Life is full of uncertainties. We face various risks in our day to day life including risks to our life, health, property, enterprise/business and so on. No one can predict unforeseen events such as accidents, serious illness, loss or damage to property and business/enterprise, etc. The chances of these things happening to you may be very small. But mishaps do happen. It's only when the event occurs, we realize that we should have taken the insurance cover for protection. Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss and acts as a shield against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss. Insurance provides , security, and peace of mind and the effective way of proving that you care for your loved ones. As an owner/manager of a Micro/Small/Medium enterprise or potential entrepreneur, you need to cover Personal risks as well as Business risks through Insurance. A) Personal Risk and Insurance Life Insurance Life insurance provides a financial payment to your beneficiary upon your death. When you buy a life insurance policy, you name a beneficiary. It is generally recommended to purchase an insurance with coverage worth 7 to 10 times your annual income in order to protect your family. Health Insurance In the recent times the cost of treatment has increased many folds. A simple visit to a doctor now costs anywhere between Rs. 300 to Rs. 3000, depending on where you live. If your treatment requires you to stay in the hospital for a few days, you will end up with a huge medical bill that can severely drain out your savings. To avoid such financial shocks, we must insure ourselves. Every insurance company offers a health insurance plan that either covers costs of hospitalization or provides a fixed sum insured to the insured member on the diagnosis of named critical illnesses.It is important for an industry established in the MSME sector to realize the importance of health insurance and therefore as part of welfare measures they should take a health insurance policy covering all the employees working in the unit. MSME units may also take group health policy covering members of families of all employees. Group insurance policies offer effective health insurance coverage at relatively low cost. These welfare measures initiated by MSME units would help in reducing high attrition rate and increase employee productivity. Personal Accident Insurance General and health insurance companies registered with IRDAI also provide coverage against personal accidents. The personal accident (PA) policies cover the risks of death or permanent or temporary total / partial disability due to accident. PA policies may be purchased by an individual directly from the insurance company or through an agent or insurance intermediary. A MSME unit may also take group personal accident covering all employees of MSME unit. Vehicle/Motor Insurance Vehicle Insurance (also known as Motor Insurance/Car Insurance/ Auto Insurance) is an insurance purchased for vehicles plying on the road. Its primary objective is to provide protection to the vehicle owners against the risk of any legal liability and/or accidental damage to the vehicle. The coverage for vehicle insurance is of two types: • Motor Third Party (TP) Liability Insurance: Third Party Insurance is a statutory requirement and every vehicle plying on the road should mandatorily obtain this insurance. The owner of the vehicle is legally liable for any injury or damage to third party life or property caused by or arising out of the use of the vehicle in a public place. Driving a motor vehicle without insurance in a public place is a punishable offence. The insurance policy covers damage to someone else’s property or injury or death of other persons resulting from an accident for which the insured is judged legally liable. • Motor Own Damage (OD) Insurance cover: It covers the accidental loss or damage to the insured vehicle by specified perils such as fire, theft, riot and strike, earthquake, flood, accident etc. There are policies covering either or both of the above covers. It is important to examine your policy to understand what is covered. Other Insurances: Home Insurance Home insurance provides cover for Home Building and Home Contents. IRDAI has introduced ‘Bharat Griha Raksha’, a new standard product to cover Home against wide range of perils such as Fire, Explosion/Implosion, Lightening, Natural Catastrophes (Storm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado, Tsunami, Flood, Inundation, Earthquake, Subsidence, Landslide, Rockslide), Forest, Jungle and Bush fires, Impact Damage of any kind, Riot, Strike, Malicious Damages, Acts of terrorism, Bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, Leakage from automatic sprinkler installations and Theft within 7 days from the occurrence of any of the aforesaid events Travel Insurance Comprehensive Travel insurance provides:Emergency medical cover, Losses incurred due to unforeseen cancellation or having to cut your trip short, Death and disability cover, Personnel liability cover, Luggage cover etc. Group Insurance It covers a group of people under a single insurance policy providing coverage against the same risks to all members of a group irrespective of their age, gender, occupation or socio-economic status. These plans can be bought by MSMEs for providing coverage to their employees. The members covered under the single insurance policy are collectively referred to as a ‘Group’. Shopkeepers’ Package Policy These policies are designed to insure all insurable risks of a large number of shopkeepers. It covers damage to the structure and contents due to fire, earthquake, flooding or malicious damage; and burglary. Shop insurance can also include business interruption protection which will cover any loss of income or additional expenditure in the event of operation of unexpected peril causing interruption of business operation. In addition, few additional covers such as Money Insurance, Burglary and Housebreaking, Legal liability, Electronic Equipment and Appliances etc., are also available under this policy. Property Insurance Insurance of property means insurance of buildings, machinery, stocks etc. against Fire and Allied Perils, Burglary Risks and so on. Goods in transit via Sea, Air, Railways, Roads and Courier can be insured under Marine Cargo Insurance. IRDAI has recently introduced ‘Bharat SookshmaUdyam Suraksha’ and ‘Bharat LaghuUdyam Suraksha’ to cover enterprises where value at risk at one location is upto Rs. 5 Crore and exceeding 5 Crore but not exceeding Rs. 50 Crore. These products provides cover against Fire and Allied perils such as Fire, Explosion/Implosion, Lightening, Natural Catastrophes (Storm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado, Tsunami, Flood, Inundation, Earthquake, Subsidence, Landslide, Rockslide), Forest, Jungle and Bush fires, Impact Damage of any kind, Riot, Strike, Malicious Damages, Acts of terrorism, Bursting and overflowing of water tanks, apparatus and pipes, Leakage from automatic sprinkler installations and Theft within 7 days from the occurrence of any of the aforesaid events. The different types of property that could be covered under these products are offices, hotels, shops, hospitals, industrial/manufacturing risks, storage risks outside the compound of industrial risks; tank farms/gas holders located outside the compound of industrial risks etc.