Car Insurance in Indian Cities

• Protect yourself with third party or comprehensive cover
• Use bumper to bumper policies to reduce your liability
• Enjoy facilities like zero depreciation and roadside assistance covers

A family’s car is one of their most valuable assets. It is hence very important to get one’s car covered under a car insurance plan because accidents can happen at any point in time to anyone. The costs involved in getting treatments for injuries suffered or fixing damages caused to the vehicle could be high depending on the severity of the damage or accident. One will have to shell out thousands of rupees in a single go to get the damages fixed. Instead, if he/she has a car insurance policy, the insurance company will pay for the expenses incurred at the garage or hospital.

Further, according to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1961, every car owner is required to purchase an insurance policy, at least a third-party liability car insurance policy, and renew it on a regular basis too.

There are two major car insurance plan types in India – third-party liability insurance and comprehensive insurance.

• Third-party liability insurance: This car insurance plan type will offer coverage to third-party individuals who are injured or third-party property that has been damaged in an accident caused by the policyholder.

• Comprehensive insurance: A comprehensive policy offers coverage for third-party damage as well as own damage. So damages caused to the policyholder’s vehicle in an accident caused by him/her, damages caused by a natural disaster, compensation for theft of the vehicle, etc., are all covered under the plan.

Car Insurance in Indian cities

There are many general insurance companies in India and each of the companies is located in major cities in India. Some of the major Indian cities where car insurance can be availed are:

• Agra
• Ahmedabad
• Bengaluru
• Bhubaneshwar
• Chandigarh
• Chennai
• Coimbatore
• Ernakulam
• Guwahati
• Goa
• Hyderabad
• Indore
• Jaipur
• Kochi
• Kolkata
• Lucknow
• Mumbai
• Noida
• Patna
• Pune
• Pondicherry
• Tiruppur

Things to keep in mind about your car insurance while moving from one Indian city to another

You may have many questions in mind about your car insurance if you are relocating to a different Indian city. Here are a few factors you should consider regarding your car insurance policy while moving from one Indian city to another:

• Residential address information: When you move to a different city permanently or for more than a year, you should inform your insurer about the same and update the residential address information in the policy. Since insurers send important letters with regard to the policy to the registered address, it is important to change the address when you move.
• Premium payable: The premium payable by the policyholder, in most cases, does not change on moving to a different city. Therefore you need not worry about any hike in premium amount.
• Upgradation of policy: You should evaluate if moving to a new city is going to affect the car insurance needs. In case you move to an area that is prone to natural calamities or acts of vandalism, you should upgrade your policy if coverage for such circumstances is not available.
• Re-registration of car: You will be required to re-register your vehicle if you’re moving to another city for a long period of time. Once the re-registration process is completed, inform your insurer so that the records with the company can be updated.
• Transfer of no-claim bonus: The no-claim bonus is provided when there is a claim-free year. You need not worry about transferring the no-claim bonus benefits as there will be no change as such in the policy when you move to a new city. Further, even if you switch to another insurance company, the no-claim bonus benefits will be transferred. The benefits won’t be denied for any reason whatsoever.

Conclusion

The Indian government has made car insurance mandatory due to the low insurance penetration and the increasing number of car accidents in the country. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) recently made it compulsory for all vehicle owners to get a personal accident cover along with the base insurance policy too. The minimum mandated sum insured amount of the personal accident is Rs.15 lakh and the premium payable for the same is Rs.750. All new and existing car owners are required to buy this insurance cover at the time of renewal.