Tuesday 14 June 2016

Important Things That You Must Know About Car Insurance

In these times of tough competition and big business challenges, insurance companies are leaving no stone unturned to woo prospective clients. In the last decade, while sops and discounts on car insurance have multiplied, so have the rate of accidents and unforeseen situations. In this scenario where the consumer is spoilt for choices and has the edge over his insurer what can he do to make sure he has the best deal? This blog explores this aspect.

In India, everyone knows about the importance of having a car insurance as it is mandatory under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. Even now, as every Indian family in a metropolis and even a small city now has the luxury of owning two cars at least, many people are still unaware about certain aspects of car insurance that can bail them out of sticky situations. Here’s a list of potential hazards which you can skip, using knowledge and your right as a consumer:

1.      Do you have a comprehensive car insurance policy?
In this type of policy, besides accidents, your car is insured against a host of other mishaps like a broken windscreen, theft, riots and vandalism. Damages caused by unforeseen acts of nature like floods, cyclones, falling trees, birds/animals, falling trees, earthquakes are covered here. If you don’t opt for this cover, then when a calamity does strike, you will end up paying from your pocket.

2.      Hydrostatic cover
Imagine a situation where you’re wading through water or your car is immersed in water in parking lot. You turn the key in the ignition and after a few seconds, your engine falls silent. Repeated attempts yield no results.This is a unique, add on cover that ensures your additional expenses like engine damage among other things are taken care of. This also takes into account full replacement of engine and other parts, if required.
 
3.      Factoring in Depreciation Cover for insurance
If your car has been standing in water for some days, then it is necessary that a surveyor comes to the spot and makes an assessment. This will be done on the basis of the age of your car. This means that if it has been less than 6 months since the car was purchased, then there will be at least five percent depreciation before the insured declared value or IDV is taken into account. If the car is a year or two years old, then the IDV will be 20% as opposed to 30% for a vehicle which is 2-3 years old. For a vehicle older than this the depreciation would be 40%. There won’t be any compensation for a music system, air conditioner andCNG kit. But depreciation will apply on plastic parts, rubber, nylon, batteries and airbags.

You can definitely consider taking an add-cover for your car. These include a 24x7 roadside assistance for your car in case of a breakdown. This will be very handy during the monsoon season. Also it’s always a good idea to take the policy from an online insurance aggregator so that you can compare features and prices, and take the policy that suits your needs and your pocket the best.
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