Purchasing a vehicle comes with a lot of peripheral expenses. Taxes, insurance, accessories, etc. While third party insurance cover is mandatory, you should also have a vehicle insurance to avoid getting financially ripped in case of a mishap.
Insurers include standard vehicle insurance and third party cover under one vehicle insurance policy, and you should know the parts, mishaps and kind of damages covered by the policy at the time of purchase.
In this article, we cover the factors which make your policy worth the premium you pay; i.e. you can reduce your premium or chances of claim rejection by following the insurer’s requirement in these areas:
Comprehensive Cover
- The third-party cover is in-built within the policy (mandatory) that comes along with the purchase.
- This cover also includes any damage to one’s own vehicle in case of an accident.
Premium Calculation
- The premium of the insurance policy depends on a variety of factors like:
- Model, capacity, and fuel type of your vehicle
- Place of residence
- Past claims experience
- Modifications done to the vehicle
Add-on Covers
- The no depreciation cover,
- No claims bonus and
- An assistance facility if the vehicle is stuck due to failure.
Cashless Facility
- Private insurers offer cashless facility to their customers for any damage of your vehicle.
- To avail this facility, it is necessary to take the vehicle to the network garages.
- Before you purchase or renew your policy, you can look at the network garages.
No-claims Bonus
- As with the Health Insurance policy, one can avail a benefit of a claim free year.
- This will enable one to avail significant discounts in the premium amounts if the policy is continuously renewed without any break within the admissible time limit of 90 days.
- Usually insurer declares the no-claim bonus beforehand, thus you can estimate while making a claim if it is worth giving up the no-claim bonus next year.
Deductible
- Whenever a claim is made, there is a certain amount that the owner must pay out of his own pocket. This is fixed at Rs. 50 for two-wheelers and Rs. 500 for cars.
- This deductible amount has been made mandatory to avoid any false claims on the insurer.
Exclusions
There are certain exclusions to this policy which are as follows:
- Driver not holding valid license
- Driver being under the influence of drugs or liquor
- Normal wear and tear of the vehicle
- Depreciation
- Mechanical breakdown
- Using the vehicle for other purposes than recommended
The above are some of the key features of a motor insurance policy that one must be aware of before buying one. However, if one has decided to insure his vehicle; it is important to have sufficient knowledge about how to buy the policy and the documents that are required for the same.
Traditional Process to Avail the Policy
Many insurance companies still do it the traditional way through the paperwork. So, you need to be aware of it to be prepared with all the required papers:
- Submit the Declaration Form
- You need to make the insurer aware of the current coverage that you have on your vehicle.
- The insurance company will then decide on what more can it offer to you.
- Submit the declaration page to get the quote from your insurer.
- If satisfied, go ahead with the procedure.
- Driver’s Licence
- Submit the copy of your driver’s licence.
- The company can thus verify your previous record and the authenticity of your case
- Check for Setting up an Electronic Transfer: Electronic fund transfer will enable you to make payments of your premium amount in a hassle-free manner. For setting up such an account, your insurer will want to do a voided check to accurately set up the account for withdraw.
- Discounts Available: Many vehicle insurance companies offer discounts for several reasons. Types of discounts that can be available:
- Loyalty discounts
- Safety device discounts
- Multiple Car Discounts
- Good driving discounts
- Membership discounts (applicable for certain clubs)
How to Buy the Policy Online?
The online procedure is easier as you need not indulge in filing documents separately. Here are the steps you can follow to buy the vehicle insurance online:
- You can get quotes from them in one go by providing the following details:
- Your name
- Model of the vehicle
- Year of purchase
- Registration Number
- Driving license number
- After getting the quotes from your selected insurers, you can follow up with the one you feel is best suited to your requirements.
- Submit the copy of the documents required by mailing them to the insurance company.
- Get in touch with them personally if required.
- You will receive all the papers from them through the mail.
- Check for all essential pages i.e. the insurance policy, the declaration page, the proof of insurance, bills and updated declaration pages.
- All the above are to be secured in the safest place in order to produce them whenever required.
- Study all the features and exclusions of the policy to be clear on what exactly is covered under it.
Keep in mind all these steps before you go on to secure your vehicle from any kind of damage. Individual insurance companies may not offer you quotes from different insurers but we do. Apart from proposal filing, policy management and claim assistance SecureNow also offers you 24×7 support and guidance in your decision making.
