Yatin Kumar
We all know that buying a car insurance is more than just a formality and that is how it should be considered as. However, many car buyers or owners consider buying or renewing an insurance as a formality and hence, do not find it much useful to choose an insurance scheme wisely.
Apart from this, when it comes to choosing the best car insurance for your vehicle, it often turns out to be the easiest job in the world. Pick out the same one as your friend is using or go by the suggestions that were offered by the TV commercial you follow most. We wish things could be so much easier, because it isn’t.
When you compare companies side by side, you will notice that everything varies. The insurance schemes, their claims procedure and management, how fast the claims are processed and so on. Hence, this calls for a wise comparison of the best insurances available out there including the price and all other facets that it may attract.
It’s quite understandable that not everyone is an expert in choosing the best car insurance scheme with all of the company’s terms and conditions hovering over the head like those difficult calculations in algebra. In fact, many of us may not have more than the slightest hint about how automobile insurance should be chosen.
Here you will find and in-depth information and everything else that you need to know before you buying insurance for the car or motorcycle that you own.
1: Determination of insurance rate
Insurance rate or the amount of premium that you will be paying is not an easy thing to determine as an insurance provider. It depends on various factors like the type of vehicle you want to insure, the risk associated with the applicant, etc. Yes, insurance companies assess the risk that is associated with insuring the customer and then decide whether it can be insured or not.
2: Insured Declared Value and why is it important
The insurance amount and the recurrent premium that you pay depends on the Insured Declared Value of the vehicle. IDV means the maximum amount that you can claim under the insurance policy. A brand new car will have more IDV than a year old model of the same car.
3: Factors affecting rate of premium
The premium amount of a car depends in certain factors like – geographical location (urban and metros have more claim cases), gender (statistically, males have higher claim rates), marital status (married people have lesser rate of accidents), usage (the higher the vehicle usage, the more risk involved), etc.
4: Insurance at the time of buying the car is not necessary
At the time of buying the car, the dealer will also offer insurance. However, it is not compulsory that you buy the insurance at that time as the dealer might not offer you the best or the most value insurance. It is recommended that you don’t buy insurance from the dealer and check out and compare quotes before you buy.
5: Third party insurance is compulsory
According to the Indian Road Safety Act, buying a third party insurance is mandatory. So, it’s advisable to get a third party insurance claimed before you enter the huff and puff of the traffic, especially if you are a first time buyer.
6: Details on third party insurance
Third party insurance is basically the insurance that covers any damage on the third person, property or any other vehicle. Neither the insurer nor the insured falls under the third party category. Hence, you cannot set claims for damaged on yourself or the car that you have insured under this insurance.
7: Comprehensive insurance covers
An optimum insurance plan will cover all that is needed to make it to your safety books or to the good books of the government authority. The best insurance plan will cover damages caused to you, your car and any third person involved. Moreover, an optimum plan will cover you against theft or accidental fire as well.
8: Opt for additional insurance cover, if necessary
Purchasing add-on benefits along with your basic insurance plan is not a bad idea to work with. It would be great if you can assess your own risk factors and choose the most suitable add-on. For example, if you drive a lot and till late at night, opting for road assistance insurance is a great way to be secure.
9: Read the terms and conditions carefully
Buying a car insurance is a formal contract where in the insurance company and you are the parties to it. Hence, there are several factors, rights, liabilities and other terms laid down for you to read before you enter the agreement. Once you have formally accepted the contract, there is no way you can act otherwise or excuse that you were unaware of the factor.
10: Get more information
There are many trustworthy places around where you can go around and get knowledge about. Many sources like online portal, public libraries and other consumer forums offer you unbiased knowledge about automobile insurance. Moreover, every state has assigned a personnel who you can interact with and get all the information that you need. Reading journals and other published comparisons are also a good source to know about insurance and how they work.
Conclusion
I am sure you would now have got a clearer idea about automobile insurance and how important it is to choose the best one for yourself. Also, I am sure that for many people the concept about insurance being a general formality has changed now.
Automobile insurance is not just a mandatory thing that you have to opt for while buying a car or a motorcycle, it is something as important and as necessary as any life cover that you get for your old age or the insurance that you get for the future of your beloved child. So next time you find yourself in a similar situation, you know what you need to do.
