This is insurance for coverage of risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles such as 4-wheeler, 2-wheeler etc. For personal use and commercial cars, trucks, other carriage vehicles, etc. For commercial use. Motor insurance is mandatory as per the Motor Vehicle Act but you need to understand each component in detail to get the best deals favoring your conditions and usage pattern. E.g, someone who changes his/her car as frequently as 2-4 years will have very different needs as compared to someone who intends to use the car for a very long period. What is legally compulsory is a 3rd party insurance but get to the depths of 1st party insurance, 2nd party insurance and add-on’s including Zero Depreciation Cover (ZDC), Engine Protection Cover (EPC), Roadside Assistance (RSA), Consumables Coverage, Return to Invoice (RTI)

House insurance in itself can be divided into 2 parts, insurance of the structure itself and insurance of the good inside the structure (normally taken by tenants). When taking house insurance keep in mind what exactly is it that you are insuring yourself for. E.g., if you insure yourself for reconstruction cost and you live in a high rise, it may not serve the purpose, moreover the construction value depreciates over time. Alternately if you own the land and live in an independent house, the cost of structure with a few add-on's may be good enough. Remember insurance works on the probability of something happening and thus you will see insurance against fire or earthquake will be relatively cheaper (unless you live in an earthquake prone area). You will need to understand your surroundings to make better decisions on your insurance, e.g., earthquake / flood prone area, border towns, previous cases of terrorism, etc. It is always useful to take comprehensive cover for property value and add-on for valuables like portable electronics (laptop, expensive watches, cameras, etc.), jewelry, terrorism cover and public liability. Now when you will try to buy this kind of insurance there will be options to get the cover for a longer duration offering discounts, it is advisable to not go for very long term insurance because your property value increases over time and you may want to accordingly increase the cover, at best go for a 1-2 year policy and not more. 

Please be very clear, home loan insurance is not home insurance. This insurance covers the balance payment of home loan EMI’s in case of the demise of the borrower. You need to understand that this is a diminishing insurance. E.g. if the borrower took a loan of 1Cr, the insurance on day 1 stands at 1Cr, however over time as the borrower pays the EMI’s and let’s say the home loan principle diminishes to 75Lakh, the insurance now is liable to pay only 75 Lakh and not 1Cr. A lot of people suggest that to avoid such situation it is better to take a term loan of 1Cr on day 1 and carry it till the EMI’s are finished, that way even if the principle reduces to 75Lakh, the nominee still gets 1Cr. However, there is a catch in there, if for some reason there is a delay in receiving the term loan insurance amount, nominee is still liable to pay the balance home loan amount. The smart thing to do here would be to carry a home loan insurance in initial years and over time as your capital appreciates shift to term loan. This will ensure that in case of an unlikely event in early years the home loan is taken care of and in later years when the principle has diminished to a level that can be taken care of by accumulated funds, term loan benefits are availed by the nominee. 

This is potentially the most used and most notorious insurance. Most people today have and avail health insurance either at a personal level or through the company alliances where the health insurance is a part of their salary package. This insurance basically provides coverage for medical expenses. When taking medical insurance take good care in understanding exclusions (e.g. pre-defined diseases, pre-existing disease for a certain number of years, pregnancy), limits (e.g., daily room charge limit), critical care coverage, co-pay (a 10% co pay means you pay 10% of all approved expenses and 100% of balance not covered in insurance e.g. consumables). Most importantly take due care in deciding the medical cover value, you need to keep in mind this is for an unfortunate tomorrow and should be able to cover medical costs for tomorrow.  

This is coverage for commercial purposes, e.g., stock in a warehouse, a commercial vehicle, a shop or manufacturing unit, etc. 

Travel insurance covers you for unforeseen troubles when you are travelling outside your hometown, more so when travelling outside the country. You do not want to get into financial troubles in a country where no one else knows you. This can cover medical emergencies, trip cancellation / interruption / delays, medical evacuation, and lost, damaged, or stolen luggage / passport / other important documentation and goods.