Car Insurance is one of the most sought after insurance product in India due to the government of India making at least a Third party insurance mandatory for every car to ply in the public places. Since the level of awareness has increased among the people to have a comprehensive coverage for their car which can cover the third party claims as well as the own damage claims, the Comprehensive car insurance policy is the most preferred option by the general public.
The coverage under car insurance policy can be extended by opting for add-ons or riders which increase the coverage on payment of extra premium. This coverage under the car insurance comes as Pure Comprehensive car insurance policy which has only the Third party and Own damage section and the other is Comprehensive car insurance policy with Add-ons or Riders which increase the coverage under the car insurance policy.
The major Indian cities have different type of conditions and require different level of coverage under your car insurance policy. The losses or damages to your car insurance policy depend on the place of driving and the add-ons or rider should be opted such as way that all the predictable losses occurring in your area of operation are covered. Let us understand the type of car insurance coverage required in different cities of India depending on the weather conditions prevailing in that particular city throughout the year.
Car Insurance in Bangalore: Buy/Renew Your Car Insurance Policy
Bangalore is one the rapidly growing cities in India and competing with the other International cities in terms of standard of living and other terms. The awareness of insurance in Bangalore is one of the highest in India due to the presence of many insurance companies, agents and other insurance intermediaries. Car insurance prices are quite competitive in the urban areas compared to the rural areas due to the number of options available to the customers as well as the high level of awareness among the urban population. Bengaluru is called as the IT capital of India and there is most number of educated people which in turn increased the insurance awareness. There are almost 27 insurance companies in Bangalore and more than a dozen hundred other intermediaries present in Bangalore to serve the people of Bangalore with their car insurance policy requirements.
Some of the famous general insurance companies such as ICICI LOMBARD, TATA AIG insurance, BAJAJ ALLIANZ, BHARTI AXA, CHOLA MS, ROYAL SUNDARAM and the new entrants such as ACKO, GO DIGIT have their presence in the Bangalore market offering different range of car insurance policy products covering different types of losses or damages to your car.
Types of Losses/Damages & the ADD-ONs to prefer:
Insurance is taken to safeguard the loss or damage to your car against any of the insured perils. Most of the times the losses or damages occurred to your car can be covered under your Comprehensive car insurance policy. But it is also important to understand the possibility of losses that can occur in your area of operation and thereby decide on the type of rider to be included in your car insurance policy.
The types of losses that can occur to your car in Bangalore are listed below and the add-ons which can be taken along with them:
- Road Side Assistance:
Bangalore is notoriously known for its traffic which can beat the patience of any person struck in the traffic. Have you ever thought what to do if your car breakdown in the Bangalore traffic? It would not only increase the traffic behind you but also increase your tension to clear the vehicle from road. A simple solution for this can be the Towing of vehicle from that place to the nearby garage which is covered under the Road side assistance add-on under your car insurance policy.
Road side assistance also covers the breakdown of your vehicle due to battery, empty fuel tank, puncture and other causes. Under the road side assistance add-on the vehicle struck on the road will get assistance from the insurance company.
- Tyre Cover:
Bangalore is the one of the city with highest number of potholes thereby damaging the tyres and shock absorbers of the vehicles due to frequent collision with the potholes. The potholes can cause serious issues such as sudden blast of tyres, damage to tubes etc. Car insurance policy in Bangalore should also include the Tyre cover for the cars at least up to 5 years age of the car.
Many insurance companies are offering tyre insurance cover for up to 7 years of vehicle age which makes it better for the customers to insure their vehicles against damage to tyres up to 7 years of vehicle age.
Car Insurance in Hyderabad/Chennai/Mumbai/Cochin: Buy/Renew Your Car Insurance Policy
Hyderabad is the city which experiences heavy rainfall and floods once in 100 years and this flood can cause heavy damage to the property such as Houses and Cars. During the recent floods in Hyderabad there have been losses to the tune of Rs.9k crore and the whole of Hyderabad has come to a standstill. Similarly Chennai and Cochin have experienced devastating floods in the year 2015 and 2018 which have caused massive damaged to the mankind and property. Mumbai on the other hand faces with water submerging the city almost every year due to the lack of proper drainage systems which cannot handle the excess water in the rainy season.
The same drainage issue exists with almost all the major cities in India such as Hyderabad, Chennai etc. when there is a heavy and continuous rainfall. This is as a result of the illegal encroachment of the Nalaas in these cities and poor drainage systems which results in the water clogging in many areas during the monsoon seasons. The cars in the water logged areas experience losses and damages and come for insurance claim settlement to the car insurance policy companies but unfortunately most of the claims would be settled with fewer amounts due to the inadequate coverage taken by the insured at the time of policy purchase.
Almost all the major insurance companies are present in these major cities such as ICICI LOMBARD, FUTURE GENERALI, HDFC ERGO, NATIONAL INSURANCE, NEW INDIA ASSURANCE, ORIENTAL INSURANCE etc. and other intermediaries such as Insurance Brokerage companies, Individual agents.
Types of Losses/Damages & the ADD-ONs to prefer:
- Engine Protection Cover:
The main issue faced by the car owners in Hyderabad/Mumbai/ Chennai/Kochi would be the damage of their car engine due to floods in their areas which is very common during the rainy season. During floods water overflows in the low lying areas and the flood water enters the engine of the car and thereby causing Hydrostatic lock. The flood water contains wastage and damages the engine beyond repair if the car is started after the flood water enters the engine.
Having an engine protection add-on helps in getting your claim settled if only the engine of the car is damaged. Engine protection add-on covers the loss or damage to the engine, gearbox and other engine parts due to water ingression or oil leakage. This covers is offered by many insurance companies up to 7 years of age on paying extra premium.
Customers staying near water bodies such as Ponds, Rivers and low lying areas should definitely take Engine protection add-on to prevent the claim rejection only due to engine damage. Car insurance policy customers in Hyderabad/Mumbai/ Chennai and other cities which have experience of floods should consider buying the Engine protection cover to provide extra coverage to their cars.
- Depreciation & Consumables Cover:
Cities such as Mumbai/ Hyderabad/ Chennai and others have the highest cost of living compared to the other cities in India. The cost of living also reflects in the cost of car parts at the time of a claim. Every item or part used in your car undergoes depreciation due as the age of the vehicle increases and this can be an issue at the time of claim settlement. At the time of claim settlement depreciation is factored by the insurance company and the remaining amount is settled to the customer.
Including Depreciation cover or Bumper to bumper cover as it is normally called in the market can reduce the amount of money to be paid from your own pocket at the time of claim settlement. Bumper to bumper or nil depreciation or Zero depreciation covers the depreciation cost of the item damaged at the time of claim settlement. The premium for depreciation cover is calculated as a percentage of the Insured Declared Value and is to be paid by the customer at the time of taking the car insurance policy in Hyderabad/ Mumbai / Chennai / Cochin.
Consumables in car insurance policy means the parts that cannot be repaired after damage or loss such as the Nuts, Bolts, Air filter, Oils etc. which need to be replaced at the time of repair. These consumables are charged separately by the garages and are not included in the deprecation cover as there is no depreciation factored for these items. The cost of consumables is to be borne by the customer if the Consumables add-on is not taken by the insured. Consumables cost is settled under the add-on at the time of claim settlement if the insured had opted for the consumables add-on at the time of car insurance policy issuance.
The cost of your car repair is high in the cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi and without the Depreciation and Consumables add-on it would be highly difficult for the insured customers to pay the amount from their pockets at the time of claim settlement.
- Protection of NCB:
No Claim Bonus is the discount offered on the Own damage premium by the insurance companies on renewal for not having a claim in the previous year. This is a method of rewarding the customer with extra discount for not making a claim under the car insurance policy. NCB starts from Zero and goes up to a maximum of 50% in the span of 5 claim free years. If a claim is made at any point of time the NCB will become Zero and the cycle continues for every claim free year.
In accident prone cities such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi etc. it is very important to have NCB protection cover as there might be a chance for the accident to happen. NCB protection cover offers to protect your NCB for up to 2 claims made in a policy year i.e. this means your NCB will stay intact even if you have made a claim in the previous year. NCB Protector is offered as an add-on by the insurance companies to protect the customers from losing their hard earned NCB at a nominal premium. There might be few customers who have earned their 50% NCB over a period of 5 claim free years but due to a third party mistake they had to go for a claim, in this situation having a NCB Protection add-on helps to retain the NCB even after making a claim.
Car Insurance in NCR /NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW/BIHAR: Buy/Renew Your Car Insurance Policy
Most of the North Indian cities are notoriously known for robberies, dacoity etc. where robbers and dacoits steal properties such as Cars, Bikes and other vehicles. These cars are then dismantled by the robbers and individual parts are sold in the black market. There are instances where even the local authorities have played their role in this car theft racket. Cities such as NCR, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and other north Indian cities are famous for these kinds of activities. Robbers often target a particular type of cars such as Vittara Brezza, Bolero, and Scorpio as these cars are in demand. The dismantled vehicle parts are then taken to places such as Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir, Other north eastern states where there would be no stringent action against such activities and are sold as second hand parts.
The above models plying in these cities are not insured by most of the insurance companies due to the huge loss ratios as a result of theft and the high claim ratio. Almost all the private insurance companies have added these cities in their non preferred segments and few particular models such as Brezza, Scorpio, and Bolero etc. coming for insurance from these cities are declined for insurance by the insurance companies.
Let us understand the type of add-on which best suits for the cars plying in cities such as NCR, NEW DELHI, LUCKNOW and other north Indian states:
Types of Losses/Damages & the ADD-ONs to prefer:
- Return to Invoice Cover:
Car insurance in cities such as NCR, New Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and other North India cities should definitely have Return to invoice add-on at the time of policy purchase. Return to invoice cover is an add-on cover available under the own damage section of your car insurance policy in which you can recover the entire cost of the vehicle including the Road tax and other taxes paid which equals to the Invoice value of the particular model from the insurance company in case your car is stolen or damaged beyond repair.
According to the Delhi police, 70 vehicles are stolen in a day from different parts of the capital city with 130% increment from the previous year. These vehicles are stolen, dismantled and then sold in the black market. In most of these cases the vehicles are not traced and the customer is left with only option of collecting the claim amount from the insurance company.
Having a return to invoice cover pays the invoice cost of the car in case if the car is stolen or beyond repair. Since the chance of your car getting stolen is highest in NCR, NEW DELHI, LUCKNOW, PATNA and other North Indian cities it is highly advisable to have the Return to Invoice cover added in your car insurance policy at the time of purchase. Return to invoice cover also settles the claim in case if your car is damaged beyond repair i.e. repair costs exceed 75% of the vehicle value.
Most of the insurance companies offer the return to invoice cover up to 3 years of car age after which the add-on would not be available for purchase. It is highly recommended for customers to purchase this add-on for their new vehicles as the chance of new cars getting stolen is high in the above mentioned cities. The premium for the Return to Invoice add-on is charged separately by the insurance company and is to be paid by the customer at the time of car insurance policy purchase.
- Key Protection:
Key protection add-on covers the loss or damage to the Key and Lock of the car due to unauthorized entry at the time of Burglary and Robbery or other malicious acts. High end and premium car’s Lock and Key would be much costly and any damage or loss to them cannot be replaced by a local mechanic or local key maker. The keys of those cars need to come from the Manufacturer and is a costly affair.
Including the key protection add-on in your car insurance policy can help you get claim in case of accidental damage of your key and damage to the lock due to malicious acts. Cities such as NCR, New Delhi, Lucknow and other North Indian cities have the high rate of theft of cars using duplicate keys and in the process of theft some might be successful while other might fail. In failed cases, the customer might get back his car but there would be damage to the Lock which could cost him few bucks.
Key protection add-on or Rider helps the insured customer get claim in case of damage to the lock due to unauthorized entry and if the vehicle is stolen then the return to invoice add-on helps the customer get invoice value of the same model car.
Apart from these add-ons there are certain add-ons which can be taken by the customers from any of the Indian cities. The list of add-ons is given below:
- Rat bite cover:
Rat bite add-on covers the loss or damage to the electrical or mechanical section of the car due to rat or rodent bite resulting in the malfunctioning of the vehicle. Rat bite is caused if the car is parked in a rodent prone area such as near Sewers, Garbage bins etc. The rat bite cover is provided as a separate add-on by most of the insurance companies on payment of additional premium. This cover can be chosen by the customers who have the high risk of rodent bite in their locality.
Rat bite can be prevented by taking proper precautionary measures such as parking the car in an area where there is less rodent activity, parking the car in well lit area etc. Rodents normally bite the electrical wires of the car thereby resulting in short circuit of electrical supply failure.
- Daily Cash Allowance Benefit:
In case of loss or damage to your car it is taken to the nearby garage where the repairs are carried out which takes at least 2-3 days depending on the type of loss and availability of spare parts. In such scenario the insured customer may have to rent a car to commute to his work place. Daily cash allowance plan provides a daily amount to the customer in case the vehicle is laid up in the authorized garage for more than 3 days.
The benefit would be paid only for a few days exceeding the 3 days the vehicle is in the garage. This add-on can be taken by any insured customer to get the daily allowance from the insurance company in case of a claim.
For best car insurance quotes, please visit Car Insurance and get the best quotes from the top general insurance companies. Talk to our agent to decide the suitable add-ons for your car depending on the area of driving the vehicle.