Saturday, December 7, 2019

Car insurance renewal

I just realised that I am spending several hours every year to renew the car insurance. When I introspected the whole process that I am doing or undergoing, I realised that many of them are repeating every year and can be avoided.

So, decided to write them down. This can be helpful even for others as it is same for everyone who wants to renew automobile insurance.

  1. Look out for best offer across various insurance providers either via Policy Bazaar, Cover Fox or individually at their respective websites.
  2. Comprehensive Insurance Plan is the policy type to be taken
  3. IDV price selection
    • I normally opt for higher IDV so that insurance coverage is more without taking Right To Invoice or Invoice Cover add on.
    • or can go for optimal suggested IDV by portals along with taking Right to Invoice add on
    • Note: Increasing IDV and Right to Invoice will increase your premium amount to pay
  4. Add on's to include
    1. Zero Depreciation or NIL Depreciation
      • Have always taken this add on. Without this cover, insurance provider will pay the bill subtracting the depreciation amount of that part/item.
      • With this included, 100% charges will be covered
      • Customer have to pay only the compulsorily deductible which will be mostly Rs. 1000.
      • The charges that I noticed for this add on by various insurance providers was in the range of 1500 to 4000.
    2. Engine Protection Cover
      • Engine damages due to water going inside or lubricant spilling and damaging engine is not covered.
      • This add on will cover the engine damages due to above reasons.
      • The charges that I noticed for this add on by various insurance providers was in the range of few hundreds to less than two thousand rupees.
      • Considering the negotiation you will do on the final amount for discounts and that some of the roads are filled with water during monsoon, I thought it is good to have.
    3. 24/7 Road Side Assistance
      • This is a mandatory for all to include
      • Many of the insurance providers provide these by default
      • Some of them do not and customer has to include it as an add-on exclusively
      • Key benefits:
        • Battery jump start
        • Towing service of accident met car with 50 kms distance free of charge
        • Provide travel support for customer for 50 kms distance free of charge
        • Puncture / Fuel getting empty
           Note: Above 3 are the add-on's that I have selected and decided to have as a MUST in insurance policy.

           But, there are more add-on's which one can consider if needed. The insurance providers with whom I have taken insurance had included other add-on's by default and I left them as it is.
    1. Right to Invoice or Invoice Price
      • This add on will help only in case of total loss to the car like theft or fire or complete damage.
      • Insurance provide will pay us complete invoice price which incldes road tax, registration, etc and not just the IDV amount.
      • This add on is available only upto 4 or 5 years of age of vehicle and not available post that.
      • It makes sense to take this during the first few years of purchasing car and especially if your car is having higher depreciation rate (like expensive cars)
    2. Consumables
    3. Loss of Baggage
    4. Key replacement cover
    5. NCB (No Claim Bonus) protector
    6. Daily Allowance
    7. Tyre protector
    8. RIM Damage cover
Other things I opted for this time are:
  • Owner Driver personal accident 15 Lakh Coverage
    • This is mandatory as per Government if you do not already have 15 lakh personal accident insurance coverage.
    • Insurance providers charge Rs. 350 for this coverage (saw slight variations among providers)
  • Passenger personal accident coverage
    • You will select the coverage that each passenger should be covered for.
    • Coverage starts from Rs. 10,000 to max Rs. 2,00,000.
    • Maximum number of passengers covered is not more than the seats defined by the car model.
    • Certain amount is charged and premium amount will increase. Example: Rs. 500 was charged for 2 Lakhs coverage.
Now, you are all set for final stage of buying the insurance for your car.
Compare the premium amounts of various providers and buy one.

Voila!! Your car insurance is renewed.

Don't forget to sync the new policy in DigiLocker mobile app to show electronic version of insurance of traffic police during checks.

Note:
  1. Previous year policy is needed if you have to claim within 30 days of new policy term starting. So retain it with you safely.

Tips:

    1. Better to start early since comparing and finding an good offer takes lot of time.
    2. You will get best offers offline by talking to customer representative and not in online.
      • If you just go to their website and start filling the details to renew, they start calling you immediately.
      • I did notice this behavior only this time and with around 5+ providers.
    3. Look out or ask for detailed inclusions of road side assistance.
    4. Should have tie ups with more garages for cashless claims and reimbursement option if there are no cashless option

    All --> Please do feel free to share your experiences, tips or additional info related to car insurance renewal.
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