World is flooding in terms of the number of people travelling on the road- with a vehicle or without it! Especially with cars being launched under affordable ranges, people are rushing to the showrooms to lay their hands on them. It isn’t that much of a concern; in fact it is a sign of prosperity. But the question that looms large out here is if all drivers secured money wise. With the increasing traffic on the roads, all the road rage, accidents and other crimes, here’s some must know information for all you car owners, new and old, about the much talked about, car or vehicle insurance.
What and Why Should You Know About Car Insurance?
Any insurance purchased for vehicles running on the road, with a prime motive to get financial security is a car / vehicle / auto / motor insurance. Like any other insurance, losses occurred due to natural or unnatural reason to the vehicle or its part can be claimed for money under the realm of auto insurance. The best benefit of it is that it covers accidents for drivers, passengers and third party (in some policies) and loss from thefts and burglaries.
What Kind Of Coverage Will You Get Under Car Insurance?
To put it simply, at the time of loss, your car insurance will cover:
- Insured vehicle,
- Insured party, and
- Third party (the person and the car).
A damage caused by an accident, fire, burglary, self-ignition, external explosion or any malicious act will also fall under it. However, your policy may not be applicable if:
- Your vehicle is used outside the applicable geographical area
- It’s a war scenario
- You’re drinking and driving (don’t ever do this!)
- It’s the case of a mechanical breakdown, breakage and depreciation
How To Pick A Policy For Your Car?
In India, legally you cannot run a vehicle with a mandatory insurance, which is now days provided by the car dealer itself. There are two types of motor insurance available:
- Motor Policy A, also called third party risk, covers the risks listed in the Motor Vehicles Act, which are mandatory that every car owner should be covered against.
- Motor Policy B, also called comprehensive policy, can cover third party, loss due to theft, fire or accident, natural calamities, riots, damages during transit and vehicle accessories by paying extra premium.
So, you can pick up your car insurance according to your requirement, keeping Policy A as a mandate. With the increasing awareness and threats, many companies have mushroomed to give you all kinds of benefits. The simplest way is to compare them online with various websites offering this service.
How Will Your Premium Be Calculated?
The premium of your car will be calculated on the basis of factors like your age, gender, type of vehicle that you own, price of the vehicle, place of registration, depreciation rate and so on.
How Can You Claim The Insurance?
At the time of claim, you need to provide certain proofs to the insurance company like registration book, driving license of the driver of the car, FIR incase of third party human damage, claim form and estimate of loss. After the proofs are given, the insurance company allocates a surveyor, who investigates the losses and approves of the cost of claim. After repair, the final bill is submitted to the company with a stamped receipt of the payment done at the dealer workshop. Only after you make this payment, you are liable to claim the amount of loss. Your car is again examined by the surveyor, and post approval you get the delivery of the car.
If your car is stolen, then you need to immediately inform the police, file an FIR and intimate the insurance company at the same time. Also, you need to get a duplicate copy of the registration book from the nearest RTO to initiate further actions. The rest of the procedure remains the same as in the case of an accident.
Guest author
Written by Eric, who is an avid blogger and writes guest posts on behalf of Temp Car Insurance
