All You Need to Know About Car Insurance

Though motor insurance is considered to be an additional cost, it is absolutely detrimental that we invest in it to safeguard ourselves against vehicular damage or natural calamities.

There are two types of car insurance plans – comprehensive insurance and third-party liability. In comprehensive insurance, any damage to your vehicle is covered by third-party liability, damages caused on account of an accident by your vehicle to the other party.

Though only the latter type of coverage is mandatory, it is advisable that one invests in comprehensive insurance as well to cover all grounds.

Here are some of the most important benefits of insuring your car –

• A large number of risks are covered – When it comes to a car, a large number or risks are there. They can range from man-made disasters like theft, accidents, fire, riots, malicious damages, and natural disasters like floods, earthquakes and storms, to name a few. Furthermore, in the case of third-party liability, any damage to the other party is also covered.

• Insured Value – Your car can be insured for a value, known as the Insured Declared Value, which is based on the manufacturer’s price of the vehicle minus the depreciation of the vehicle subject to its age. If you opt for a zero depreciation cover, the depreciation amount is not deducted, but the whole amount is handed over to the owner.

• Savings on premium amount paid – If you go through a claimless year, you can avail the no claim bonus (NCB), which offers you a discount on your premium. In some cases, you can reduce the premium by up to fifty percent every year. Furthermore, if you sell your vehicle, you can also transfer the NCB to your new vehicle and enjoy a lower premium payout.If an individual is a member of the Automobile Association of India, they can avail further discounts. Some insurance plans also provide discounts on the own damage premium (OD) to those who opt for a voluntary deductible. Furthermore, during claim-free policy years, individuals could also opt for a discount on OD premium.

• Add-ons provided – There are various special add-ons provided by insurance providers, like roadside assistance and hospitalization to riders like engine coverage, towing, personal accident, ambulance, and medical expenses. These can be customized and chosen by the policyholder as per their preferences.
• Vehicle replacement – In the unfortunate event of an accident, sometimes, the vehicle can be damaged beyond repair. In such cases, provided you pick the right insurance plan, you can have your car fully replaced with a new one that is equivalent to its value. This is in case where the damage to the car is so much that the claim amount received by the policyholder is much less than the actual value of the car.

While there are numerous benefits of purchasing or renew your car insurance policy, you should make sure that you do not undervalue the car in an effort to bringing down the premium. Doing so will drastically decrease the claim amount.

Besides, you should also ensure that there is no lapse in the payment of the premium because any damage to the car during the interim time results in no benefit offered by the auto insurance provider.