Best Value on Your Car Insurance Policy
Buying a car insurance policy is a mandatory requirement. After all, you don’t want to violate the provisions of the Motor Vehicle’s Act, 1988 and face legal complications, do you? With multiple tips and tricks to ensure you get the best, buying a car insurance policy can be a fun thing to do!
You always want to get the best from your purchases, don’t you? Why should a car insurance policy be any different? Are you familiar with these tricks? Here’s what they are –
- Shop around
Do you know there are dozens of different car insurance policies available in the market? Many times you get carried away with the suggestions given by your friends, relatives or for that matter even the car dealers. When you are buying or renewing a car insurance policy, shop around.
Find out the different plans available, the coverage they offer and the premiums they charge. Compare the different plans and then choose the one based on your requirements and the underlying premium rate. Thanks to the online medium, finding and comparing car insurance plans has become easy. You just have to visit an online platform, key in your requirements and you can see all the plans at your fingertips. How easy can it get!
- Don’t skimp on the IDV
IDV, also called the Insured Declared Value in full, is the total value of your car against which the insurance company extends coverage. It is the market price of your car less age-based depreciation. IDV is the maximum liability the insurer undertakes to compensate in case you lose your car to theft or the car is damaged beyond repairs.
Since the IDV influences the rate of premiums, many of you tend to choose a lower value. If you want to get the best from your car insurance policy, don’t do that. The IDV reduces every year as your car ages due to depreciation. In case of a total loss, you stand to get a very low amount of claim if the IDV is low. So, choose the highest possible IDV so that you get the highest coverage for your car.
- Look for discounts
It might come as good news to you that car insurance policies offer various discounts. You can avail premium discounts of 2.5% if you fit anti-theft devices from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). Besides, you can also avail a discount on the own-damage premium in case you become a member of the Automobile Association of India (AAI). These discounts help in lowering your car insurance premium by a considerable amount. Take the instance of no claim discount itself. If you don’t make claims for five successive years, you can earn a 50% discount on your renewal premium. How cool is that? So, keep an eye out for discounts and try to avail them to save your hard-earned money.
- Choose necessary add-ons
Add-ons are available in comprehensive car insurance policies at an additional premium. These add-ons increase the benefit structure of the plan and are beneficial for you. Therefore, it is recommended to add suitable add-ons to your car insurance policy to get the best value addition. Some popular add-ons include –
- Roadside assistance which provides 24*7 assistance in case of car breakdowns
- Zero depreciation which prevents depreciation from eating up your claim amount
- Engine protect which pays claim if your car’s engine gets damaged by water-logging
- Return to the invoice which covers the difference between the IDV and your car’s invoice value
- NCB Protect which protects the no claim discount from getting lost if you make a claim.
Assess your requirements and opt for a suitable rider. For instance, if you live in an area with a water-logging problem, choose the engine to protect add-on cover. If you take frequent trips to nearby areas, a roadside assistance add-on would be beneficial. Zero depreciation add-on is a must for new cars. So, take your pick and add value to your policy.
These simple tricks help you get the best value out of your car insurance policy. So, use these tricks and make the most out of your car insurance plan.
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