Things to Know Before Buying Home Insurance Policy
The following are the general terms and conditions governing IFFCO Tokio’s Home Family Protector Policy. You must carefully read and understand them to be able to derive maximum benefits from your home protector insurance policy. If you have any questions or doubts, feel free to get in touch with us through our chat feature or through our customer care toll-free number 1-800-103-5499.
1. Reasonable Precaution and Care of Property
It is assumed that you will take all possible and reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of the property which has been insured, i.e. your house. It is also assumed that you will take all reasonable care and precautions to minimize the damages, loss or illness to reduce the instances of claims. You shall comply with all statutory regulations as well as guidelines by the manufacturer regarding the safety and proper functioning of the equipment.
2. Notice
It is your responsibility to send all your notices and communication to our registered office address of the branch with whom your policy has been registered.
3. Disclosure of information
You must at all times ensure that all the relevant information is disclosed to us from your side and no material information is concealed. Any misrepresentation or concealment of information would lead to your policy being rendered ineffective as well as forfeiture of your insurance premium.
4. Free Look-up Period
You are entitled to a free look-up period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy documents. During this period, you are free to cancel the policy if you do not find the terms and conditions according to your preferences.
If you do not make any claim during this period, you shall be entitled to the refund as follows: -
A full refund of the premium less any expenses incurred by us.
If the risk coverage has already started and you exercise your right to cancel the policy, the refund would be made after deducting the proportionate premium for the period the policy has been in effect and less any expenses incurred from our side.
If only a part of the risk has commenced, then the refund shall be paid after proportionately deducting the risk premium for the period and expenses incurred by us such as medical examination and stamp duty.
5. Claim Procedure and Requirements
In case of occurrence of any incident or damage which may become a claim under the definition of the policy, you must make sure that you intimate the same to us in writing urgently. Thereafter, you shall be provided with a claim form, which you can download from the website. You must then complete the claim form and prepare a statement of claim and submit the same to us within 15 days along with all supporting documents such as invoices, vouchers, photographs, investigation reports, etc.
You should intimate the local police station immediately regarding any theft, attempted theft, any other criminal act or incidents like a strike, riots, etc. You must also inform the police regarding any losses suffered under Section 3 of the policy. It is expected that you will take all genuine precautionary steps to minimize or stop the occurrence of any such incident.
If any third party is filing a claim against you or your family member, then you must intimate us immediately. Any notice or summon received in this regard shall be forwarded to us without any delays. You must not try to enter into any unauthorized negotiations with the said person without our prior approval. You are expected to extend all possible assistance to our representative who is trying to settle claims on your behalf.
If you have to file a claim under the Personal Accident Section of the home protect insurance policy, then you or your family members are expected to inform us within 14 days regarding the nature of injuries or the occurrence of death. As and when prescribed from our side, you shall furnish all medical reports and records issued by an authorized medical practitioner. We have the discretionary power to conduct any necessary medical tests under the supervision of our medical representatives.
6. Change in Circumstances
If there has been any material change in the information that you have provided to us, then you must intimate us immediately. This information may pertain to yourself, your family members, your house, your business or your employees which have been covered under the home protector insurance policy. You also need to inform us if your house is going to be unoccupied for more than 30 days continuously along with the reason. If you make changes or alterations in your house without informing us, then the policy cover will cease to exist, and you shall be without any protection.
7. Cancellation of Policy
In case you are no longer interested in the coverage provided by our home protect insurance policy, you are at your discretion to cancel the policy by giving a 15-days written a notice to us at our registered address.
Our company also holds the power to cancel your policy by issuing a 15-days notice, sent to your registered mailing address. In such a case you are entitled to a refund on a pro-rata basis, for the remaining unexpired period of the policy. The same shall be payable on demand from your side only.
8. Claim Control
We reserve the right to:
Enter the building where the damage has taken place and take possession of the building and deal with the salvage. But it does not imply that the building may be abandoned to us.
Receive and seek all pertinent information from you or your authorized representative or any family member who is seeking the benefits under the policy.
Enter into any claim or settlement with a third party on behalf of yourself or any other beneficiary under this policy. The settlement shall be binding on all parties.
Initiate any proceedings against anyone in order to recover any amount or file a claim for our own benefit but under your name. The same shall be done at our own expense and time.
You shall not enter into any settlement or agree to any claim unless authorized by us or our representative.
9. Fraud
The policy would be null and void, and all the benefits of the policy would cease to exist if it is found that any fraud or concealment of material fact has been indulged into by you, your family members, your employees or your authorized representative.
10. Arbitration
In case of any kind of dispute or difference that arises in regard to the amount to be paid under the policy, then such a dispute, independent of all other questions, shall be taken to a sole arbitrator that will be appointed as per the choice of both the parties involved, i.e. yourself and our company.
In the case where both of us are not able to decide upon a single arbitrator within the 30 days of the arbitration clause being invoked, then such a case shall be referred to a panel of three arbitrators.
In this panel, one arbitrator shall be appointed by you and the second one shall be appointed by us, and both the arbitrators will consult and appoint the third arbitrator. Such arbitration shall be carried out as per the regulations and rules mentioned in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. During the process of arbitration, you reserve the right to communicate with us regarding any information regarding your policy.
11. Disclaimer Clause
Once a claim has been settled by our company, and you do not raise any objection regarding the same within the next 12 months, then all our liabilities regarding the claim would deem to have been discharged, and no future claim is admissible and recoverable under the policy for the same damage.
12. Penalty/Interest
No sum payable under this policy as a claim or benefit shall be subject to any penalty or interest.
13. Geographical Limit
Only those claims that have been made against the damages which occurred within the geographical boundaries of India are admissible under this policy. The only exceptions to this rule are under Section 6, Section 8, Section 10 and Section 11A which are open for claims for damages incurred anywhere around the world. Irrespective of the country where the damages were incurred, all claims shall be settled in Indian rupees only. The policy shall be governed by the laws of Indian Government only and both the parties agree to the fact that only Indian Courts shall have jurisdiction over matters related to the policy.
14. Grievance
If you have any grievances or complaints in regard to your policy or any of the terms and conditions, you can register your grievances on our website www.iffcotokio.co.in. You can also visit the nearest branch and file a written complaint. You or any of your family members covered under the policy are free to contact the grievances officer at our corporate office if you feel that your grievance has not been settled by the branch level officer.
15. Withdrawal and Alteration of Policy conditions
The terms and conditions of the policy may be changed from time to time as per the guidelines of the IRDA. But we will make sure that you receive written notification regarding the same at least three months before the said change comes into effect. The same shall be sent to you through your registered address through the post and shall be emailed on your registered e-mail id as well. The timelines that have been prescribed by the IRDA shall be binding on both of the parties, i.e. you and IFFCO Tokio.
We reserve the right to withdraw any product with prior approval of IRDA, and you shall be intimated regarding the same through a written mail from our side as per the guidelines of the IRDA along with various options available to you. If you fail to submit your response regarding the product which has been withdrawn, it shall be assumed that you do not want to continue with the product and the same shall be withdrawn on the said date. In that case, you need to opt for a new policy.
16. Enhancement of Sum Insured
This provision relates to the section pertaining to Personal Accident. If the capital sum insured in such cases is increased by more than 10% than last year, it shall be permitted only at the discretion of the underwriter.
17. Payment of premium
You must note that it is your responsibility to pay the premium before the commencement of risk coverage, i.e. your home protect insurance cover will start only after the premium has been paid from your side. Only those receipts will be considered valid, which are on our officially prescribed form and have been signed by the authorized officer. It shall be noted that no Waiver of any terms, conditions or provisions shall be valid unless in writing and duly signed by our authorized official.
18. Protection of Policy Holder Interest
If you make a claim under the home protector insurance policy and the same is found admissible as per the terms and conditions of the policy, we will make an offer for settlement of the claim or convey the rejection within 30 days of receipt of all the required documents and reports. If there are any discrepancies, we shall ask for more documents as deemed necessary. This process of home protect insurance review is done in lieu of protecting your interests as a policyholder. Once your claim has been approved, you shall receive the payment for the same within 7 days after you accept the offer. In case of any delay in the payment of the sum, we will be held liable to pay interest at 2.0% above the bank rate prevalent at the beginning of the financial year when the claim was received by us.
19. Reinstatement of Sum Insured
The sum insured by Sections 1 to 7 mentioned above, shall not be reduced by the amount of any damage but for reinstatement of the sum insured you shall be liable to pay pro-rata premium for the period starting from the occurrence of the damage to the expiry of the policy. The additional premium which has been referred herein will be deducted from the net claim amount payable under the policy.
But in case you choose to exercise your right to not reinstate the sum as per the conditions mentioned above, the sum insured will be reduced by the amount of claim awarded for the remaining period of the policy. This provision shall also not be applicable to those covers, additional benefits of extensions wherein our maximum liability has been specified.
20. Policy Disputes
Any dispute arising out of interoperation of the medical insurance policy’s terms and conditions, liabilities, inclusions, exclusions or any other thing, is mentioned here and is agreed upon and understood by the insured person and the insurer. The disputed matters for insurance and its policies shall be dealt with according to the law and practice of the law of court within the Indian Territory.
