Does Your Car Insurance Policy Cover You Against Natural Calamities?
Natural disasters can hit anywhere and anytime, causing huge damage to the belongings like damaging your car, which is your most valued possession.
Read more
Does Car Insurance Cover Natural Calamities?
Fortunately, it does. A car insurance policy covers any damages caused to your four-wheeler from natural disasters, such as cyclones, floods, earthquakes, storms, etc. Make sure you have comprehensive insurance coverage for your car. This is because third-party car insurance does not cover any vehicle damages from a natural disaster.
For the unversed, a comprehensive car insurance policy is a contract between the car owner and the motor insurance provider where the latter promises to cover the former's liabilities towards third parties and car damages resulting out of natural disasters, accidents, manmade disasters, fire, and theft.
On the other hand, third-party car insurance is a type of car insurance policy where the insurer only promises to cover the third-party liabilities of the car owner.
All comprehensive insurance policies in India cover car damages due to the occurrence of natural disasters as well as man-made disasters. Moreover, you don't have to pay any additional amount to obtain coverage for the damages under your car insurance policy.
Let's understand this with an example- a massive earthquake hits your city, causing extensive destruction to your belongings, including your car. Repairing a damaged car is burning a hole in your own pocket. But if you have a comprehensive car insurance policy, your insurer will compensate for the loss of your car.
However, this is not possible with third-party insurance and you will have to bear the cost of repairing/replacing the damages caused to your car due to natural calamities on your own.
Thus, you need a comprehensive insurance policy if you want your motor insurer to cover the damages suffered by your car due to a natural calamity.
Benefits of a Car Insurance Policy During Natural Disasters
Opting for a comprehensive car insurance policy is an investment and will help you during the tough times. Some of the benefits associated with a comprehensive cover during the natural disasters are mentioned below-
- Benefits of Cashless Claims: One of the biggest benefits of having car insurance during a natural disaster is to avail cashless claim benefits. If your car gets damaged by a cyclone, you can connect with your motor insurance company and ask for cashless claims. The insurer will arrange for towing your damaged car to the nearest garage and settle the bills.
- Provision of No Claim Bonus (NCB): You can avail the benefits of the No Claim Bonus if you have opted for a comprehensive car insurance policy. In this, you get a discount on your premium renewals, if you do not have to raise any claims in the policy term. Moreover, you also get the provision to transfer your existing NCB with a new policy.
- Hassle-free Inspection: Another benefit of having an online comprehensive car insurance policy is the hassle-free inspection and claim process. Do not panic if your insured car gets damaged in a natural disaster. You can avail the benefits of hassle-free inspection with high-quality services if you have opted for a comprehensive plan.
How to Raise a Car Insurance Claim for Damages Due to Natural Disasters?
In case your car has been damaged due to a natural calamity, you can raise a claim under your comprehensive insurance policy. Follow the steps given below to register a claim with your car insurance company:
- Firstly, collect all the evidence in form of photographs & videos of the damaged car from all the angles and published news articles regarding the occurrence of the natural disasters
- Do not move your car from the place of the event and note down the timeline of the natural disaster, including the date and time when it happened in your area
- Connect with your insurer and inform them about the damages caused to your car due to the natural disaster
- Your insurer will designate a surveyor to inspect and evaluate the damages to your insured car. The surveyor will inspect the matter and submit the survey report to the insurer after which your claim will be approved
- The insurer will help you get your car towed to a garage for repair
- Submit all the documents required as per the claim process to your insurer
- Once your car has been repaired you get your car from the garage
- In case of a cashless claim settlement garage, the repair bill will be paid directly by your insurer
- In case of a reimbursement claim settlement process, you will have to pay the repair bill and submit the bill as well as the payment receipts to your car insurer after then your insurer will verify the documents and pay you the claim amount
Car Insurance Add-Ons to Consider if You Live in a Natural Disaster-Prone Area
Some places are prone to certain kinds of natural disasters. For example, Assam and Mumbai are prone to floods. Such places witness these calamities regularly. If you live in a disaster-prone area, your car is constantly at risk of getting damaged. Moreover, car damage caused due to a natural calamity can be significant.
Frequent damages can gradually damage certain parts of your car, which may not be covered under your basic comprehensive insurance policy.
Fortunately, there are different add-on covers that you can buy with your comprehensive car insurance policy. An add-on cover is an additional protection offered by the insurer just by charging a small amount of extra car insurance premium.
These add-on covers enhance your car insurance coverage and offer protection against the damages caused to your car due to a natural calamity.
Some common types of add-on covers you can buy if you live in a natural disaster-prone area are- engine protection cover, NCB protection cover, consumable cover, zero depreciation cover, etc.
In a Nutshell
All comprehensive car insurance plans offer coverage against natural calamities. Nonetheless, you can enhance the coverage of a 4-wheeler insurance policy by purchasing relevant add-on covers available from the best car insurance companies in India. Do remember to follow the guidelines stated above to ensure that your motor insurer approves your car insurance claim.
