Things you need to know while buying Car Insurance Online

The internet has truly made buying car insurance online easy and effective. You will also manage to save few extra bucks and it’s quick and hassle free too. Just by entering few essential details like car registration, current policy status and claim made in the previous year you can get the best personalised car insurance quotes available in the market.

Bravo, if you have taken the decision to buy car insurance online. But, before you choose your car insurance, read the below points that will help you to buy the best car insurance online.

1. Insured Declared Value (IDV)
IDV is the current market price calculated for your car. It is the most important feature that you should note in the policy. It is the maximum sum assured amount that an insurance company is liable to pay in the event of a contingency such as theft or total loss of your car.

2. Types of Car Insurance
There are two basic types of car insurance:
A) Third-party car insurance
B) Comprehensive car insurance

A third-party car insurance covers damages caused to another person, their vehicle or property due to collision or accidents. Whereas, an insurance policy that covers the liability of the third party and also the damage to your own car caused by circumstances beyond your control is called comprehensive policy. It is highly recommended to get a comprehensive policy, as a comprehensive cover will indemnify you for the cost incurred on the broken parts of your own car. This type of car insurance would ensure protection in case of thefts, accidental fires and any other damages as per the plan opted.

3. No Claim Bonus 
No Claim Bonus is like a reward discount given to the insured at the time of renewal of car insurance for every claim-free year. A minimum of 20% discount is eligible which can go as high as 50%. No Claim Bonus is granted to the insured and not his car. So even if the car is sold, the No Claim Bonus can be retained by the insured to be used if he buys a different car.

4. Compulsory Deductible and Voluntary Excess
Compulsory deductible is that part of the claim amount that needs to be paid by the policy holder in the event of a claim. This feature helps in preventing any fraudulent claims. For example – Mr A, has an unfortunate accident and the garage bill comes to Rs.20, 000. If Mr A’s policy has 1,000 as a component of compulsory deductible, then he will pay Rs.1000 and the rest will be paid by the insurance company.

Voluntary excess is the amount over and above the compulsory deductible that an insured chooses to pay from his own pocket at the time of any claim. It is purely an optional feature. It helps to lower the premium further and you will be coughing out more in event of a claim. For example – If Mr A has Rs. 1000 as compulsory deductible and he further takes Rs. 3,000 as a voluntary excess. In event of a claim amount of Rs.20, 000, he will pay Rs.4, 000 from his own pocket and rest will be covered by the company.

Selection of a right deductible should depend on your car insurance premium budget and your driving profile. Don’t get tempted by lower premium policies, check on the compulsory deductible as it plays an important role in deciding the premium of the car insurance policy.

5. Cashless Garage Network
Under normal circumstances, you repair the car, pay the bill and later get the amount reimbursed from the insurance company. Under cashless garage, the insurance company directly pays their share to the garage, provided it is listed in their network.

So, make sure you choose an insurance company that has a good network of garages and service centres. This cashless garage facility makes the process hassle free.

6. Personal Accident Cover
Considering the Indian roads and accidents stats of the past many years, one should consider personal accident cover in car insurance. It is not necessary that every car insurance policy will have an inbuilt cover. Sometimes you may have to pay an extra premium to secure yourself with this personal accident cover.

7. Add on Covers
Add on covers are supplementary to the car insurance policy. The additions can make your policy work better for you and in times of need can save you a lot of money and unnecessary hassle.

Example of add on covers are Quick road side assistance, key replacement, No claim bonus protection, loss of personal belongings, etc. Depending upon your need you can choose the ones that will make your existing policy worthier of the premium paid.

The basic purpose of any car insurance policy is to come in good use in unfortunate accidents. Selecting right insurance policy can be a difficult task but if you follow the above recommendations it will make the process of buying car insurance online seamless.

Recommended Read:
Need of a Car Insurance Calculator
How does the car insurance premium calculator work?

Authored By: Nidhi Mahajan
Nidhi Mahajan is a Guest Blogger and passionate about Content writing. She has been creating SEO Friendly Content for more than 10 years. She can write on all niches for writing and is great at providing tips on SEO and Blogging.