938: Earlier legislation was consolidated and amended by the Insurance Act to protect the insuring
public's interests
1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies are nationalised by the central government.
LIC was formed. by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956 , with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crores from
the Government of India.
1957: General Insurance Council , a wing of the Insurance Association of India, frames a code of conduct
PRINCIPLES OF INSURANCE
Utmost good faith
(contract of uberrimae fidei)
. Both the insurer and the insured should display good faith towards each other regarding the contract.
. It is the duty of the insured to voluntarily make full, accurate disclosure of all facts, and material to the risk
being proposed and the insurer to make clear all the terms and conditions in the insurance contract.
. The insurer may decide to terminate the insurance contract if the insured fails to disclose significant
information.
Indemnity
. The principle of Indemnity states that the insured shall be compensated appropriately for the losses
to the goods by the insurer, only to the extent that the insured does not make a profit out of the loss that
occurred.
. For example , Mr A insured his goods worth Rs 10 lakhs. Part of the goods got damaged when a fire broke
out in the warehouse. He claimed a full 10 lakhs as compensation. Upon examination, it was found that only
goods worth Rs 2 lakh were damaged. Now, only Rs 2 lakh will be provided to him.
. The limit of the compensation is always subject to the sum insured and the terms and conditions that govern
the policy.
. All insurance contracts of fire or marine insurance are contracts of indemnity and the principle of indemnity
does not apply to life insurance.
Proximate Cause
.. The term proximate cause refers to the nearest cause leading to the loss.
. An insurance policy is designed to provide compensation only for such losses which are stated in the policy.
. The term "proximate cause" refers to the immediate, dominating, and most effective cause of a loss when
warehouse, several of the goods were destroyed. He filed a claim with the insurance company for Rs. 10
lakhs in damages. The proximate cause of damage is water leakage. He had fire insurance on the goods,
therefore he won't be compensated for the loss.
This is because the insured should not be allowed to make any profit, by selling the damaged property or in
the case of lost property being recovered.
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Contribution
. The principle of contribution states that if the loss arises and you have taken more than one insurance
policy, then the loss will be covered by all policies based on the proportion of the coverage the insurance
policy provides.
. That means the insured will have no right to recover more than the full amount of his actual loss.
. And It is the right of an insurer who has paid a claim under insurance, to call upon other liable insurers to
contribute to the loss of payment
. For example , Kapil has taken health insurance from 2 health insurance providers, say A and B. Coverage
amounts are as follows:
A. Rs 4 Lakh
B. Rs 6 Lakh
. Now suppose he gets admitted and the total claim is Rs 2 lakhs. Kapil decides to use a policy from A
Insurance and got paid Rs 2 lakhs. Kapil now goes to B and demands his claim again. Now he is not eligible
since he has already received the claim.
. However, Company A has the right to claim Rs 1.2 lakh from Company B.
Mitigation
. This principle states that it is the duty of the insured to take reasonable steps to minimise the loss or
premium amount. Thus, insurers have two sources of income- Insurance premium and investment income
(income from investment of premiums received)
TYPES OF INSURANCE
LIFE INSURANCE
.
.
A life insurance policy is a protection against the uncertainty of life.
Life insurance is a contract in which the insurer agrees to pay to the insured, (or to the person for whose
benefit the policy is taken), the assured sum of money, either on the death of the person or on his
. Premiums under Term insurance products are relatively the lowest as they do not have any savings
component. This is the cheapest of all the Life insurance policies. Premium depends upon the age of the
life insured. Higher the age, the higher the premium, as the risk taken by the life insurance company
increases with age.
. The premium will be payable for a fixed period (20 or 30 years) or the whole life of the assured. If the
premium is payable for a fixed period, the policy will continue till the death of the assured.
. In this kind of policy, the amount payable to the insured will not be paid before the death of the assured.
. When the policy is taken up by two or more persons, it is called joint life policy.
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. The premium is paid jointly or by either of them in instalments or lump sum.
. The assured sum or policy money is payable upon the death of any one person to the other survivor or
survivors.
Annuity Policy
. Under this policy, the assured sum or policy money is payable after the assured attains a certain age in
monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual instalments.
. The premium is paid in instalments over a certain period or a single premium may be paid by the assured.
. Generally, useful to those who prefer a regular income after a certain age.
goals.
time.
. A claim for loss by fire must satisfy the two following conditions:
MARINE INSURANCE
. Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which
the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination.
. Marine insurance protects against loss by marine perils or perils of the sea.
. Marine perils are a collision of the ship with a rock, or a ship attacked by the enemies, fired and captured
by pirates and actions of the captains and crew of the ship.
. The insurer in this case is known as the underwriter.
. There are three things involved i.e., ship or hull, cargo or goods, and freight.
(a) Ship or hull insurance : Since the ship is exposed to many dangers at sea, the insurance policy is for
port i.e., risk of theft, lost goods or on voyage etc. Thus, an insurance policy can be issued to cover such
risks to cargo.
(c ) Freight insurance : If the cargo does not reach the destination due to damage or loss in transit, the
shipping company is not paid freight charges. Freight insurance is for reimbursing the loss of freight to the
shipping company i.e., the insured.
Element Life Insurance has the Fire insurance has only Marine insurance has
elements of protection the element of only the element of
and investment or both. protection and not the protection.
element of investment.
Insurable interest Insurable interest must Insurable interest on the Insurable interest must
be present at the time of subject matter must be be present at the time
effecting the policy but present both at the time when claim falls due or
need not be necessary at of effecting policy as at the time of loss only.
the time when the claim well as when the claim
falls due. falls due.
Duration Life insurance policy Fire insurance policy Marine insurance policy
usually exceeds a year usually does not exceed is for one year or period
and is taken for longer a year of voyage or mixed.
periods ranging from 5
to 30 years or whole life.
Surrender value or paid Life insurance policy has Fire insurance does not Marine insurance does
up value a surrender value or have any surrender not have any surrender
paid up value. value or paid up value. value or paid up value.
pg. 12
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Policy amount One can insure for any In fire insurance, the In marine insurance the
amount in life insurance. amount of the policy amount of the policy can
cannot be more than the be the market value of
value of the subject the ship or cargo.
matter.
Contingency of risk There is an element of The event i.e., The event i.e., loss at sea
certainty. The event i.e., destruction by fire may may not occur and there
death or maturity of not happen. There is an may be no claim. There
policy is bound to element of uncertainty is an element of
happen. Therefore a and there may be no uncertainty.
claim will be present claim.
OTHER INSURANCE
Motor insurance
. Motor insurance is an insurance policy meant for vehicle owners to protect them from incurring any
financial losses that may arise due to damage or theft of the vehicle.
Insurance of Motor Vehicles is covered under the Motor Vehicles Act, of 1939.
. Types of motor insurance
Third-party insurance policy: It provides coverage for any injury caused to a third party by your vehicle.
Obtaining this insurance policy is a statutory requirement. Without this policy, it is illegal to drive your
motor vehicle in India.
Own-damage insurance policy: In case of any damage to your vehicle due to fire or rain, or theft, you can
raise a claim under this policy to compensate you for the expenses incurred for repairing your vehicle.
Comprehensive insurance policy : It combines both third-party cover and own damage cover.
Property insurance
. Insurance of property of the individual and business, which is exposed to the risk of fire, theft, etc.
pg. 13
Liability insurance
. Liability insurance is an insurance product that protects against claims resulting from injuries and damage
to other people or property.
. [Type here]
For example, Business owners may purchase liability insurance that covers them if an employee is injured
during business operations.
Health Insurance
.Health insurance is a type of insurance that covers medical expenses that arise due to an illness. These
expenses could be related to hospitalisation costs, the cost of medicines or doctor consultation fees.
. There are 2 types of health insurance products:
1) Indemnity-based health insurance products are sold by Non-life insurance companies and Standalone
health insurance companies. Under these products, the actual amount spent by the Life assured is paid by
the Insurance Company within the limits of the Sum assured selected. Either the amount is reimbursed to
the Life assured or the amount is paid directly to the Hospital (Cashless scheme) by the Insurance
Company.
2) Fixed benefit-based health insurance - Under this type of health insurance plan, also known as a
Defined Health Benefit Plan, a fixed amount is paid out of the sum insured for pre-determined critical
illnesses or medical conditions (viz. cardiovascular disease, cancer, kidney functioning issues, etc). If you
have certain medical conditions or are prone to certain medical conditions (due to family history, lifestyle,
Social insurance
Social insurance protects the weaker section of society who are unable to pay the premium. It includes
pension plans, disability benefits, unemployment benefits, sickness insurance and industrial insurance.
insurance etc where the insurer guarantees to pay certain amount at the happening of certain events.
Other Insurance
Includes Export credit insurance, state employee insurance, fidelity insurance, credit and privilege
INSURANCE VS REINSURANCE
Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company buys from another insurance company to protect
itself against the chance of a significant claims occurrence.
Premium An insurance company receives The insurance companies split the cost of
money paid by a person. reinsurance according to a predetermined
ratio.
IRDAI
. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is a statutory body under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and is tasked with regulating and licensing the
insurance and re-insurance industries in India.
pg. 15
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. It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament
passed by the Government of India.
.
[Type
IRDAhere]
act was passed upon the recommendations of the Malhotra committee report headed by R.N
Malhotra (Retired RBI Governor). (created in 1993)
. In April 2000 it was set up as a statutory body with its headquarters in New Delhi and later shifted to
Hyderabad in 2001.
. The IRDAI will consist of ten members: (all appointed by the Government of India)
(a) a Chairman;
Objectives of IRDAI
• To protect the interest of policyholders;
• To set, promote, monitor and enforce high standards of integrity, financial soundness, fair dealing
insurance;
• To encourage fairness, transparency, and orderly behaviour in financial markets that deal with
• To achieve the maximum level of self-regulation in the day-to-day working of the industry.
Functions of IRDAI
• Regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance business and re-insurance business.
• The issuance of a certificate of registration to the applicant, renewal, modification, withdrawal,
• suspension, or cancellation of such registration.
pg. 16
• Specifying requisite qualifications, code of conduct and practical training for intermediaries and
agents.
• Promoting
[Type here] and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and reinsurance
business.
• Levying fees and other charges for carrying out the purposes of the IRDAI Act.
• Calling for information, undertaking inspections, conducting enquiries and investigations of the
LIC
. The Life Insurance Corporation of India was established on 1 September 1956, when the Parliament of
. India passed the Life Insurance of India Act, nationalizing the insurance industry in India.
. Over 243 insurance companies were merged.
.. The objective of LIC is to spread Life Insurance widely and in particular to the rural areas and the socially
and economically backward classes to reach all insurable persons in the country and provide them
adequate financial cover against death at a reasonable cost.
. LIC is known as India's largest government-owned life insurance and investment corporation. The main role
of LIC is to invest in global financial markets and different government securities after gathering funds from
people through their various life insurance policies.
GIC
. The entire general insurance business in India was nationalised by General Insurance Business
(Nationalisation) Act, 1972 (GIBNA).
. The Government of India (GOI), through Nationalisation, took over the shares of 55 Indian insurance
companies and the undertakings of 52 insurers carrying on general insurance business.
. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) was formed in pursuance of Section 9(1) of GIBNA.
pg. 17
.It was incorporated on 22 November 1972 under the Companies Act, of 1956 as a private company limited
by shares.
. GIC was formed to superintend, control and carry on the business of general insurance.
. [Type here]
As soon as GIC was formed, GOI transferred all the shares it held of the general insurance companies to
GIC.
. Simultaneously, the nationalised undertakings were transferred to Indian insurance companies.
. After a process of mergers among Indian insurance companies, four companies were left as fully owned
subsidiary companies of GIC.
. The next landmark happened on 19th April 2000, when the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority Act, 1999 (IRDAA) came into force.
. This Act also introduced an amendment to GIBNA and the Insurance Act, of 1938. An amendment to GIBNA
removed the exclusive privilege of GIC and its subsidiaries carrying on general insurance in India.
. In November 2000, GIC was renotify as the Indian Reinsurer and through administrative instruction, its
supervisory role over the four subsidiaries was ended.
. As of March 21, 2003, when the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Act 2002 went
into effect, GIC was no longer a holding company for its subsidiaries.
PFRDA
. The Government of India had initiated a national project old age social and income security (OASIS) in 1999
to examine the policies related to old age income security.
. based on the recommendations of OASIS, the government decided to replace defined benefit pension
system with defined contribution pension system with respect to all new joinees of central or state
government except armed forces.
. in 2003, pension fund regulatory and development authority bill was passed by the parliament to regulate
and promote pension system in India.
. PFRDA was established in 2013 and became a permanent body. Head office in delhi.
pg. 18
Applicability of PFRDA
. The pension system was initially introduced for government employees. it is now extended to all citizens of
India and non resident Indians including self employed persons.
. it is a central
[Type here] autonomous body and is a quasi government organization with executive, legislative and
judicial powers similar to other financial sector regulators.
. PFRDA regulates the national pension system (NPS)
Functions of PFRDA
. establish grievance redressal mechanism for subscribers
. Regulates NPS and pension scheme.
. Establish development and regulate pension funds.
. protect the interest of pension fund subscribers.
. register and regulate intermediaries
. approves schemes terms and conditions and lay down norms for management of corpus of pension funds
. PFRDA acts as a pension regulator, which works towards its promotion and development.
. promote professional organization connected with the pension system
. settle disputes among intermediaries and subscribers.
. train intermediaries and educate subscribers
. regulate the assets
. conduct audit of intermediaries and other entities connected with pension funds
Intermediaries of PFRDA
Pension Fund:
. Pension fund is one of the intermediaries which has been granted a certificate of registration by PFRDA as
an authority for receiving contributions, investing them and paying the subscribers in a specified manner.
Trustee Bank:
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It is a bank responsible for day to day flow of funds. providing banking facilities, receiving NPS funds from
all offices and transfer the same to intermediaries such as pension fund/ annuity service provider/ other
intermediaries.
Custodian:
. Responsible for safe keeping of securities or assets held under NPS or any other pension scheme and
providing incidental services including maintaining accounts, undertaking activities as domestic
depository.
INSURANCE TERMINOLOGIES
Underwriting
. Underwriting is the process of assessment of risk on a proposal by the Insurance company and arriving at
the decision (to accept, reject, rate-up, postpone) and the terms and conditions upon which an insurance
contract may be accepted.
Policyholder
. A policyholder is a person or group who has purchased and owns an insurance policy.
Life Assured
. The life assured refers to the person for whom the insurance is bought.
. This may or may not be the same as the policyholder.
Adjuster
. An insurance adjuster, also known as a claims adjuster, is a person who investigates an insurance claim to
determine if the insurer should pay for damage or injuries, and if so, how much they should pay.
Annuity
. An annuity is a series of regular and periodic payments payable in consideration of usually a lump sum.
Deductible
. The portion of the loss that you are required to pay before your insurance coverage will respond.
. For example, If you owned a policy with a Rs 200 deductible and you suffered a covered loss totalling Rs
1000, you would pay the first Rs 200 and the insurance company would pay the remaining Rs 800. If the
loss amounted to only Rs 200, you would pay the entire amount.
Coinsurance
.Coinsurance is a percentage of what the insurance will pay to cover your health care cost after any
deductibles have been met.
If you have an insurance policy with 80% coinsurance and a medical bill of Rs 1,000, the insurance will pay
80% or Rs 800 and your share of the cost would be 20% or Rs 200 (assuming there is no deductible on the
plan).
specifies what the insured contributes to his plan. It does not pre-define the amount of pension.
Consequential damage
. a loss that is an indirect result of an accident or fire. For example- food spoiled through breakdown of a
refrigerator.
liability insurance
.an accident in which you are charged with injuring another person or damaging his or her property, liability
insurance pays the cost of your legal defences as well as the cost of any damages from which you are
found legally responsible.
No fault insurance
. under no fault insurance, a person’ s own insurance company pays for financial losses such as medical
expenses and lost wages due to an accident regardless of who caused it.
it is designed to speed up claims payment to accident victims.
prohibited risk
. any class of business that an insurance company will not insure under any condition
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Eligibility
• Any citizen of Age between 18 and 70 years
• Bank account linked with Aadhar Card
• The insurance holder has to give consent to join and enable auto-debit on or before 31st
May.