The pandemic has changed the way we interact with financial products and services. When Covid-19 emerged, India’s insurance companies considered helping customers through virtual and online assistance. This has led to a dramatic increase in consumption of insurance services digitally.
If you are considering purchasing your car insurance online, you need to follow four simple steps.
Choose Your Insurance Type
Car insurance protects your vehicle from unforeseen risks such as road accidents by providing financial protection for which a premium is paid on a regular basis. The premium of the insurance is dependent on various parameters such as the value of the car, the type of coverage, and vehicle classification among others.
Before deciding on your car insurance plan, you must know the types of car insurance being offered by insurers.
1. Third-party Insurance
Third-party insurance, often referred to as “Act Insurance,” is mandatory as per The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. In this insurance, the insurer offers protection against any damage to the third-party’s vehicle, personal property or physical injury. The third party gets reimbursem*nt for the damage, and the insured gets protected from the financial burden arising from such a damage.
2. Comprehensive Car Insurance
A comprehensive motor insurance is an extensive motor insurance plan. It is an all-inclusive car insurance policy that covers the insured driver from both third-party damages, losses and own damages. For example, it covers losses such as an accident, natural calamity, fire and theft.
3. Pay as You Drive
Pay as you drive is a kind of comprehensive car insurance plan that offers coverage for your own car damages and third-party liability and charges a premium based on the usage of the car.
This car insurance plan enables the insurer to track your driving usage and pattern via the use of telematics and the premium is charged accordingly upon evaluating you as a high risk or a low risk driver.
The market regulator Indian Insurance and Regulatory Authority of India (IRDAI) rolled out this plan on a pilot basis for a term of one year in 2020. Multiple insurance companies have started offering the pay-as-you-drive insurance policy in line with the regulator’s sandbox proposals that were approved last year. The proposals are likely to be extended for the next two years if the recommendations of an amendment draft are agreed upon.
Key features of this plan include:
- Policyholders who have multiple cars, not all of which are driven frequently, can avail this.
- Currently, there are three slabs—2,500 km, 5,000 km and 7,500 km—for the number of kilometres driven and premium is different for each of the slabs.
- The third-party premium (TP) is fixed as per the IRDAI norms but discounts are offered on the own damage (OD) component of the policy.
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Evaluate Your Add-on Coverage
You can increase the protection of their four-wheeler insurance with the help of an add-on coverage. It is aimed at adding an extra layer of insurance to your comprehensive car insurance policy.
Common add-on coverage plans that can be added to your comprehensive insurance policy include:
1. Zero Depreciation
Depreciation is basically the decrease in the value of your vehicle due to natural wear and its age. Owing to this, the value of these parts decreases as well.
When a customer buys a car and uses it for a few days, the car value will decrease to 91% of the initial market value. The car value will drop year after year and that is how the settlement amount is decided by your insurer post the depreciation.
When you take zero depreciation add-on cover, it provides you insurance coverage without any deductions based on the amount of depreciation.
2. Engine Protection
An engine is the most expensive and important part of any car. Generally, damage to your car’s engine is not covered under the regular comprehensive insurance policy. If you want to protect your car’s engine further, you can opt for an engine protection add-on.
3. Invoice Cover
Invoice cover is also known as return to invoice (RTI) cover or invoice protection add-on. In case your vehicle suffers from total loss or is stolen, your insurer will provide you with the amount stated in the invoice of your car purchase as compensation, including the road tax.
4. Roadside Assistance
This add-on comes in handy when you require assistance in the middle of a journey. If you have roadside assistance add-on, you can call your insurance company and request assistance in cases of:
- Dead battery
- Spare keys
- Flat tyre
- Minor repair
- Towing services
- Fuel assistance
- Taxi and accommodation benefits
Know The Hidden Thorns Not Covered in Your Car Insurance Policy
Due to a heavy document loaded with jargon and text-heavy processes, customers tend to avoid a complete check of their policy. It results in disappointment at the time of claims.
Hidden thorns are the exclusions in your car insurance policy. These include:
- Any damage to your car while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be covered.
- Damage to the car during war, terror attacks and similar situations is often not covered.
- Any damage to tyres, tubes and engines unless they are damaged due to accident.
- Any damage due to contributory negligence—for instance, you forget to lock your car and your car gets stolen.
- Driving without a valid license or on the wrong side of the road.
How to Buy Your Car Insurance Online
You need a basic set of documents and information to feed or submit while buying insurance. Follow these steps to buy or renew your car insurance online:
Enter Your Car Number or Select Your Car
The first step is that the customer needs to enter their car details in columns on your insurer’s website dedicated to collecting information such as:
- Name and model number
- Registration number
- Age of your car
- City of registration
Answer a Few Simple Questions Regarding Your Car
After filling in the details, the insurance companies will ask you information such as whether your car insurance has already expired or whether you remember when you requested for your last claim.
Select The Car Insurance Plan You Like
- You can select your insured declared value (IDV), which refers to the maximum claim an insurer will pay if your vehicle is damaged beyond repair or is stolen. It is the current market value of the car and is calculated by deducting the depreciation amount from the manufacturing price of the car.
- Spend time reading the terms and conditions of the policies.
- Apply offers that are available to you to get the price that suits your budget.
- Choose your plan.
- Make the desired payment.
- Check your insurance policy details sent to your email inbox.
Compare and Choose Your Car Insurance Policy Online
Before investing your money, you should compare other policies online to find the best deal that suits your requirement.
- Once you know the kind of coverage you need, the next step is to check the websites of the insurers and evaluate who is offering the best at the lowest price.
- For a comprehensive policy, evaluate the claim settlement, premium, coverage and features.
- Check for value-added services. These include special facilities like breakdown assistance wherein the insurance policy provides a helpline number for pick-up repair, drop and roadside assistance.
- Gauge the credibility of your insurance provider by reading reviews and feedback of customers online. This activity will give you a sense of how active your insurer is in terms of settling claims.
Bottom Line
Purchasing a car insurance online is not only easier as it involves less paperwork, no physical presence and faster responses, but also makes the whole process more transparent.
The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed Indians to actively purchase car insurance policies online. This adoption of digital means you will have wider choices and your chances of purchasing an insurance policy that benefits you will be greater.
