Nobody has ever seen it coming, neither has anyone ever been able to predict and nor will ever be able to anticipate its time and intensity. Yes, that is what is known as a natural calamity. It is the most dangerous unforeseen circumstance that mankind has ever fallen prey to and however much technology had advanced till date, still, the world is not equipped enough to see them coming. Thus you cannot completely guard yourself against it but what you can do is prepare yourself is to fight any such situation, if ever you have to face one.
Moreover, as we know India is heavily portioned to natural calamity and holds a major chunk in the overall record of calamities across the world, especially earthquakes, it becomes an absolute necessity for you to keep yourself and your family covered against the financial disaster caused by a natural calamity. That is how you can prevent a natural calamity from washing away the basics of your life and a chance to turn around if hit by a calamity.
The general insurance companies report a record number of queries as to the policies and coverage a customer can avail to keep them financially guarded against a natural calamity just after any such calamity strikes a nearby area and such queries mostly turn to a sale because people after seeing the devastation that an act of nature can do, gets worried and feels the need to take an insurance to protect himself and his family. Thus it is advisable to take the possible protection in order to guard yourself against the unpredictable and merciless acts of nature.
The loss that one can face when encountering any such massacre by nature in terms of loss of life cannot be replenished, but at least adequate insurance can help you or your nominee to turn around and face life further. Thus listing up the 4 insurance that can keep you protected against a natural calamity is as follows:
Life Insurance Cover Against Natural Calamity
Natural calamity is any adverse natural disaster like an earthquake, a flood or any such severe and extreme weather condition like a cyclone or tornado. And all such disasters leave behind devastation, spoiling both human lives and property. Now when the value of the loss of human life cannot be paid back for at least the financial disruption faced by the family of anyone affected can be paid back for, and that is the reason you should keep yourself covered with life insurance.
Mostly all life insurance policies provide coverage against natural calamity, but there might be a specific list of calamities that the insurer would provide security for. You should take this list into account before buying any insurance. It would include unprecedented incidents like an earthquake, lightning, flood, and so on, and if the insured person dies of any injury received from any such happenstance then it would be considered as a death due to natural disaster, and then the nominee is entitled to the sum assured.
Personal Accident Cover Against Natural Calamity
Any kind of natural disaster leaves behind a huge effect on the people in and around the area it takes place, and along with a great number of casualties, a high number of people are also injured. These injuries may lead to a temporary or permanent disability of the person affected and in turn, lead to a huge financial loss for the present and future times. Plus the cost of the treatment to come back to normal life is also pretty stiff and in order to cater to these needs in case any such unforeseen circumstances hit you, you must keep yourself equipped with a Personal Accident Cover. But it is advisable to take a clear note of the natural disasters that the policy protects you against, at the time of buying the policy so that you know the extent of security you have to fight the unpredictable and uncontrollable adversities of nature.
The financial compensation that you can receive if affected by any natural disaster is on death due to the accident, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and temporary total disability. But the compensation paid for the different situations is also different, like in case of death or in case of total permanent disability the company pays the entire sum assured whereas in case of partial permanent disability the insurer would pay only a part of the sum assured. The ratio of this payment is defined at the inception of the policy and you need to keep a note of the same too. And in case of temporary total disability, the insurer only pays a weekly sum, for a fixed amount of days, which can be used for the treatment till you can be back to your normal self. Though this amount is not very high still any amount at the hour of need is quite welcome, and thus it is always better to keep yourself protected against any such calamity by taking these insurance policies.
You can buy a personal accidental cover by taking it as a rider in the life insurance policy you buy. But you can also compare the premium and advantage of a separate accidental policy and buy the one that suits your need the most.
Home Insurance Cover Against Natural Disaster
When we look at the number of people affected in a natural disaster then we realize how much covered are the people around. The coverage should be taken as per the exposure to a disaster-prone zone but in most cases, we see that people in and around such zones that have already been marked sensitive or highly sensitive in regards to the exposure to calamity are either not insured or underinsured. This leads to a complete hamper in the life of a person who is hit by any such adversity of nature.
A homeowner’s insurance covers very few circumstances and most insurers do not provide any coverage against any natural calamity. The fire insurance coverage at times provide coverage against the financial loss caused by natural aggression like an earthquake, flood, storm, and whatever is mentioned as a policy feature, but whether a disaster caused by an earthquake is covered or not, depending on whether the house has been built in a seismic zone or not.
Thus the policy that can provide an overall cover is Householder’s Package Policy namely HPP. Along with providing coverage to your home from fire it also covers your home against natural calamities and also for damages caused by burglary, mechanical and electrical. The HPP also provides third-party coverage like a personal accident (in case you are injured and your work and income is hampered due to the same), public liability (provides the third party if he incurs any loss due to you), workmen’s compensation (covers the death or disability of domestic help)
Car Insurance to Cover the Natural Disaster
Car insurance is a mandate for any car to be brought on the road on road. If you move out without car insurance then you might be fined for doing so, thus it is evident that everybody gets their car insurance done. But it is only comprehensive car insurance that provides financial coverage against all losses that you may incur due to the natural disaster.
A natural disaster not only causes a hassle for life and health but also damages property. And thus just like home insurances insurers provide car insurance to pay for the damage or the loss of the vehicle during any natural calamity. These comprehensive car insurance policies provide protection but in order to have enhanced protection, you may opt for an add-on facility that provides an extra amount of protection.
Thus we can comprehend that even though a natural calamity is an unprecedented happening and no one can either predict or prevent the same but on the other hand, you can stop yourself from falling into a position from where reversal back to normal life would only seem to be a myth. This can be done only when you would keep adequate insurance to protect yourself, your nominee, and your assets against any desperate act of nature. The premium for this category of insurance is not very high so it is better to keep yourself prepared for any sort of miss happening that might come in the future in such a way that you get back the adequate amount that would need to re-settle yourself and your family post the effects of the disaster is over.
