Motor Insurance

An Own Damage insurance policy​ helps you stay covered against the damages caused to your vehicle due to accidents like fire, theft, etc. 

In case of an accident, an own damage cover compensates you for expense to repair or replace parts of your car damaged in the accident.

This policy covers the cost of damages to your car due to-

• Natural calamities like floods, earthquake, fire and more
• Man-made calamities like vandalism, riots and terror attacks
• Damage to your car or the belongings in the car in case of an accident
• Theft or malicious acts

Introduced by the IRDAI, the standalone Own Damage (OD) cover policies allow the vehicle owners to get coverage against the losses or damages caused to their vehicle due to natural or man-made disasters. This type of policy can be purchased by those who already have a third-party cover from a different or the same insurer.

​With comprehensive car insurance​, you get the benefits of Third-Party Liability cover along with Own Damage coverage. As the name indicates, it offers in-depth, end-to-end protection for you and your car. The key feature of this insurance is that it covers theft of the car in addition to damage due to a number of reasons. If you have this cover and your car gets stolen, you can breathe easy knowing the fact that it will be covered. Comprehensive insurance covers a number of perils such as vandalism, fire damage, floods, damage due to natural calamities like tornado, wind storm etc, glass breakage (e.g. windshield), damage due to falling object and so on. You can also amplify your protection with add-on covers such as Personal Accident cover, Electrical Appliances cover, Zero Depreciation cover and much more.

Till some years ago, insurers only provided standard motor insurance coverage. Now, with an additional premium, several optional covers are available that provide coverage much more than what the regular policy covers.

Basic comprehensive motor insurance provides coverage for damages to the car, third party or theft of the vehicle. Add–on plans are designed to offer insurance coverage to damages other than what the basic motor insurance covers. They help in getting an extensive cover for the damages caused and the cost of the repairs.

Here are some add-ons on the motor vehicle insurance coverage that you can choose to get added benefits of coverage on your vehicle-

Zero depreciation is one of the most recommended add-on coverage that compensates the entire cost of replacing the parts without deducting depreciation. Unlike the standard motor insurance plan where only the depreciated value of the vehicle is reimbursed, zero depreciation helps you recover the entire amount without any deduction for depreciation.

Engine Protection cover provide coverages for any loss or damages caused to the engine of the car due to issues, such as water ingression, oil spill, etc. The protection is not available for regular wear and tear of the engine or damage caused to the engine due to negligence. It also compensation for expenses incurred while fixing the indirect damage done by water ingression or leakage of lubricating oil leading to loss or damage

Having a return to invoice coverage ensures that the owner gets the entire cost of the vehicle as mentioned in the policy for theft of the car. The cost includes the registration cost and the paid road tax amount. The amount received should be equivalent to the cost of the vehicle available in the market. If the owner had paid a higher amount for the car, and the present amount is less, the latter would be considered for compensation.

Policyholders could earn no claim bonus on their car insurance policy if they did not claim any damages during the year. NCB can go as high as 50% from 20%, thereby decreasing the premium in the subsequent years. The NCB add-on bonus helps to retain the accumulated bonus even if a claim was made during the year. The benefit of this claim may not be applicable if more than one claim has been made or a total loss claim has been made. This cover is not available to vehicles that age more than 3 years.

Under this cover, you get insured round the clock, whether on a trip or anywhere on the road. You get insured for towing, refueling, change of flat tyre, services of a mechanic in case of a car breakdown, etc.

This compensation is given only when one happens to lose the keys or if they are stolen. You get the compensation for the cost incurred on replacing the lock and key of the vehicle if it is burgled although a police complaint needs to be registered in case of theft.

One gets daily allowance compensation on hiring a cab for daily commuting in case of loss or theft of the vehicle. The compensation amount could be from 100- 500 rupees per day depending upon the model of the car. 

Like other covers, these add-on covers has its exclusions too.

For instance, this compensation is not available in case the car is not repaired under an authorized garage or the vehicle is under repair for less than 3 days.

This compensation is given on the money spent on replacing the nuts and bolts, screen washers, bearings, engine oil if the car meets an accident. The cost of replacing the consumables are excluded from the standard motor insurance. This compensation is not available on cars older than 3 years.

In case of loss of car with personal belongings, one can get compensation for the personal belongings present in the vehicle. This compensation can be claimed within a specified time. The claim amount can be as far as Rs. 50,000.

One need not purchase all the add-on covers and can choose the ones that they would need the most. One can buy comprehensive motor insurance and select some add-ons to get insured for any uncertain event.