“The Motor War Risk Add-On Cover is designed to bridge a critical protection gap by offering insurance protection against direct physical loss or damage to the insured vehicle arising from war-related events. The cover can also be availed for motor insurance policies issued by other insurers,” said Girija Subramanian,CMD, adding that the premium for this add on can be as cheap as a cup of tea.
Mumbai:Further expanding its innovative war-risk insurance offerings beyond ships and property, New India Assurance (NIA), the country’s largest general insurance multinational, on Wednesday launched a first-of-its-kind war-risk cover for the Motor insurance segment.
Termed as the Motor War Risk Add-On Cover, the product is designed to bridge a critical protection gap by providing insurance protection against direct physical loss or damage to insured vehicles arising from war-related events, subject to policy terms and conditions.
“The Motor War Risk Add-On Cover is designed to bridge a critical protection gap by offering insurance protection against direct physical loss or damage to the insured vehicle arising from war-related events. The cover can also be availed for motor insurance policies issued by other insurers,” said NIA Chairman and Managing Director Girija Subramanian adding that the premium for such an add-on cover can be as cheap as a cup of tea.
The add-on will be available for eligible motor insurance policies covering two-wheelers, private cars and commercial vehicles across India.
The add-on provides protection against direct physical damage to insured vehicles resulting from war, armed conflict, hostilities, warlike operations and military action between sovereign nations, whether declared or undeclared, subject to policy terms and conditions.
Subramanian noted that conventional motor insurance policies typically exclude losses arising directly or indirectly from war, invasion, hostilities, military action and similar events.
“The new add-on cover addresses this exclusion by providing a dedicated layer of protection against specified war-related perils,” she said.
The launch marks a significant expansion of NIA’s specialised war-risk portfolio. Through the Bharat Marine Insurance Pool, the insurer already offers war-risk protection for ships and recently for the first time introduced a war-risk add-on under Fire insurance policies.
“In today’s rapidly evolving geopolitical environment, risks are no longer confined to traditional battlefields. Modern conflicts involving missiles, drones, aerial attacks and other war-related events have demonstrated that civilian assets can also be exposed to unexpected threats,” Subramanian said.
Major exclusions under the cover include nuclear events or radioactive contamination, chemical, biological or electromagnetic weapons, cyber warfare or electronic attacks, civil war, rebellion, revolution or insurrection, confiscation or seizure by government authorities, and losses prohibited under applicable international sanctions.