Liberty General Insurance Company - A Quick Review

Liberty General Insurance Company has over 50,000 employees, which are spread all over the globe and had a net income of approximately US $17 million in 2017.

They offer a wide range of products including personal automobile, homeowners, commercial automobile, general liability, workers' compensation, global specialty, group disability, fire, and surety.

Liberty General Insurance in India

The company has a national headquarter located in the commercial hub of Mumbai city and has 90 offices across the country. This company has bagged many awards including “Rising star Insurer” title at the Indian Insurance Awards, “Employer of Choice" by Excellence Awards as well as other awards. In India, the company provides insurance cover for cars, two-wheelers, health, Individual personal accidents, and commercial insurance.

Car Insurance from Liberty General Insurance

This policy covers you financially in case of an unfortunate accident while driving or even when you are parked. It gives you peace of mind and protects your car and you against:

• Damage to the insured vehicle and
• Any third party liability as defined by the local laws.

Some key features of this policy include:

• A large network of inspection and cashless garages for hassle-free repairs. It has a large network of over 2500 partner garages.
• Settlement within seven working days.
• Riders can be added to the policy for additional coverage and convenience (personal accident, depreciation cover, third-party cover, etc.)
• Helpful and courteous telephonic customer service from 8 AM to 8 PM.
• Renewal discounts.
• The policy can be purchased online.
• The company has an excellent claim settlement ratio of 95%.

Policyholders are strongly advised to read the policy documents for exceptions and exclusions in the policy.

Liberty Two Wheeler Insurance Policy

Two-wheeler owners can select one of the two types of policies offered by Liberty General Insurance

Two-wheeler Package Policy

Under this policy, the following is covered:

• Damage to two-wheeler in case of an accident.
• Third-party liability covering injury or death of the person and any or all damage done to their property.
• Personal accident cover(injury or death).
• Damage or total loss of the two-wheeler due to natural calamities (floods, storms, cyclones, typhoon, etc.) or man-made causes (like strikes, vandalism, or riot).
• Two-wheelers are also covered for loss due to fire, lightning, explosion.
• Theft of the two-wheeler is also covered.

Two-wheeler Multi-year Policy

Unlike other standard policies, this unique policy is offered by Liberty General Insurance to cover the two-wheelers for two or three years. The main purpose of this is to reduce the risk of inadvertently forgetting to renew your policy, which means that your policy has lapsed and you are no longer cover. This reduces the hassles of renewing your policy. As a policyholder, you have to make just one payment to cover the extended period.

Under this plan, the insurance company will indemnify the insured against loss or damage to the vehicle and its accessories due to natural and man-made events like:

• Fire, self-ignition or lightning, explosion, riot, strike, earthquake (fire and shock damage), flood, hurricane, storm, inundation, cyclone, hailstorm, frost, typhoon, landslide/rockslide.
• Burglary, housebreaking, or theft.
• Vandalism, malicious acts.
• Terrorist actions.
• While the vehicle is in transport by road, in-land, waterway, air or lifts elevator.
• Any other events covered under the policy

Things to Remember While Making a Claim

• A claim should be registered as soon as an incident/accident occurs. However, your priority should be your well-being and safety.
• In case of a theft, you must intimate the company immediately and also file a theft report with the police station that falls within the jurisdiction of the theft. This should be done within 24 hours from the theft.
• If you register a claim over 48 hours of the incident, then you have to furnish a written clarification for the delay.

It is advisable to read the policy document term and conditions and especially the exception and exclusion clauses.

Third-Party Insurance or Comprehensive Multi-year Two-Wheeler Policy

If you are cost-conscious, then you should buy the third party plans which are economically priced. These policies are designed to cover against expenses arising from third-party claims.

In the case of a comprehensive long term, two-wheeler covers an expansive range of events. This can include vehicle damage protection, personal accident cover as well as the third-party cover.

What you decide depends on how much you want to spend and what is the coverage you need.

Liberty Health Insurance Schemes

Liberty General Insurance offers a range of health insurance products to cater to different requirements of the policyholder. Medical insurance plans include

• Liberty Health Connect Policy
• Individual Personal Accident Policy
• Janta Personal Accident Insurance Policy
• Secure Health Connect
• Health Connect Supra

The Liberty Health Insurance provides cashless treatment in their network of over 4000 designated partner hospitals.

Live Health Talk

This is a unique service by the company where the insured person(s) can log on to the portal (with passwords) and schedule a live chat with a practicing doctor to discuss any health issues.

Health Insurance Policies are Tax Deductible

When you buy a health insurance policy you are entitled to get a tax deduction on your income tax under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The annual deduction is Rs 15,000 for payment of premium for self, spouse, and dependents. The tax-deductible for senior citizens is Rs 20,000 per annum.  

*Tax benefit is subject to changes in tax laws 

Liberty General Commercial Insurance Policy

Keeping your place of work safe and free of mishaps is your priority. However, some times accidents happen. Employees are injured or machinery breaks down - requiring extensive repairs and heavy expenses. Business owners have to reduce the risks by insurance employees against sickness, injury or even death. They also need to insure their capital goods and property against damages and accidents. This policy is not only recommended but now it is also mandatory. Liberty General Insurance offers expert advice and recommends a solution that is suitable for your business. Some of the policies included in it are:

• Group Health Insurance
• Liability Insurance
• Commercial Vehicle Package
• Marine Insurance
• Engineering Insurance
• Commercial Property insurance
• Employee Benefit Insurance

Liberty Research Institute for Safety - Keeping the Workers Safe

Apart from providing insurance cover for various circumstances, the company had a “Research Institute for Safety” where studies were conducted on the occupational safety and health of workers in various industries. It has set up guidelines for machine safeguarding to protect workers from accidents. It developed the Workplace Safety Index which lists out the leading causes of most disabling injuries. They also conduct field and lab experiments to study the causes of work-related injuries and disability arising from these injuries.

Although the institute closed down in 2017 - the studies, recommendations and other scientific literature published by the institute are available to the policyholders to implement it and enhance worker safety.

Customer Care

Liberty General Insurance has a customer care center that is managed by courteous and helpful agents. They are available from 8 AM to 8 PM every day, 7 days a week.

Final Words

The growing population of various kinds of vehicles on the road and the driving indiscipline of the drivers cause a majority of the accidents - accidents that can be avoided, if people become more careful and patient while driving. Our streets are also getting more congested and smog is a regular feature. This leads to health problems that land you in the hospital. Our food is contaminated and most of the fertilizers are toxic and harmful.

We live in a dangerous era and everyone’s priority should be to insure themselves, family members, assets and possible liabilities that you may encounter in your life. Insurance is not an expense!