Buying car insurance is critical in terms of avoiding financial crises involving your car. Thus, it is highly beneficial to research and put effort into buying the best yet affordable policy possible. To do so, follow these do’s and don’ts:
Do’s of Car Insurance
#1 Understand your requirements
The very first step while buying car insurance is to make a note of your requirements. This could begin with how often you drive your car? How many people use your car? How many people travel with you? etc. Your age, location, the make, and model of your car, etc., will play an important role while getting your car insured. You can customize your car insurance policy based on these details.
#2 Check for NCB
The result of safe driving is that you don’t raise any claims against your insurance policy. If so, your insurer will give you a No Claim Bonus, i.e., a discount on car insurance premium for driving safely. This bonus is cumulative in nature and increases with every claim-free year.
#3 Buy Necessary add-ons
As mentioned earlier, the first step of buying a car insurance policy is to identify your requirements. Based on these understandings, you can select Add-on coverages that best suit your requirements. Add-ons are available only with Comprehensive Car Insurance Policies. Additional covers are optional to buy and provide coverage which a basic Comprehensive car Insurance policy lacks.
#4 Renew your policy on time
To enjoy the benefits of your policy, you need it to be active at all times. If you do not renew the policy before or on expiry, you will not be able to file a claim if an unfortunate event occurs. Thus, the policy must be renewed on time. If you do not renew the policy in time and there is a delay of 90 days or more, you may lose all the accumulated No Claim Bonus.
#5 Search for the best insurer
An insurer that provides prompt services, whose products are affordable and feature rich, and has a good claim settlement ratio is one of the best car insurance policy providing companies in India. If you are looking for good car insurance coverage, you need to make sure that you approach the best insurance company.
Don’ts of Car Insurance
#1 Don’t Buy extra add-ons
As Add-ons are to be purchased separately, they increase the cost of your car insurance policy. So, buying a lot of them would unnecessarily burn a hole in your pocket. A thorough understanding of your requirements will help you buy specific Add-ons which are beneficial to you. For example, buying Engine Protection Add-on would make sense if you live in a flood-prone area as floodwater might damage the car’s engine.
#2 Don’t set high IDV
IDV, i.e., Insured Declared Value is the approximate market value of your car. This value forms the basis of an equation used to deduce your car insurance premium. Setting a higher value will result in a high-cost car insurance policy. On the other hand, setting a lower amount may leave you underinsured. I.e., at the time of claim, you may receive a lower amount than expected.
Third-party Liability car insurance policy. As the name suggests, it is beneficial only when your car causes damage or injuries to a third party. Under this policy, your insurer will not bear the cost of repairing the damages caused to your car. Thus, buying coverage for your car is also necessary. A Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy covers third-party liabilities and own damage, plus you can extend the coverage with Add-ons.#5 Don’t forget to understand the policy document
Once you buy a car insurance policy, do not forget to go through the policy document. Understanding the exclusions and inclusions will help at the time of an unfortunate event.
Online Car Insurance
In India, many insurers are offering online car insurance policies. Buying the policy online is the most convenient way of buying car insurance in India. This way, you buy your insurance policy directly from the insurer instead of an insurance agent or by personally visiting the company. Also, you can know more about two wheeler insurance policy online without going to the insurance agents.
