Life with all its wonderful opportunities has its own share of hazards. Hazards and dangers with their variety and sudden improbability require strength and resourcefulness on one’s part so that they can be duly encountered. General insurance seeks to cover protection against different areas of hazards including property, enterprise, vehicle, money lending and various other forms of professional casualties, except the casualty of death.

Insurance other than ‘Life Insurance’ falls under the category of General Insurance. General Insurance comprises of insurance of property against fire, burglary etc, personal insurance such as Accident and Health Insurance, and liability insurance which covers legal liabilities. There are also other covers such as Errors and Omissions insurance for professionals, credit insurance etc.

General Insurance basically caters to mainly two categories – Individuals and Businesses as both need different types of ‘insurance’, so we have to split general insurance into two areas.

• Personal Insurances (or ‘personal lines’) where the policyholder is a private individual. Personal lines products are designed to be sold in large quantities. This would include motor insurance, household insurance, health insurance, creditor insurance and others.
• Commercial Insurances (or ‘commercial lines’) where the policyholder is a firm or some other kind of organisation. Commercial lines products are usually designed for relatively large legal entities. These would include workers’ compensation (employer’s liability), public liability, product liability, commercial fleet and other general insurance products sold in a relatively standard fashion to many organisations. There are many companies that supply comprehensive commercial insurance packages for a wide range of different industries, including shops, restaurants and hotels.