No, if the insurance policies are bought from reputed websites which are under the regulations of the IRDA, the policies would be genuine and would be issued by the insurance company directly.

The coverage level of your insurance policies should be optimum to cover the financial loss which is insured by the policy. In life and health insurance plans, the coverage level should be chosen based on the lifestyle expenses of the insured, the family size, age, income, etc. In case of car and bike insurance policies, the coverage depends on the value of the car and bike.

General insurance policies pay a claim on the principle of indemnity. Indemnity means that in case of a loss the policyholder would be compensated by the insurance company for the actual financial loss suffered. The policyholder would not be allowed to make a profit from the insurance policy.

An insurance contract is a contract of utmost good faith. As per this principle, the policyholder is required to furnish all the important details about himself which are asked in the proposal form. The insurance company issues the policy on the good faith that the insured has provided every information in the proposal form correctly. If any important information, which affects the risk covered under the policy, is hidden or lied about, the principle of utmost good faith is breached. In such cases, the insurance contract becomes void and the insurance company has the right to reject the claim under the policy.

A group insurance policy is one in which a group of individuals are covered under the same plan. A single insurance policy is issued covering all the members of the group and the policy is called a master policy. Group insurance plans usually come with a term of one year after which they have to be renewed for continued coverage.

If the insurance policy is cancelled during the free-look period, the premium paid is refunded back. However, the premium refund would be deducted for the administrative expenses incurred by the insurance company in issuing the insurance policy. Moreover, the insurance cost would also be deducted for the period the policy was in force before it was cancelled.

Yes, life and health insurance plans provide tax benefits. These benefits are explained below –

Life insurance plans –

• Premiums paid for life insurance policies qualify for tax deduction under Section 80C upto a limit of INR 1.5 lakhs
• Surrender benefit, maturity benefit or death benefit received under life insurance plans are tax-free under Section 10 (10D)
• 1/3rd of the pension corpus which is withdrawn in cash is tax-free under Section 10 (10A)

Health insurance plans

• Premiums paid for a health insurance plan for self, spouse and dependent children is allowed as a tax deduction under Section 80D. The limit is INR 25, 000. If you are a senior citizen, the limit increases to INR 50, 000
• Premiums paid for health insurance plan for dependent parents earns an additional tax deduction under Section 80D. This limit is also INR 25, 000 which increases to INR 50, 000 if the parents are senior citizens.

Health insurance plans come in the following variants –

• Indemnity health plans – individual health plans and family floater health plans
• Senior citizen health plans
• Critical illness health plans
• Disease specific health plans
• Hospital cash health plans
• Top up and super top-up health plans

Life insurance plans come in the following variants –

• Term life plans
• Endowment plans
• Money back plans
• Whole life plans
• Child plans
• Unit linked insurance plans
• Pension plans