List of insurance companies in India

This list of Indian insurance companies is based on the list of insurance companies registered and approved with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.

A. General insurance companies 

Public Sector : Government of India wholly owned 4 companies:

•     National Insurance Company Limited
•     New India Assurance Co Ltd
•     Oriental Insurance Co Ltd
•     United India Insurance Co Ltd

Private Sector :

•     Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
•     Bharti AXA General Insurance
•     Continental Insurance Services
•     Future Generali India Insurance
•     ING Vysya Life Insurance
•     HDFC ERGO General Insurance
•     ICICI Lombard
•     IFFCO Tokio
•     Liberty Videocon General Insurance Co Ltd
•     L & T General Insurance
•     Magma HDI General Insurance Co Ltd
•     Max Life Insurance Co ltd
•     Raheja QBE General Insurance
•     Reliance General Insurance
•     Royal Sundaram
•     SBI General Insurance
•     Shriram General Insurance
•     Tata AIG General
•     Universal Sompo General Insurance
•     Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited

B. Standalone health insurance companies
 

Private Sector

•     Apollo Munich Health Insurance
•     Max Bupa Health Insurance
•     Religare Health Insurance Company Ltd
•     Star Health and Allied Insurance company Ltd

Export credit guarantee insurance companies 

Public Sector

•     Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India

Agriculture Insurance Companies

• Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd.

C. Life insurance companies 

Public Sector : Government of India Fully owns 1 company

•   Life Insurance Corporation of India

Private Sector

•     AEGON Religare Life Insurance
•     Aviva Life
•     Shriram Life Insurance
•     Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
•     Bharti AXA Life Insurance Co Ltd
•     Birla Sun Life Insurance
•     Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance
•     Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance
•     DLF Pramerica Life Insurance
•     Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Co. Ltd
•     Future Generali Life Insurance Co Ltd
•     HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited
•     ICICI Prudential
•     IDBI Federal Life Insurance
•     IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company
•     ING Vysya Life Insurance
•     Kotak Life Insurance
•     Max Life Insurance
•     PNB MetLife India Life Insurance
•     Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited
•     Sahara Life Insurance
•     SBI Life Insurance Company Limited
•     TATA AIG Life Insurance

Re-insurance companies

•    GIC Re (General Insurance Corporation of India - Re-Insuer)

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How to file a home insurance claim

You might think that after shelling out all that money for your home insurance premiums, you could actually take advantage of your policy whenever you needed it. But in the perverse calculus of actuaries, underwriters, and liabilities, it's actually not that simple.

"More than two claims in a three-year period is a red flag for the underwriters, and some insurance companies will drop you like a hot potato," says J. D. Howard, executive director of Insurance Consumer Advocate Network. "We always counsel people not to make a claim unless the cost of the repair is three times their deductible." So for example, if you have hail damage to your roof that can be repaired for $1,000, and the deductible on your policy is $500, it's probably better to pay for the repairs out of pocket. "The insurance company sees too many small claims as a homeowner using his insurance policy to pay for upkeep on his house," Howard says.

And don't think you can simply go to another insurance company for coverage if your premiums subsequently go up or you're "non-renewed," the industry's euphemism for canceled. Every time you make a claim, or even ask about a claim, it goes into an industry database called Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, or CLUE, where it is available to most insurance companies.

Under federal law, you can get one free copy of your report every 12 months at ChoiceTrust. Claims made on specific properties are also in the database, so if you're thinking of buying a house, you might want to check out its history since it could have an impact on your premiums and coverage. Ask the seller to obtain a "Home Seller's Disclosure Report" from ChoiceTrust, which will, for a fee, provide a five-year insurance loss history on a given address.

Finally, consider hiring an independent public claims adjuster when you do make a claim. Otherwise you'll be relying on the insurance company's adjuster to evaluate your claim. Say your furnace malfunctions and causes a small fire that damages your basement. Your carrier's adjuster might invoke the "cause-and-effect" clause to exclude the cost of replacing the furnace. How? He could argue that the furnace caused the damage, and that your policy covers only the "effect" of the fire, which would limit the company's responsibility to repairing the damage to your basement. However, your independent adjuster might determine that a broken valve caused the furnace to malfunction resulting in the fire. Says Howard: "If the consumer's adjuster makes the argument that the valve and not the furnace is the cause, the company is very likely to exclude the cost of the valve, which could be a $3 part, and go ahead and pay for the furnace," says Howard.

Bonus: Many insurance policies will cover your adjuster's fee, which is customarily about 10 percent of the total claim. It's there, in the small print. Read your policy.

This post by Nancy F. Smith originally appeared on Nov. 11, 2009.

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8 Easy Tips for Cheaper Home Insurance

8 Easy Tips for Cheaper Home Insurance

No one likes paying for home insurance, but it's a necessary evil for most of us. This doesn't mean you have to pay through the nose for it though - try these 8 easy tips for cheaper home insurance and see how much you could reduce your premiums by.

- Shop Around

By comparing prices from several insurance companies, you'll probably be able to reduce your premiums by a substantial amount. This may seem obvious, but research has shown that a surprisingly large proportion of people either just renew their current policy, or get only one or two quotes. Many insurance web sites will automatically compare dozens of policies for you, making this one of the easiest ways to reduce your insurance bill.

- Buy online

If you buy your policy online you can often get a discount of up to 20% on normal prices, because there are less administration costs involved and the savings can be passed on to you.

- Combine your buildings and contents policies

Many insurers will give you a discount if you take out both types of home insurance with them, and this usually works out cheaper than getting the two kinds of policies from different companies.

- Pay upfront

Although most insurers let you pay your premium in monthly installments, many will charge interest for this. If you can afford to pay a full year's premium in advance, then this will work out cheaper in the long run.

- Don't claim for small amounts

Making many small claims can increase your insurance costs, as your insurer may see you as a greater risk and increase your premiums. You will also lose any no claims discount your policy has. Of course, you're entitled to claim for anything your policy covers, but ask yourself if making a small claim is really worth the hassle and possible future costs.

- Voluntary excess

This is related to the last point. Insurance policies feature something known as 'excess', which basically means that the policy won't pay out on claims below a certain value. On some policies, if you choose to raise your excess to a higher level, then your premiums will be lower.

- Increase your home security

Beefing up your home security with better door locks, window locks, outdoor lighting, and alarm systems can all result in lower premiums. Ask your insurer what you could do to get extra discounts.

- Reduce your cover

Many policies feature benefits that you might not need, such as cover for personal possessions while travelling, or 'free' legal advice. Look through your policy and see what parts of it you really need - by cutting your cover down to size you may be able to reduce your premium.

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