Owning a car is common these days, all thanks to the car loans and the different add-on offers that come with it. But is owning a car is that simple? When you purchase your dream car with a car loan you are already paying EMIs for it every month and when your car gets damaged in any way it’s difficult for most of us to bear that as cars are so expensive and so are their parts. Damages are common and with whatever precaution you adapt for, you can’t be sure that your car will not get a single damage. So, what is the solution to this problem?
Having a Car insurance is the one which is a solution for all the car damage problems. If you have a car insurance you need not pay for any of your car damage.
What is Car Insurance?
Car Insurance is basically a cover for your car. It is the same as a life insurance which covers your life. The cover provides you with a financial assistance when your car gets any kind of damage. The cover is provided against the accidents and natural calamities too depending on your insurance type and insurance provider. Against this cover, you need to pay premiums to your insurance provider. The premiums are some amount of money when you need to pay monthly, quarterly or early depending on the insurance you opted for.
Covers Provided by a Car Insurance Policy to Your Car
Loss or Damage to the Car due to Natural Calamities
Calamities like fire, explosion, lightning, earthquake, flood, storm, tempest, inundation, cyclone, hailstorm, frost, landslide, rockslide etc. are unpredictable and comes under natural calamities and can cause a big damage to your car. A car insurance provides coverage for the cost of damages to your car from all these.
Loss or Damage to the Car due to Man-made Calamities
Burglary, theft, strike, malicious act, accident by external means, terrorist activity, any damage in transit by road or road accidents can happen at any time and can damage your car. Having a Car insurance provides coverage against such incidents and will pay you money if any damage or theft occurs.
Personal Accident Cover
Car insurance also provides coverage for the individual driver of the vehicle while traveling, mounting or dismounting from the car. This is one of the major covers and can help you a lot if some misfortune happens.
Third Party Legal Liability Cover
A Third Party Liability cover is mandatory by the India government under the Motor Vehicles Act. This provides protection against legal liability due to accidental damages which can result in the temporary, permanent injury or death of a person. For this third party insurance, you need to take the person immediately to the hospital yourself.
Claiming a Car Insurance
In case you meet an accident or you accidentally bang your car somewhere which caused some damage to your car, then you can claim the insurance.
To claim insurance, you need to follow the following steps:
- If it was an accident you need to note the license plate number of the other vehicle which was involved in the accident.
- You also need to note the names and contact numbers of witnesses over there (if any)
- Inform the insurance company and claim for the insurance money.
- Gather all the documents together which are required to claim the insurance.
- File an FIR at the nearest police station in case car theft or major damages by the others.
- Submit the required documents to the insurance provider and don’t forget to verify it with the originals documents.
- Make additional payments if required to the garage if the insurance company requires to claim the insurance.
Knowing Zero Depreciation Policy
Most people are unaware of the insurance policies and hence they usually go for the normal policy. The concept of zero depreciation car insurance policy is new and gradually coming to India.
Difference between a normal car insurance policy and zero depreciation car insurance policy.
In a general car insurance policy, the insurance provides cover on the basis of the value of the car. However, in a zero depreciation policy, the policyholder gets the complete cover without calculating the depreciation value. When it comes to the premiums, it is a bit high in the zero depreciation policy as compared to the normal car insurance policy. Zero depreciation policy is more worthy if you own a really expensive car, in this, you may have to pay a bit higher premium but you are completely assured that you will receive a full cover.
Changing Laws with Car Insurance
There are many people who don’t know that having a motor insurance is mandatory in India. According to the recent statistics, more than 70% vehicles on the road including two-wheelers, and cars don’t have respective insurance policy. The Indian government is currently imposing a fine of Rs. 1000 to all the riders and drivers who are not having a motor insurance policy. According to updated rules, the fines are going to rise in the near future. The concept of the fine is not to just gather the revenue it is for the benefit and safety yours.
You must be logged in to post a comment.