INSURE YOUR LIFESTYLE (PART 1 OF 2)
·
People’s lifestyles have seen huge changes
recently.
·
For today’s generation, simple is boring, and
life is technology-driven.
·
But, modern day life presents its own risks and
can be financially fatal.
·
However, there are certain insurance covers that
provide safety to your lifestyle risks.
·
Choosing the right kind of cover after assessing
your needs requires a fair amount of foresightedness.
1. Fraudulent charges
cover
· It gives you protection against fraudulent charges on your debit or credit
card (but not cash advances) up to 12 hours prior to first reporting the loss
of the card.
·
However, it does not cover charges incurred by a person
whom the card was entrusted to.
2. Key replacement
cover
·
It covers the
cost of replacing not just the lost or stolen vehicle keys but also house keys.
·
Such insurance plans also cover the cost of
hiring a rental car in case the time taken to replace the key is more than 24
hours.
·
However, it does not cover the cost associated
with lost/stolen keys for a residence other than primary residence, or cost to
replace keys to vehicles that are not owned for personal use.
3. Lost wallet cover
·
It covers the cost of replacing your lost or stolen wallet, cost of replacing
personal papers and even the lost or stolen cards in the wallet.
·
The money, cheques, or transportation tickets
lost will not be covered and insurance will be restricted to the replacement
cost of a lost or stolen wallet, personal papers and the credit and debit cards
in the wallet.
·
It also does not cover loss or damage caused by
an event other than theft or misplacement, or accidental damage to wallet and
items inside it, or any identity theft related costs or fraudulent charges on
the lost or stolen personal papers or cards inside the wallet.
4. ATM assault and
robbery cover
·
It covers the
money withdrawn from an ATM that one may lose due to a robbery.
·
It even includes emergency first aid expenses,
if one gets injured during the robbery.
·
It does not cover third party liabilities,
non-monetary losses or emergency first-aid to other than insured.
5. Identity theft
cover
·
Identity theft refers to a fraud involving
someone pretending to be someone else in order to gain access to his monetary
sources.
·
The person whose identity is used can suffer
various consequences and can even be held responsible for the perpetrator’s
actions.
·
In case of online transactions, ’site cloning’
is resorted to, wherein a clone site that looks like the original is created in
order to obtain the credit card details of unsuspecting customers.
·
Similarly, false merchant sites are created
where cheap goods lure customers into giving their card details.
·
The perpetrator can even pretend to be an
existing account holder in order to obtain funds from the victim’s bank
account.
·
For this, the accused first needs to obtain one
or more pieces of identity like credit card information, cheque leaflet and PIN
code.
·
Once he gets such information, he accesses funds
via one or more delivery systems like branch teller, ATM, telephone banking,
etc.
·
The perpetrator may even take control of one’s
account by rerouting statements to a new address, which is known as ‘account
takeover’, and the account is rapidly abused.
·
The identity theft policies cover
expenses resulting from your efforts to resolve the identity theft.
·
This includes unpaid wages you lose because of
running around in solving your case, and also expenses that you are legally
bound to pay for any unauthorized credit account usage as a result of identity
theft.
·
It does not cover monetary losses unrelated to
resolution of identity theft, physical injury, sickness, disease, disability,
shock, mental anguish and paid workdays by employer.
6. Purchase
protection cover
·
Many a times, despite utmost caution, you end up
damaging your newly-purchased expensive items while on your way back home or
the stuff gets stolen before you reach home.
·
The dejection of such travails can now be
lessened by buying an insurance policy that covers the loss due to
burglary, theft or accidental damage on items purchased using credit cards or
debit cards.
·
The cover comes into effect immediately and
protects all such purchases within a period of 3 months.
·
It does not cover traveller’s cheques, cash,
tickets, fur, jewellery, gems, precious stones, art, antiques, firearms,
collectible items, shipping or handling expenses, items lost or stolen from a
vehicle, items acquired during a personal trip, normal wear and tear, inherent
product defects, etc.
7. Home protection
while away cover
·
With a complete change in our lifestyles and
busy schedules, we hardly know each other’s neighbours well, and so can hardly
rely on them for taking care of your house when away.
·
That means when you are away, the house’s
security is pretty much at stake.
·
There are insurance policies now that cover loss
of your household goods due to burglary at your residence while you are away on
a personal trip.
·
They do not cover losses to personal effects
carried during the trip, any items not mentioned in the specific cover clause,
and losses due to biological, chemical or nuclear events.