10 Interesting things about Bike you don’t know
If you are planning on buying a new bike, then you must be knowing a lot about getting an insurance policy for your bike. Your dealer would have intimated you on the need for getting an insurance policy.
You might have even read all about it on the internet. But there is certain nitty-gritty related to an insurance policy that you might have missed during your research.
Here are 10 things you might not know about a Bike insurance policy:
1. Increase the IDV value – Insured Declared Value is the amount for which your bike will be insured. While opting for a comprehensive insurance policy, you have the freedom to set the IDV value.
Most insurers will provide you with a range of values within which you can set the IDV. It is ideal to choose the IDV as the current market value of your bike. The higher the IDV, the higher will be the premium and vice versa. But if you opt for a low IDV to save on the premium amount, while filing a claim, you will only get a lesser amount.
2. Mandatory Third-party policy– Third-party insurance policy is mandatory as per the Indian Motor act of 1988. If you are caught driving without one, you are liable to pay a fine of Rs.2000/-. For subsequent offenses, the fine will be Rs.4000/-. The insurance policy that you choose must always have the third-party cover component in it.
3. While renewing policy after expiry, inspection will be required – If you fail to renew your policy on time and your policy has expired, and if you then renew your policy after a few months or years, you will be required to submit the vehicle for inspection.
If you keep renewing your policy on time, the inspection process will not be required. Hence it is recommended to do the two-wheeler insurance online renewal after expiry.
4. No license, no claim approval – If you land in an accident and it is known that you drove without a valid license, then your insurance claim will be rejected. It is illegal to drive in India without a driving license. Even if the driver had a learner’s license, your claim will still be rejected
5. Loss of NCB – No Claim Bonus (NCB) is the bonus amount you receive for not filing any claim with the insurance company.
With every passing year that you haven’t filed the claim, your NCB will become higher. If you do not renew your policy online, you could lose the NCB streak. You will then have to start your NCB from square one.
6. Compulsory deductibles – After your claim has been accepted, you will not be receiving the entire IDV amount. A certain portion of the amount will be deducted from it, known as the compulsory deductibles. This is a standard procedure in every insurance company.
Read through your policy document carefully to understand more about voluntary deductibles as it can be different for different insurance companies.
7. Claim online without a surveyor – Before the advent of online insurance transactions, claims were approved through a surveyor. If your bike gets in an accident and you intimate the insurance company, they will send in a surveyor to evaluate the extent of the damages caused and whether it is a genuine claim. Only after the surveyor gives the approval node will the insurance amount be reimbursed to you.
However, insurance companies like Digit insurance offer the facility of smartphone inspection without the need for human surveyors. You will be given a link to upload the pictures of your damaged vehicle. On successful verification, your claim will be reimbursed.
8. Cashless facility – If your insurance company has tied up with a lot of garages, you can opt for the cashless facility to get your bike repaired. If you have given your damaged bikes (after the accident) to these garages, instead of reimbursing the claim amount into your hand, the insurance company will take over the repair cost with the garage. This is less hassle.
Otherwise, you will have to get your bike repaired in the first place, show the necessary bills to the company and wait for approval to get your claim amount.
9. Buying add-ons can help you save money in the long run– If you opt for add-ons like zero depreciation cover, return to invoice cover, etc. you will be able to get more out of the IDV for the premium you pay.
With each year, due to depreciation costs, the IDV will also be reduced. But for a small extra cost, if you buy a zero depreciation cover, these depreciation charges will be ignored. If your vehicle is damaged beyond repair, you can get back the entire invoice amount from when you bought the bike with a return to invoice cover.
10. Mandatory to buy a 5-year policy for new bikes – Since 2019 September, if you are buying a new bike, it is mandatory to buy a 5-year third-party insurance policy upfront.
Previously you only had to buy a one-year policy and renew it every year. But to curb the higher number of accidents in which people were found to drive without valid insurance, this mandatory 5-year policy was made compulsory.
