Terror insurance: Does your policy cover you?

29 November 2008

IF you've been thinking of buying insurance, then there's probably one more point in your checklist now - check for terror insurance cover.

Clearly, with the increase in terror attacks and the manner in which they have started to happen in the midst of our everyday lives, inside our homes and indiscriminately on the streets, people are running for cover. And insurance companies are indeed offering this cover.

Life and health policies: Inbuilt Cover!
In life and health policies, most insurers cover terrorism risks. So family members of policyholders would get the benefits of the life insurance policy in case of death or injuries caused due to a terror strike.

Home insurance: Optional cover!
However when it comes to insuring your home, some insurance companies offer it at an additional cost whereas others don't offer at all. That is, if your home is gutted in a fire caused by a terror strike (officially recognized by the government as a terror strike), you will get the insurance amount only if you have bought the add on cover.

Rajeev Kumaraswamy, Head – Reinsurance, ICICI Lombard explains, "In all our personal line products, that is health and accident insurance, this cover is inbuilt. However for householder's policy and corporate covers, this is an add on cover. It is an option we would like to give to our customers. There maybe clients who perceive a risk and others who don't. Hence we do not want to force anything on the clients."

Once a policy is bought, you cannot add terrorism cover later. So, it's best that you also enquire about terrorism cover while buying insurance.