Want to Save on General Insurance Premium? Here are a Few Tips

While purchasing an insurance plan, the two most common terms that you come across are – sum insured and premium. On one hand where sum insured is the coverage that an insurer will provide you as coverage against risks, the other hand you have premiums. The premium is the amount that you pay to the insurer to keep your insurance policy in force.

The insurance sector in India can broadly be divided into two parts - Life Insurance and General Insurance. And when we talk about the premiums of general insurance products, we are saying about the premiums that you are paying for your health insurance plan, travel insurance policy, motor insurance, etc.

Even though the premium of an insurance policy is a fraction of the cost that you get in case of an accident, damage, or loss, but you for sure want to save some money in it as well. You want to save on the premiums that you pay for your general insurance plans such as travel insurance policy or for your family floater insurance plan. Therefore, keeping your requirements in mind, in this article we are going to discuss some tips that you may use in order to save on the premiums of your general insurance policy (ies):

Tip 1: Do Not Take Instant Decision - Shop Around:

As you do with any type of shopping, shop around before coming to any conclusion of purchasing an insurance policy. Explore more and more options, do your research on the insurance plans for which you are looking out an insurance policy. Take quotes from at least three insurance providers and compare the differences. You can use the internet to compare different insurance policies as well. For the same, you can take the help of an insurance web aggregator and just by filling a simple form on it; you can search for different plans compatible with your needs. In this way, you can compare different plans there and shortlist the most suitable one.

Tip 2: Prefer Direct Purchase and Renewal:

Just like purchasing other things, if you purchase an insurance policy through some agent, then you have to pay his commission as well. You may get the desired plan as per your needs with the help of the agent, but his commission will be added to your insurance cost. There are insurance providers who are cutting down the role of any middle-man like an agent and giving policies directly. Apart from this, you can use the internet in this tech-savvy era to purchase an insurance plan directly from the insurer’s website. You may not find direct insurance purchase as the cheapest option, but it is for sure the most affordable and a considerable choice. For the renewal of the policy also, do not take the help of an agent, try to get it by self by going to the website of the insurance provider or by going physically to its branch. Most of the insurance providers these days have everything online.

Tip 3: Try to Stick with One Insurance Provider:

These days, most of the insurers provide insurance for all general insurance products like motor, personal accident, health, travel, etc. So it is suggested to take different insurance plans from one provider only. This is because in such cases insurance provider offers you a good discount on the premiums and hence makes your policies less costly.

Tip 4: Select Premium Payment Duration Wisely:

Your insurance provider may give you the facility of paying your premiums on a monthly basis, but for this convenience, they generally charge extra. Therefore, paying in every six months or annually is considered as a less expensive option. However, in annual or half-yearly premium payments, you may find slight difficulty as you have to maintain your every month's saving discipline, but it saves your money in the long run.

Tip 5: Try to Avoid Claims:

It even though sounds weird as you take insurance to get financial aid at the time of misfortunes, but smaller claims may increase the rate of premium. Moreover, you may not be able to gain the benefits of ‘No Claim Bonus’. Therefore, it is advised to pay for the smaller claims from your pocket, if possible and enjoy the low premium in the next policy term.

Tip 6: Renew Your General Insurance Policy On-time:

If you already have any policy such as an insurance plan for your car or bike, then renew it on-time. Any delay in paying the premiums can lead to the policy termination or you can end up paying a higher premium amount to keep your policy in force. Moreover, delay in renewal can also lead you to lose the benefits of No Claim bonus. In the case of bikes and cars, no claim bonus reduces the premium of your car or bike insurance. In the case of health insurance the no claim bonus increases the sum insured. Therefore, any delay may lead you to miss all these advantages or sometimes can lead to policy termination. So, it is suggested to not to delay any insurance policy, always do renewals on time.

Tip 7: Use Some Online Premium Calculator:

For those who are completely new to the insurance industry may find it difficult to calculate the premiums and consequently do not know how to save on the premiums. For such people, there are various online premium calculators available online. You can calculate the approximate value of the premium that you have to pay for your insurance policy and can manage your finances accordingly.

Conclusion:

These are some of the tips to save on the premiums of the general insurance plans, but there are several other ways to save on your various individual health insurance policies. For example, keeping your vehicle in the best working condition or having a fire extinguisher with an alarm can lower the premium cost. This is because these precautions lower the chances of making any claim. Moreover, keeping yourself healthy is perhaps a prime way to lower down the premium of your health insurance plan. In this way, all the above-mentioned piece of advice represents one of the simplest ways to save on your insurance premium. So what are you waiting for? Follow these tips and increase the chances of reducing the premium of your various general insurance policies.