General insurance

From ArticleWorld

General Insurance comprises insurance of property against fire and burglary, floods, storms, earthquakes and so on. It covers personal insurance as well as insurance against accidents and misfortune. It also covers health insurance and liability insurance which guards legal liabilities. Then again it covers other areas such as errors and omissions, insurance for professionals, credit insurance etc.

Components of general insurance

General insurance companies also offer policies covering machinery against breakdown, there are policies that even cover the hull of ships. A marine cargo policy covers goods in transit including sea, air and road. Further, insurance of motor vehicles against damages and theft forms a major chunk of non-life insurance business.

General Insurance gives liability insurance covers such as third party liability insurance and workmen’s compensation. Many industries insure themselves against public liability as well as product liability.

In different states

In America, general insurance usually covers any insurance that is not covered by life insurance. Thus, in the U.S. general insurance may be synonymous with property insurance or casualty insurance.

In England the large field of general insurance is divided into three broad areas. London market, the first branch, insures large hazards like super markets or football players. The second branch, Commercial lines, specializes in small legal entities like workers compensation, public as well as product liability and other such general areas. Personal lines, the third and the last branch of general insurance covers products like cars, homes, pets as well as credit insurance.