Damage-prone assets like cars always need insurance to give you a smooth and safe riding experience. Mitigating your car insurance with a trustworthy insurer can save you thousands of bucks when your car hits an uncertain tragedy.
There are so many insurers in the market selling insurance plan, and you don’t know which one to pick. Or maybe you’re just annoyed with all those false pretenses from the agent on your smartphone. Don’t worry! You’re landing on the correct page. Here, we discussed everything from pros and cons to how to pick the best four-wheeler insurance under the sun.
Let’s start!
As you already know, car insurance typically cons five types- 1. Liability insurance, 2. Comprehensive insurance, 3. Zero depreciation insurance, 4. Return to invoice insurance 5. Collision insurance. Comprehensive motor insurance covers almost every aspect of damages, theft, death, or natural calamities. So, we recommend if you are insuring your car for the first time, go for the comprehensive premium plan.
Now, dive directly into the main question- buying an insurance policy online worth it or not? So, the simple answer is yes, it is. From credibility purpose to flexibility purpose, every checklist got the green tick on it. Not only that, you don’t need to drag all of those hasty documents out of your cabinet. Later in this article, we discussed all the pros of online insurance policies.
What is the difference between online and offline car insurance?
Before getting into the pros of online car insurance policy, let’s quickly look into the fundamental difference between online and offline offerings. With a CAGR of 7.38%, the four-wheeler insurance market is booming, where having your insurance done is as important as having your license imposed by the vehicle and RTO act.
To avail license offline, you need to follow up the following steps, –
- First, you need to contact an agent or visit the nearby office of the insurance broker. (Although agents are reaching leads regular basis and you might already get a ring)
- At the office, the agent describes you with all the policies they offer and suggests you plan accordingly.
- Then you need to arrange your docs as per the requirements, which includes identity proof such as driving license, vehicle registration certificates (RC book), purchasing invoice, etc.
- Once you’re done with all that paperwork, verification, and manual KYC process, you have to sign physically on the agreement.
One pro tip here, read the terms and conditions policies carefully and ask your agent if you have any queries.
- Then you have to down payment the premium according to the package policy through bank transfer, NEFT, or any other trusted option available. (The charges are a little higher than online policies, why? We discussed in the next section of the article)
Next will be followed as per your insurance broker. Terms and conditions will vary with a different brokers. However, this is an estimated roadmap followed by most insurance service providers.
I know this muddy road already sounds so drag that you must change your mind to online policy. So, let me Just it down for you how transparent it is –
- Visit the insurance broker page on your preferred browser and compare the plan. (e.g., Policybazaar, ACKO car insurance, Bajaj Allianz car insurance HDFC, ICICI so on and so forth).
- Once you find a plan that meets your requirements, just sign it up.
- You must fill out essential personal and contact details to create an account with the broker.
- Upload your scanned docs and sign digitally; that’s it.
- Then you got a pop-up for payment; once you paid the premium, your four-wheeler is insured.
You get all the required information like perks, terms, tenures, etc. On details segment. So, read carefully, and if you’ve any doubts, most insurance brokers provide 24/7 support and service. So, you are just a call away from getting a helping hand. If you find anything suspicious, you can check that on IRDAI.
It’s not only about the transparency and speediness of the process. There are much more online car insurance covers. Let’s get into that part –
Which one is the benefit of online insurance for a car
When the whole world is going digital, you want to avoid being stuck in a crew, proof checking your docs, and bragging agent to agent to make your four-wheeler insurance done. Right? Of course, you don’t. Who wants to pay more and suffer more when the world is one fingertip away?
Suppose you are not a tech-savvy person; that’s completely fine. If you’re not living under the rocks or know how to order pizza, these are enough skills to compare & buy your online car insurance policy. Let’s see how –
- No Paperwork- No need to look for manual docs. Instead, you can utilize that time to compare various policies on the internet.
- Convenient- Whether it’s a renewal or buying a new premium, you can do it anytime, anywhere, by just visiting your insurance broker’s application.
- Value for money- when you move to digital, the operational costs reduce significantly, which helps lower the premium price in general. Any online insurance policy is cheaper than the same at the physical level because of the commission involved by the agent.
- Better transparency, more creditability- You can easily check the claim settlement portfolio and insurer review on their pages. At the same time, you can compare with another broker, even with IRDAI guidelines, if required.
- Quick apply, instantaneous response- the time you need to find the best possible option. And then it’s a piece of cake. It generally takes less than 2 minutes to purchase insurance online.
Now when you know why you should purchase your car insurance policy online. You might wonder where and which one to buy. Don’t worry; we covered that up also for you guys.
Which is the best four-wheeler insurance?
As we already mentioned above, there are five distinct categories of four-wheeler insurance. And among those, a comprehensive one will cover all of the threat aspects. So, we highly recommend you zero down to comprehensive car insurance. However, it entirely depends on your affordability and requirements.
In India, it is mandated to have third-party insurance for each car owner. And in the comprehensive package, you get insurance against third-party liabilities as well as against your own damage.
The subtle art of picking up the best car insurance from the best broker includes, –
- Check for the previous claim settlement ratio. If that is greater than 85%, then it’s a thumbs up!
- Check for the Add Ons.
- Check the consumer service and support records, which can be gauged by the reviews.
- Check the renewal criteria.
- Consider checking the garage network of your broker.
Many companies offer four-wheeler insurance on their website or web application. Some of the big names are- ACKO, Bajaj Allianz, HDFC ERGO General Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance, Navi General Insurance so on and so forth.
Is third-party insurance mandatory for four-wheelers?
In most countries, the vehicular act mandates third-party car insurance, and India is no exception. In India, having your 3rd party insurance clear is as necessary as having a license and RC book. If you need to know what precisely third-party insurance is, then let me brief you in short.
A 3rd party car insurance policy safeguards against only third-party liabilities. Such as legal liability, death or injuries to the third party, and damage to the property of the third party. Basically, it protects you financially from the misdeed you caused. But doesn’t cover anything like damage through natural calamities, fire, theft, personal accident, etc.
Suppose you are making it this far some pro tips for you by our side. Examine IDV properly, apply directly on your insurance broker’s site, trying to find more cashless options; CSR is the most important to check. These also save you time and bucks.
Lastly, we can conclude that when you’re buying stocks online with that conviction, then why not plan your financial risk management digitally?