<p>An agent is appointed by the insurer to procure business for which he/she is given a license by the IRDAI.</p>

<p>A policy is a stamped document that provides evidence of the contract of insurance between the insurer and the insured.</p>

<p>SHAI provides cashless settlement to alleviate the burden of paying hospitalization expenses for the insured. Under this process, SHAI has tie-ups with network of hospitals in metro and non-metro areas, where the insured can be admitted to specified network hospitals and receive treatment without making any payment to the hospital. However, this is subject to the policy’s sum insured, limits, and sub-limits.</p>

<p>Premium is the amount of money charged by the insurance company for providing active coverage.</p>

<p>The limits of benefits under the policy are cumulatively increased in respect of each claim-free year of insurance, but the overall amount of such increase will not exceed certain percentage as specified in the policy. In case of a claim, the earned bonus would be reduced as given in the policy at the time of renewal.</p>

<p>A proposal form is a means of communicating an offer to the insurers. Proposal form is to give the insurer full particulars of the risk against which insurance protection is desired.&nbsp;The proposal form is the basis of the contract. &nbsp;Any misrepresentation or non-disclosure of facts would make the insurance null and void.</p>

<p>A proposer is the insured who seeks protection against loss he/she may suffer due to happening of a contingency.</p>

<p>An endorsement is a document issued on a policy that enables the insurer to make amendments in the subject matter of insurance.</p>

<p>Under health policies, the cost of various hospital charges (such as bed charges, medicines, lab tests, surgeons’ fees, etc.) is reimbursed. In other words, the insured has to pay the hospital expenses incurred and then seek reimbursement from the insurance company.</p>

<p>A floater policy is issued with a single sum insured covering a number of individuals from the family. For example, unlike an individual policy where each family member (husband/ wife) is covered independently for the chosen sum insured and pays a separate premium, a family floater policy provides a fixed sum insured for the family, and any insured family member can avail its benefits&nbsp;until the limit is exhausted.</p>

<p>Reinsurance is an arrangement whereby the original insurer transfers or cedes a part of the risk to another insurer called a reinsurer.</p>

<p>A firm or an association may effect a policy to insure members of a group. For example, a company may take a policy to cover its employees.</p>

<p>General insurance policies are annual contracts. Policies are generally issued for one year, and some for shorter periods. At the end of the policy period, the policy has to be renewed by the insurer. But renewing a contract of insurance is at the discretion of the insurer. Continuous renewal is important, as any break in coverage&nbsp;may result in the loss of benefits&nbsp;in the event of&nbsp;a contingency.</p>

<p>An OMP is issued to persons who undertake bona fide trips abroad for:</p><ul><li>Business or pleasure</li><li>Corporate employees who undertake frequent travel abroad</li><li>Educational purposes</li></ul>

<p>Third Party Administrators are the authorized claim-settling agents of the insurer. Settlement of claims involves proper scrutiny of loss&nbsp;vis-à-vis&nbsp;coverage under the policy and compliance with the policy terms, conditions and warranties, subject to the limit of the sum insured.</p>

<p>Personal Accident policies are fixed benefit policies whereby specified sums are paid on the occurrence of defined contingencies, in accordance with the scale of benefits incorporated in the policy.</p>

<p>Underwriting refers to the transaction of the insurance business. Underwriting deals with principles and practices concerning the acceptance or rejection of risks, fixing of rates and terms, the total amount of acceptance and retention for the insurer's own account and reinsurance of the balance amount.</p>