5 Car Insurance Policy Advice You Must Know About

It is important to know about many things while buying car insurance. In this article, you can get complete information about such crucial aspects of car insurance that will save you from lot of troubles in the long run. Not only that, it will also help you to choose the best deal available in the market and you can get complete value for your money spent on the insurance policy for your car. Many people are not aware of the best methods to buy insurance and they still choose the traditional method of buying it from the insurance agents or get in touch with the companies directly to buy the policy for their vehicle. However, you can choose the smart option and buy them online to save money as well as time spent on the process. There is no difference in the features of the policy when you buy it online and you get the same coverage which is provided through offline resources. The only difference is that you will be able to get some discounts when you buy the policy online and it will also help you to compare different plans that are trending in the market. In this way, online car insurance portals become one stop solution for all your insurance needs in future. You can also renew the plans in the same manner using the portal of the insurance aggregator and this will help you to get continued coverage without any hassles.

Mandatory 3 years coverage required for new cars

You will be surprised to know that you need to buy car insurance for a minimum of three years tenure as against the earlier one year tenure. This is mandatory as per the new guidelines issued by IRDAI and this means that you will be able to get a combination of third party and comprehensive coverage within one plan as per your individual requirement. You can choose own damage cover for one year and get third party cover for the entire tenure within one plan. However, you can even go for the regular third party or comprehensive cover as per your convenience. This is a strategic move by the insurance regulator to improve the penetration of insurance in the country.

Cheap Vs Expensive plans

If you do not have a high budget for the car insurance policy, you can go for the third party cover that offers basic coverage at very nominal rates. You will be able to reduce the premium even further when you choose third party insurance online as the sellers offer good discount for online customers. This cover however does not protect your own vehicle in any manner and you will only be protected against legal liabilities arising out of an accident situation. When your car has caused damage to third party life or property due to an accident, you can use the insurance policy to pay for the damages as directed by the court. The third party cover is the most inexpensive cover available in the market.

On the other hand, when you have a decent budget for the car insurance policy, you can go for the comprehensive cover that comes at slightly higher cost than the third party cover. However, it offers better quality coverage and you can get complete protection even for your vehicle along with third party cover. In this plan, your car will be covered for any damage that can happen even due to non-collision. Most companies offer coverage for damage done due to natural disasters and fire accidents. You can use the online car insurance calculator to check the price difference between these two plans.

Zero depreciation cover for new cars

Your car will start losing its market value the moment it is out of the showroom. The standard rate of depreciation is around 10% per year and you can choose the zero depreciation cover to protect the value of your car. Note that the insurance company will offer sum assured cover based on the market value of the car. In this regard, when you choose zero depreciation cover, the market value will remain intact for the first two years and you can get full compensation without any deduction if complete loss of vehicle happens within this duration. This cover comes at additional cost and it is not a standard package that is included in every comprehensive plan.

Coverage not provided for certain accessories

When you get insurance cover for your vehicle, it does not mean that every accessory if the car is protected with insurance. Certain components made of fiber and glass may not be offered coverage by the policy. In this situation, when something happens to the glass components, you have to bear the expenses from your own pocket and you cannot claim insurance for such damages. However, you can buy coverage for such accessories by including separate add-on covers. When you buy online car insurance from the leading insurers such as Bajaj Allianz car insurance you can get such options. Make sure to check for such details in the policy document and get your doubts clarified with the insurance agents.

Cashless claims possible with network garages

Every service provider has a network of garages and you can get cashless claims when you get your vehicle repaired at such garages after an accident. Normally, when any damage has happened to your car due to an accident, you take it to the nearest garage and get it repaired. In this situation, you have to collect the bills and then submit it to the insurance company for reimbursement. This can be avoided when you get them repaired at the network garages of the service provider. In this situation, the network garage will send the bill directly to the insurance company and you can avail cashless services at such garages.

Increase protection with add-on covers

There are many ways in which you can increase the coverage offered by the insurance policy. The simple thing you can do in this case is to choose add-on covers that will meet your specific requirements. You can customize the coverage offered by the policy in this manner. Some of the popular add-on covers are zero depreciation cover, roadside assistance cover, theft cover and special accessories cover. Remember that these covers come at a cost and you should include only those covers that will provide you good benefits for your situation. Use the online car insurance calculator to know about the cost involved in buying such add-on covers.

Voluntary excess can decrease premium by huge margin

You can get some discount on the premium when you agree to share the burden of damages in future. In simple terms, when you share the expenses for the damages with the insurance company, it is known as voluntary excess and this is usually defined in terms of percentage of the expenses shared by the customer. You can agree for a higher percentage and get good discount on the premium. Get in touch with your insurance agent and see how much premium you can reduce by increasing voluntary excess.

Online policies cost you less

It is well known that online car insurance costs less than other options. When you want to buy the policy directly through the insurance company, you have to visit the office of the service provider and this costs money as well as time. However, when you complete the process online, it saves time for both the customer as well as the insurance company. To encourage such transactions, the service providers offer good discount for online policies and you can easily get them through insurance brokers.

Renewal options available for car insurance policies

There are many ways in which you can renew the car insurance policy. The simplest option among them is to renew it online as you can use the online car insurance calculator and compare the rates of different plans. In this way, you can choose the best option suited for your car and renew the plan. To renew the plan, you need to provide the basic details about your existing policy along with your personal details. After this, you can select the suitable plan and make the payment through your online banking account for the premium. In this way, all the transactions can be completed in quick time without any hassles. Not only that, you can renew the policy from any location and this will be very useful when you are out of town during the renewal period.

Get the best out of no claim status

Many people do not make any claims for the insurance policy when there are no damages to the vehicle. If there are no claims throughout the tenure, you can get some discount on the next renewal. Do not forget to ask about this at the time of renewal with the insurance agents. The best part about this feature is that you can carry this status for many years and you can keep getting discounts every year with such status. The no claim status does not get affected even when you change your service provider in future.