Two-wheeler insurance is an quintessential requirement when it comes to protecting your bike against damages, accidents and other perils. Not only does it protect your bike from these unexpected expenses, but it also helps to comply with the law.
The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, makes it mandatory for every vehicle to have a motor insurance policy. Although it is a straightforward purchase decision, it can be perplexing for a few. To avoid this confusion, you should understand the areas to analyse when buying an insurance policy for your two-wheeler.
Let us look at the factors that you should consider at the time of buying a two wheeler insurance policy.
#1 Type of bike insurance
The first and foremost choice that you have to make is the type of insurance policy. The minimum mandate specifies third-party insurance cover; however, you can enhance your coverage using comprehensive plans.
A comprehensive insurance plan will ensure your bike is protected from events like theft, damages due to accidents, and natural as well as man-made perils. It offers an advantage of own-damage that covers injuries as well as damage to the vehicle. Further, it protects against liabilities for damages to third-parties too.
On the contrary, a third-party insurance cover is limited to legal liability arising from damage caused to the property and injuries to third parties. There is no own-damage cover for your two-wheeler under a third-party insurance plan.
In any case of two wheeler insurance third party or comprehensive cover, you must ensure their timely renewals to enjoy continued coverage for your bike.
#2 Premium of your plan
The premiums for your insurance plan are affected by several factors like the model and make of your vehicle, the year of manufacturer, its engine capacity, the geographical location where your bike is used and more. You must compare the various plans on offer considering your requirement. A nifty tool that can help you in comparing the premiums is a two wheeler insurance premium calculator. Using this facility, you can not only compare the premiums, but also consider using the right add-on covers as it impacts your premium amount.
#3 Insured Declared Value
Insured Declared Value (IDV) is the current market value of your bike. To simplify, it is the maximum value that your insurance company provides in case of complete damage or theft of your bike. While most insurance companies allow the facility to set your bike’s IDV between a particular range, you must remember that setting a higher IDV will impact your premium. On the contrary, setting a lower IDV will result in a loss in case of a total loss or theft.
#4 Additional Coverage
If you feel that a standard policy is not enough to provide an adequate financial cover, you can top it up using add-on riders. Some of the popular add-ons are 24×7 roadside assistance cover, personal accident cover, etc. However, you must note that these add-ons come at an extra premium.
#5 Claim procedure
Lastly, when selecting a two-wheeler insurance policy, make sure you pick the one that has hassle-free claim procedure. One metric that you can check is the claim settlement ratio to further know about how many claims are settled as compared to the applications received.
These are some of the tips that you should remember when purchasing a two-wheeler insurance policy. Ensure that you select an optimal coverage using the right set of add-ons.
Dawit
