Thinking of buying a new car? It is no surprise that you have a lot of pondering to do. And it is rightfully so! A car is one of the most prized possessions that you own with immense pride. The hunt for the new car begins with online search and comparison. You try to get as much information as possible about the latest models and their features. Next, you take the advice of every person you come across, right from your colleague to your hairdresser, and compare them all. You leave no stone unturned! But when it comes to car insurance, we are quite oblivious. Comparing car insurance is important too. Wondering why? Read on.
Why compare car insurance?
If you want to get the best deal on the car insurance policy, it is highly advisable to compare car insurance online. When you do it, you can get the best deal for your car. One of the biggest advantages that you will get is on premium rates. Premium amount varies from insurer to insurer, however, when you compare car insurance plans, you will get the plan which is more suited to you with affordable premium rates. You should not compromise the features for cheap premium rates. Another advantage of comparing insurance policies is that you will get to know about various features that insurance companies are offering. For instance, some offer cashless repair at the network garages, whereas, some offer affordable engine protection cover. You can select the plan according to your needs.
How to compare car insurance?
The best way to go about it is browsing online. You can find several tools and aggregators on the internet that offer quick and convenient ways to compare car insurance in India. Before buying the insurance cover, it is always a good idea to get a car insurance quote and compare the insurance premium that would be incurred. There are multiple aspects that need to be analyzed while comparison. Firstly, the premium rates offered by insurance companies need to be understood and compared accordingly. This will give you an idea how insurance providers decide the premium and the factors that come into play while doing so.
Next, it is important to check the type and level of coverage being offered by your car insurance company. This is important since a below-par insurance cover may leave you in trouble in case of an unforeseen incident. In order to avoid this, identify your requirements first and choose the policy that covers all your needs. Additionally, you should also check out the fine print to get accustomed to the situations and events not covered by the policy.
Another thing to bear in mind while comparing car insurance is that we should avoid falling into the trap of buying the cheapest insurance policy to save premium. This hindsight can cost you a lot more than you what you would save on premium. It is all about striking a right balance between the two by factoring in your requirements and at the same time ensuring that you pay a premium that is affordable.
An important tip to save your money while comparing motor insurance online is comparing the ‘deductibles’ and add-on covers. These add-ons add value to the car policy that can come in very handy during emergencies. Some of these are Personal Accident cover (both driver and passengers), roadside assistance, and third party liability covers. Another important feature to look out for while comparing car insurance policies is the No Claim Bonus, referred to as ‘NCB’. With this, you are eligible to a sizeable discount in your insurance premium during renewal, if you don’t register any claims during the policy period. While comparing car insurance online, it is a good idea to compare the NCB offered by companies to zero in on the best insurance cover.
What Are The Different Types of Car Insurance
Now let’s look into different types of car insurance. You should compare car insurance online on the basis of its types also. There are basically 3 types of car insurance policy – Third-party, Own Damage, and Comprehensive. Let’s look into more detail:
Third-Party Car Insurance
A Third Party Car Insurance offers financial cover to the insured person against any legal liability arising due to loss/damage caused to a third-party person or property. Third-party car insurance is the compulsory plan that all car drivers need to buy if they want to drive on the Indian roads. Under the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019, it is mandatory to insure your car with at least third-party car insurance. It will not offer you wide coverage, but you can save yourself from the hefty fines.
Comprehensive Car insurance
A Comprehensive Car Insurance protects the car from any kind of unforeseen damage. It covers the person financially in case of any loss is incurred as a result of an unavoidable instance to the vehicle. It covers the person against theft, financial loss and accidents. The cover can range from, coverage to an insured party vehicle and third-party liability which means that it covers – damage to insured vehicle or theft of the car also coverage of legal liability (liability to others for body or property injury by insured vehicle). When you compare comprehensive car insurance with third-party car insurance, then you will how much better comprehensive plan is. You will be protected as the comprehensive plan will provide you the coverage that will ensure the overall protection of your car and yourself.
Own Damage Car insurance
When it comes to Own Damage Car Insurance Policy, it is a part of the standard comprehensive motor insurance. Before changes were made in the insurance sector by IRDAI, you could only purchase third party liability insurance separately, but now you can opt for Own Damage cover separately as well, i.e. now you can own a third party and a own damage car insurance separately.
Now, that you are aware of the three types of car insurance, let’s look at the table mentioned below where you will find what coverage you get with what type pf car insurance plan.
Factors to Check While Comparing Car Insurance Policies
Premium Rates
This is one of the most important factors that you should consider while you compare car insurance. You want to choose a plan that will neither put a strain on your pocket nor your savings. So, comparing car insurance plans will surely help you find a plan that you can afford. Also, you should not compromise with the features of the plan. So, choose a plan with several features and affordable premium rates.
Coverage
Try to get as wide coverage as you can. One of the easiest ways to widen your coverage is by opting for add-ons. You should look for add-ons like Engine Protector Cover, No Claim Bonus (NCB) retention cover, etc. It varies from insurer to insurer but comparing car insurance will help you choose the add-ons that suit you the best.
Customer Reviews
This is the most important factor that policyholder should consider while comparing car insurance online. You can get to know about the claim settlement ratio of the insurance company with the help of customer reviews. Go through the reviews to get the best deal.
Age Of Your Car
When comparing car insurance online, you should know that your insurance premium is decided on the basis of several factors. One of the factors is the age of your car, so make sure that you chose the insurance company that provides the best premium rates. The Insured Declared Value or IDV of a car changes with age.
List of Network Garages
Comparing car insurance plans will help you get the plan whose network garage is the nearest to your residential area. This is will help you enormously in case of an emergency.
Add-on Covers
Several insurance providers offer several add-ons to enhance your coverage. Comparing car insurance policy will help you get the best add-on that suits your needs. A person who lives in an area where rainfall is common must opt for engine protection cover, whereas, a person who lives in an accidental prone area, should opt for personal accidental cover.
Exclusions and Inclusions
There are certain exclusion and inclusions that you can see in the terms and conditions of the car insurance policy. When you compare car insurance online, you can get through exclusions and inclusions of the various car insurance policy. This will help you chose the policy that suits your requirement.
Claim Settlement Ratio
Claim Settlement Ratio is the ratio that determines how efficiently the insurance company settles the claim. One can compare the car insurance plan so there is no hindrance in the claim process.
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Things You Should Remember While Comparing Car Insurance Policies:
Third party cover is mandatory
Firstly, you should understand that under the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019, every car driver in India needs to insure their car with at least third-party car insurance to protect themselves from the hefty fines. So, when you are comparing car insurance from a various insurer, you should look whether they offer third-party car insurance as it is necessary.
Check for Co-Payment and Deductibles
You should look for a Co-payments option. Co-payment in car insurance is the percentage of the claim amount that policyholders have to pay from their own pocket in repairing the damaged vehicle. So, comparing car insurance will surely help you find the plan with the lowest co-payment. You should also look for the deductibles while comparing car insurance. There are two types of deductibles, one is compulsory and the other is voluntary deductible. You can opt for voluntary deductibles to lower the premium rates.
Check Add on Covers and Buy One if Needed
You should also compare the add-ons of car insurance on the basis of your needs. There are several add-ons that one can see when they are planning to buy car insurance. However, you don’t need to get all the add-ons as it will increase your premium rates. You should only opt for add-ons that suits your needs. If you live in an area where rainfall is common, you must opt for engine protection cover, whereas, if you are living near a national highway, make sure you opt for personal accidental cover. You can compare car insurance companies that provide your add-ons at an affordable rate.
Know what is Excluded
At last, you should read the terms and conditions of all the policy very carefully. While comparing car insurance plans, make sure you read about all the inclusions and exclusions in the policy terms. This is an important thing that you should do to avoid any hindrance in the claim process.
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Why Buy Reliance General Car Insurance?
When you will go to the market to compare car insurance policies, you will see several car insurances companies. There are various car insurance providers in India, but Reliance General Insurance is one of the top car insurance providers in the country. Let’s look into the features of Reliance General Car Insurance that have made it popular among policy buyers. Here are the Features of Reliance General Car Insurance policy:
Reliance General Insurance offers car insurance plans for both Private Car and Business Vehicles.
We have a feature of a towing facility. This means if your car is stuck in case of an accident or breakdown, you don’t have to worry as employees the nearest network garage will tow your car.
We give 24X7 roadside assistance, so one should not worry about getting stuck at the spot of breakdown or accident.
Reliance General Insurance has a high claim settlement ratio (98%). That means the current policyholder of car insurance from Reliance General Insurance gets their claim on time without any hassles.
For both new and existing customers, we offer an optional duplicate key replacement cover.
Our main aim is customer satisfaction. Reliance General Insurance has certainly satisfied its customers with our quality coverage, interesting add-ons, and high claim settlement ratio.
At the time of buying car insurance, one can opt for add-ons like Consumable expenses, Accident Shield, and Conveyance Benefit, and much more. These add-ons will surely widen your car insurance coverage and you will feel more protected.
One of our most attractive features is that we a list of network garages that have spread all across India. We have more than 4600+ network garages that are almost situated in every city of the country. From these network garages, you can get your insured car repaired in case of damage caused due to accident, fire, natural or man-made calamities, etc.
We offer a cashless settlement. This means that you don’t need to pay anything at the time of your car’s repairing as Reliance General Insurance will directly settle the bill with the network garage. All you need to do is provide some necessary documents.
At the time of renewal, you will be eligible for the discount under No Claim Bonus or NCB. However, this is only applicable when you do not claim the policy tenure. You will get a discount on the premium rate when you will renew your car insurance policy.
In case of breakdown or accident, Reliance General Insurance assists in the form of booking a hotel or arranging a cab.