Motor insurance is an insurance policy that acts as a safety net for vehicle owners to protect their vehicle from incurring financial losses arising out of events such as accidents, theft, or damage. In a country like India, car accidents have become common, no matter how safely you drive, or someone hits your parked car near a shopping mall, restaurant, lane beside societies, etc. How will you deal with such scenarios? Well, that’s where your motor insurance comes into play. Realising the importance of the safety of the vehicle owners, the government of India, by law, has made vehicle insurance mandatory.
Prudent Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. offers you a wide range of standalone and comprehensive insurance plans at an affordable price online for your vehicles.
Yes, it is compulsory for every motor owner in the country to own at least a third party car insurance cover, as per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Absence of the same is a punishable offence, which attracts a fine of INR 2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to three months for the first offence.
There are many insurance options available online. You can compare covers, premium rates, etc., and choose the one that best suits your budget and requirement.
A Comprehensive Car Insurance policy is the most extensive car insurance cover for private cars that provides complete protection to the insured vehicle from all kinds of risks. The policy covers road accidents, accidents in the event of natural calamities, man-made disasters, self-ignition or lightning, explosion, fire, theft, etc.
A Liability car insurance policy is a mandatory requirement for driving a car in India. It is the most basic car insurance plan and is thus also called Liability Only Car Insurance Policy. Under this cover, the insurance company is liable to pay for bodily injuries, permanent disability, temporary disability, as well as death caused by an accident involving the insured’s car. This plan also provides coverage for property damage incurred by the third party up to INR 7.5 Lac.
In September 2019, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) introduced the standalone Own-Damage car insurance policy. Under this plan, the insured gets insurance coverage only for own damages sustained by his/her four-wheeler in a road accident, natural/man-made calamity, fire, explosion, theft, or any other mishap. A standalone own-damage car insurance policy lets the insured choose an insurance provider as per their needs.
Add-on covers expand the coverage of your policy and can be availed by paying an additional premium. You can inquire about the add-ons and choose the one which suits your needs the best. However, you can have these covers only with the comprehensive insurance plan. Add-ons can be engine protector, return to invoice, consumable covers, nil depreciation cover, , tyre protection cover, etc.
Every insurer is associated with an authorised garage. A cashless claim facility allows the insured to get services for their vehicles at these garages.
An insurance provider rewards the insured for driving well and not making any claims in a policy year. This is called a No Claim Bonus (NCB). It is a discount on your insurance premium that you can avail of when you renew your policy. If you do not make any claims for up to five years, you can accumulate up to a 50% discount on Own Damage (OD) premiums.No Claim Bonus (NCB) can be earned only in the Own Damage section of policies.
There is no standard time for the claim settlement. Claim settlement period may vary from one insurer to another. Also, the cause of a claim makes a difference in the claim settlement period.
If your policy expires, your insurance company might want to see the car before renewing the insurance for it. This can lead to a price hike due to two major reasons, the cost of the inspection process to the company and the car not being in a good shape or at risk.
A car insurance claim can be made in two ways - cashless claim or reimbursement claim. When you visit a network (partner) garage of your insurance provider for your car’s repair work, the claim is settled in a cashless manner. When you visit a non-network garage of your choice, the claim is first settled by you and is later reimbursed to you by your insurance provider.
There are certain types of claims in which the insurer might need you to file the FIR as its copy might be needed to settle the claim. Cases such as theft or third party liability claims need to be reported to the police, and FIR filing is mandatory.
To file a four-wheeler insurance claim successfully, you require a few documents as follows:
The Insured’s Declared Value (IDV) of the vehicle will be deemed to be the ’sum insured’ of the vehicle, and it will be fixed at the commencement of each policy period for each insured vehicle.
In case of total loss or vehicle being stolen, the insurance company will pay the IDV at the time of the claim.
In case of any mistake in your policy document, you need to inform the insurance company. The insurer will correct the mistake by passing an endorsement under the policy.
The following contingencies are usually excluded under the Motor Insurance Policy:
(Please refer to the policy document for the complete list of exclusions)
Add-on cover extends the cover under the base policy on the payment of additional premium. Different insurers have different add-ons available with them. Nil Depreciation Cover, Return to Invoice Cover, Engine Protect are some of the most common add-on covers in the market. You can visit the IRDAI website (irdai.gov.in) for detailed coverage under these add-ons.
Yes, you can avail of the NCB facility if you change the insurer on renewal. You will have to produce a renewal notice from the current insurer. If the same cannot be produced, you can produce your original expiring policy along with a self-declaration that no claim has been lodged by you on the expiring policy.
Yes, GST is applicable as per the prevailing rule of law. Currently, GST charge is 18% on the premium amount for all insurance products.
If CNG/LPG kit is fitted to the vehicle, RTA where the vehicle was registered should be informed, to note the change in the registration certificate (RC). The Insurance Company should also be informed to have the kit covered on payment of extra premium on the value of the kit under "OD" section and also under "Liability" section.