Car Insurance

You can choose an ideal car insurance online plan by following some points given below:

1. Select the Type of Plan - Assess your car insurance needs and finalise the type of policy you need. Choose a third party cover or comprehensive cover based on your requirements.

2. Compare Policies - You should compare different car insurance plans online. The comparison makes it easier to pick the best car insurance plan as per your budget and needs.

3. Check for IDV: IDV or the Insured Declared Value is the maximum amount that your insurance company will settle in case your car is completely damaged or stolen. The car insurance premium is directly proportional to the IDV, which means that the higher the IDV, the higher will be the car insurance premium.

4. Check the Premium: Depending on car’s IDV, model, fuel type, age, and other factors, the car insurance premium accordingly varies. So, it is wise to first compare the car insurance premiums and then make the final decision.

5. Ask for Add-on Covers - Add-on covers expand the coverage of your policy. You can buy it by paying an additional premium. You should enquire 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.

6. Look for the Claim Process - Look for an insurance company that has a simple and swift claim process. To confirm the quality of the claim process of insurers, you can check their Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR) before finalising. It refers to the percentage of claims settled by the insurer in a year. It is better to buy a plan from a company with high CSR.

7. Network Garages: The network/cashless garages in car insurance help policyholders in getting their claims settled in a cashless manner. Thus, the greater the number of network garages, the more beneficial will it be for policyholders.

Given below are salient highlights of a four-wheeler insurance policy:

A car insurance offers a host of benefits to its policyholders. The key benefits are as follows -

• Helps You Stay Legally Compliant

  A car insurance helps you stay legally compliant as according to Indian Motor Tariff, every car owner is mandatorily required to have at least a third-party car insurance policy. The absence of which is punishable with a fine of Rs. 2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 3 months.

• Protection Against Third-Party Liabilities

  A car insurance policy helps you mitigate third-party liabilities such as bodily injuries, temporary/permanent disability, death as well as property damage. While, the compensation of third-party property damage is limited to Rs. 7.5 Lakh, there is no compensation cap in case third party bodily injuries, disability or death.

• Protection Against Own-Damages

  A car insurance policy helps you keep yourself financially secured against the own-damage expenses of your car. Damages incurred in road accidents, natural calamities, man-made disasters, fire, explosion, vandalism, etc are covered under standalone own-damage as well as comprehensive car insurance plans.

• Coverage Against Theft

  A car insurance policy also provides coverage in case of theft of your car. In case your car gets stolen, your insurance company provides you with your car’s Insured Declared Value (IDV) which corresponds to the market price of your car.

• Personal Accident Cover

  With a car insurance policy, you can also get a personal accident cover of up to Rs. 15 Lakh which offers a coverage in case of death, bodily injuries as well as disability of the policyholder in a car accident.

In today’s digital world, buying car insurance online offers a bunch of benefits. In comparison to the traditional offline mode of buying car insurance, buying car insurance online is more convenient and hassle-free. Read on to understand how buying car insurance online is advantageous:

Also Read: Reasons Why Buying Car Insurance Online Is A Smart Choice

Every car owner should purchase a comprehensive four-wheeler insurance policy due to several reasons. Here are its top benefits:

1. Third-Party Liabilities - Comprehensive car insurance provides you coverage for third party liability, which will help you if your car gets involved in an accident that leads to damages sustained by the third party. Also, it gives you legal compliance with the basic cover in hand while driving a car.

2. Own Damage Cover - Apart from the third party liability, comprehensive car insurance also gives coverage for damages or losses incurred by your car due to an accident, theft, fire, burglary, man-made disaster or natural calamities. Also, it covers damage or loss to cars while in transit by rail, air, and so on.

3. Personal Accident Cover - Personal accident cover is also offered with comprehensive car insurance plans that give protection against permanent total disability as well as death due to an accident. This cover can be extended for other passengers based on your car’s seating capacity for a specified amount.

4. No Claim Bonus - One of the biggest benefits comprehensive car insurance provides is the No Claim Bonus (NCB) feature. Under this benefit, a policyholder gets a discount on the next year's premium for not making any claim in a policy year. With every claim-free year, discounts accumulate making the car insurance more affordable.

5. Cashless Claims - The cashless car insurance claim is a significant aspect of every policy. Insurance company’s with a large network of garages across the nation ensure active cashless services in all these locations. This facility makes it convenient for policyholders to avail the repair services without paying anything.

Please follow the below steps to calculate the ideal premium of your car -

Step 1: Select your car’s make, model, fuel type and variant

Step 2: Select the city in which your car is registered in

Step 3: Select the year in which you purchased your car

Step 4: Select ‘Yes’ if you have previously made a claim, else select No

Next: Now press the ‘Calculate’ button

Below is the process of car insurance renewal online through the InsuranceDekho portal:

Step 1: Go to InsuranceDekho and click on the ‘Car’ tab.

Step 2: Enter the car’s Registration Number and click on the ‘Proceed’ button. Then choose your car’s variant and vehicle fuel type to continue.

Step 3: Share the previous company’s expiry date and the name of your car insurer. Also, tell if you have raised any claim in the last policy year and click on ‘Continue’.

Step 4: Fill in your name and mobile number and the duration for which you want to insure your car and click on the ‘Submit and Get Quotes’ link.

Step 5: Different premium quotes from different car insurance companies will appear which you will have to compare and choose as per your requirements. You can also pick car insurance add-on covers at this step.

Step 6: Click on the ‘Buy Now’ button, verify your details, and make the payment. The car policy will be issued and its document will be sent to your registered email ID.

If your four-wheeler insurance expires, you will become vulnerable to legal and financial risks. Here are some points risks of an expired car insurance policy:

1. Legal Trouble - Driving a car with an expired car insurance policy can get you in trouble which can lead to penalties. Repeated offences can enhance your penalties and can even make you face imprisonment. Hence, if your car’s policy is expired, then you should renew it immediately.

2. No Cover & Claim - An expired car insurance policy can provide no coverage, which means you cannot make any request for a claim from the insurance company. So, if your car faces any damage, then your insurer will not be liable to compensate your losses and you will have to bear the entire expenses.

3. Long Renewal Process - The renewal process might become difficult and can take a long time if your policy has expired, otherwise, it takes a few minutes only. The reason behind the delay is that an inspection is required to renew an expired policy which may take time as per the availability of the surveyor.

4. Loss of NCB Benefit - The NCB of your car insurance can be terminated if your car insurance plan is not renewed within 90 days of its expiry date. This can make you lose your NCB discount even if it was 50%, which could be a huge loss for you as it could lower your premium for the next year.

5. Scope for Inspection - If your policy expires, your insurance company might want the car before renewing the insurance for it. This can lead to a price hike due to two major reasons that comprise the cost of the inspection process to the company and if your car is not found to be in a good shape or at risk.

Here are some top factors that influence the premium of your car insurance:

1. Make, Model & Variant - The brand, model, fuel type, and variant affects the cost of a car, which will ultimately increase the risk on the insurance company to compensate. So, it affects the premium of the policy.

2. Age of the Car - With age, the depreciation reduces the value of your car that reduces its IDV which has a direct relation with premium. In simple terms, the premium of an old car will be lesser than that of a new car.

3. Add-on Covers - With the inclusion of add-on covers to your car insurance policy, you can get additional coverage. However, to own every add-on cover you will have to pay for a little extra premium which will increase your premium.

4. No Claim Bonus (NCB) - Insurance companies provide their customers with a reward for spending a claim-free year in terms of a discount called No Claim Bonus. With every claim-free year, this bonus tends to increase that will get you more discount on your next year’s premium during renewal.

5. Anti-Theft Device - If someone has installed anti-theft devices authorised by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), then his car insurance policy premium could be lower by the insurance company as it lessens the chances of car theft which ultimately lowers the insurer’s risk and burden to pay compensation.

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 settled first by you and is later reimbursed to you by your insurance provider. You can follow the below steps to make a car insurance claim -

• Step 1: Inform your insurance provider about the incident.
• Step 2: Get your claim intimation number.
• Step 3: A surveyor will visit the place of the incident to assess the damages.
• Step 4: Your insurance provider will arrange for towing services for your car, if required.
• Step 5: Get your car repaired at either a cashless network garage or a garage of your car.
• Step 6: The claim will be settled by the insurance provider in accordance with the garage chosen by you for repairs.
  

To file a four-wheeler insurance claim successfully, you require a few documents which are as follow:

1. Car insurance policy

2. Driving license copy

3. Duly signed claim form copy

4. Original repair invoice

5. RC copy of the car

6. Fitness certificate for commercial cars

6. FIR copy, in case of theft, injury or damage to third-party, or accidents

7. Cash receipt and proof of car release

8. ID proof of insured person such as Aadhar card and PAN card

You can compare different four-wheeler insurance policy quotes online at InsuranceDekho in just 30 seconds. A thorough comparison of policy quotes can help you find the most suitable policy at the lowest premium. To get the policy quotes, you will have to enter some details such as make, model, fuel type, variant, manufacture year and so on. This will get you a car insurance premium offered by several insurers in the market which you can customise with add-on covers and select the one that fits best to your requirements and budget.