A Complete Guide to Purchasing Car Insurance Online

You must be thoroughly aware of the existence of insurance as a financial instrument. You can find insurance for health, life, assets, electronics, motor vehicles and more. Insurance requires you to pay a premium fee on a yearly or monthly basis in order to be able to maintain the insurance and claim the benefits of the policy promised to you by the insurer.

Motor vehicle insurance involves similar functions through which you can insure your four-wheelers, two-wheelers, etc. This can provide you with financial protection against accidents, injuries, repairs, replacements or even an accidental demise that occurred in connection to the insured vehicle.

Moreover, since motor vehicle insurance was made a mandatory requirement by the Government of India as per the Motor Vehicle Act enforced in 1989, it is a prerequisite to understand how you can buy car insurance and what factors should you hold prime while considering the perfect policy for you..

Types of Car Insurance You Can Choose From

The type of car insurance you choose determines the benefits and coverages that you are entitled to claim. Hence, it is important to understand the types of car insurance to make the right choice. Given below is an explanation of the car insurance policy types that you can choose from.

Third-party Car Insurance

A third-party car insurance is a mandatory requirement asserted by the Government of India as per the Motor Vehicle Act enforced in 1989. This covers any damages that your car may have inflicted on another individual’s vehicle and the cost of repairs and replacements that a third-party may have to pay the expenses for.

Standalone Car Insurance

This type of car insurance is solely for your own car. Any repairs and replacements for your own car required after an accident can be covered by a standalone car insurance. This car insurance cannot cover the expenses you might have to incur for the damages your car may have caused to another individual’s car.

Comprehensive Car Insurance

A comprehensive car insurance covers third-party insurance as well as the damages caused to your own car. You can attach add-ons to your car insurance to further be able to claim benefits on the medical front. It essentially covers costs for repairs and replacements needed in lieu of an accident.

How to Buy Car Insurance Online?

Purchasing car insurance online is an easy feat. All you need to do is ensure that the following actions are thoroughly abided by.

Compare and Analyse

You can start with research where you deeply study insurance and understand what it is you need to have a fulfilling and trustworthy car insurance. This includes comparing the types of car insurance, car insurance quotes, add-on benefits, and more.

Provide Details

Undeniably, it is very important for you to provide your insurer with all the right details. This includes personal information like identity proofs, and information regarding your car. It is crucial to ensure that these details are accurate and verifiable.

Pay Premium Amount

The final step after providing all information and documents is to pay the insurance premium. Some insurance premiums are to be paid on a yearly basis while some are paid every month which depends on the type of insurance you choose along with the add-ons.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing Your Car Insurance Online

To make your research process for car insurance easy, a detailed list and breakdown of the factors that you need to consider before buying car insurance are given below.

Add-ons

Car insurance essentially covers the damage caused to your own car or another third-party vehicle. Factors such as medical insurance for the safety and wellbeing of the passengers, the pedestrians and the driver aren’t a default. Hence, add-ons were introduced. This simply means that you can add other insurance types to your current car insurance.

This could include add-ons like coverage for road ambulance, hospitalisation, surgery, hotel stays, emergency road assistance, etc. To acquire these add-ons you can contact the car insurance provider to check out the extra coverage that you can include to your car insurance. However, this does entail an addition to your basic insurance premium, increasing the amount that you are to pay depending on each add-on you sign up for.

Insured Declared Value

Insurance Declared Value is also known as IDV. It refers to the maximum amount you can claim from the car insurance provider on account of car theft or damages to the car that are beyond repair. This is determined by how old the car is, its condition, the distance for which it was driven, etc. The IDV further on determines your car insurance premium; the higher the IDV value, the higher the premium amount will be.

Insurance companies can offer you some flexibility. However, it is important to insure your vehicle for a number that is on par with the ideal IDV value since an underwhelming coverage for theft or damage, or extremely high premiums are unfavourable in most cases.

No-claims Bonus

The no-claims bonus is a perk added by most insurance policies that can be applied if you don’t make any insurance claims during a particular policy year. This could lead to discounts such as 20% during the first year of no claims and 50% of zero claims for five consecutive insurance years. Should you consider selling your car to replace it with a new one, you can always transfer the insurance and no-claims bonuses to your new car.

However, this means that you need to be very careful about the claims you make. To maintain the no-claim bonus, making claims for minute expenses that could be covered from your pocket could be unwise since it could bring your no-claims bonus to zero.

Claim Settlement Ratio

A Claim Settlement Ratio, also known as CSR, is a very crucial deciding parameter of car insurance, or insurance in general. It is an annual report of the number of claims an insurance company was able to settle versus the claim applications that they had received. The judgement factor is simple; the higher the claim settlement number, the more reliable the insurance company is.

Premium Calculations

The premium amount you pay is one of the most important factors of your car insurance, since the consistency of renewal payments, the amount of the premium and more determine just how satisfied you can be with the coverage and benefits of your car insurance. Hence, for the sake of your own finances and to fully understand how your money is being utilised for your own benefit is necessary.

A premium is calculated on the basis of how new your car is, its cubic capacity, no-claim bonuses, add-ons, and the IDV of your car.

There it is, your complete guide to purchasing car insurance online and the factors you need to consider as you look for your first perfect car insurance. It might seem a little intimidating, considering the many aspects that need to be analysed and compared; however, it is just as important to have car insurance, for the sake of your own wellbeing and that of those around you, for your vehicle’s protection and for your financial safeguarding. Hence, you can dive into this head-on to buy that car insurance with all the add-ons that are perfect for you and your finances.