How to buy an insurance policy for an old two-wheeler?

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• Buy/renew your policy online without hassles

When an individual buys a new two-wheeler, he/she needn't worry about insurance as the responsibility is shouldered down by the dealership. Along with the bike, they offer a two-wheeler policy as well. The buyer just has to pay the cost of the insurance policy additionally with the price of the vehicle. However, this is not the case with old two-wheelers. If you are purchasing an old two-wheeler then the process of getting an insurance policy will be entirely different as the bike will be already insured in the name of its previous owner. However, there are several ways to get a two wheeler insurance plan for an old bike without facing much hassles.

Ways to get the best-suited two wheeler insurance policy

Here are some of the best ways for your reference:

Go online

Most of the insurance agents don't promote insurance policies as proactively as they do for new two-wheelers. Hence, it most often becomes difficult for the buyers to know which provider deals with such policies and who are not. However, the internet is always there for your help and you can look for insurance providers who will offer you insurance policies for used two-wheelers.

Check and evaluate

It is extremely important to understand the policy, areas of coverage, exclusions, and other terms before investing in one. And the best way to do this is to check the details on the insurer’s website and then compare them by keeping all the information side by side. As you will get a lot of companies providing such insurance with a single click of the mouse with all the details, you can check, compare and then make an informed decision.

Read the fine print

Reading the fine print of the two-wheeler policy that you have decided to buy is immensely important. Unless you read the document carefully you wouldn’t get to know what you are buying and if it is fulfilling all your requirements or not. Hence, once you make your mind to buy a policy from a specific provider, make sure to go through it thoroughly and understand all the terms and clauses.

Apply for it online

Once you have decided on the right policy for your two-wheeler, the next step is to apply for it and finalise the deal. You can either do it by visiting the insurance company directly or you can do it online. It will be more convenient to apply for it online as in that case you can do it anytime even without taking the hassle of moving from your place. Moreover, the online process is faster compared to the offline method.

Key points to follow while buying a two wheeler insurance

The terms and conditions that are applied on an old two-wheeler policy is not the same as that of a new two-wheeler policy. Since you are not familiar with the terms and conditions it is possible that you end up buying a policy which will not offer you all the benefits that you are looking for. Here are some of the key points that you must consider when buying a policy for an old motorbike:

IDV of the vehicle

This is the total amount of money that the policy will offer against your vehicle. In short, this is the amount that you can claim if there is an issue with your vehicle that comes under the coverage of the policy. However, since you are buying an old vehicle, the insured declared value for your vehicle can be quite low as the insurers wouldn't be confident enough to take the risk of insuring an old vehicle which will be more vulnerable to loss and damage. Hence, when checking the details, you should be very careful about this and buy a policy which will give you the maximum IDV. The key to this is negotiation, and don't miss to do so with the insurance company.

The age of your vehicle

The more old your vehicle is, the lower coverage you will get from the insurer. The value will be decided by the company on the basis of the depreciation of your vehicle. This table lists the amounts that you are most likely to get against the age of your vehicle:

• 10%- For vehicles which are more than 1 year old but less than 2 years
• 15%- For vehicles which are more than 2 years old but less than 3 years
• 25%- For vehicles which are more than 3 years old but less than 4 years
• 35%- For vehicles which are more than 4 years old but less than 5 years
• 40%- For vehicles which are more than 5 years old but less than 10 years
• 50%- For vehicles which are more than 10 years old

This table is a generic representation, while the actual cost might differ from one company to another. Moreover, the insurers make use of their own schedules to decide how much total premium the insurance holder needs to pay.

With more than 30 insurance companies in India offering bike insurance, it is not at all tough to get the most suitable policy for your two-wheeler. The only thing that you need to do is to be smart and take a well-calculated decision while making the purchase.