How To Purchase/Renew Auto Insurance Online And Save Money?

You definitely put in a lot of thought, time and effort while buying a vehicle but when it comes to auto-insurance you generally do not show that much interest and instead go by the insurance plan your car dealer offers you. Nonetheless, with digitization, now you can make a more informed choice and buy a plan that best meets your needs and at the same time save cost.

How To Purchase/Renew Auto Insurance Online And Save Money?

Process to buy/ renew auto insurance online

In view of the different challenges faced by insurance customers such as lack of information, time etc., insurance being deemed as complex or some hard experience in relation to claim processing, auto insurers have gone online seeking the best interest of its customers. And the process of buying or renewing auto-insurance is no different than buying a product on an e-commerce site.

You can either purchase or renew vehicle insurance plan from the insurer's website or from a web-aggregator and these online plans are cheaper in comparison with no involvement of middleman or agent plus the company saves on operational costs which it passes to its customers. Notably, such online vehicle insurance policies do not compromise on the scope of the cover and some of them in fact come with exclusive offers.

Things to keep in mind while buying or renewing car or 2-wheeler insurance online

Renew your policy in advance: Proactive efforts or doings pay most of the time and this goes with insurance renewal as well. As in some of the cases, if you renew your auto insurance policy after the expiration date, you might be asked to shell out a higher premium. Further, in a case when renewal is not made within 90 days after policy expiry, you will no longer be entitled to accumulated no-claim bonus.

And if you wish to change your insurance company, do it well in advance and not close to the expiration date of your policy as the new insurer might want to inspect the condition of the vehicle before issuing the policy.

Evaluate your current auto insurance policy: After you have given in to your vehicle dealer's offerings and purchased insurance from him while buying the vehicle, you need to review the coverage of your policy as and when it comes up for renewal. It is necessary as policy plans offered by these dealers apart from being expensive either lack in important features or include some of the otherwise unnecessary add-ons which up the cost for you. For instance: You can include zero-depreciation cover add-on as it saves cost while making claims, nonetheless do not opt for riders that are inconsequential for you such as cover for co-passenger in case you generally ride alone.

Deploy anti-theft equipment in your vehicle: In case you deploy the Automotive Research Association of India-certified anti-theft equipment in your vehicle, you will be able to secure a discount on the insurance premium amount.

Take account of no-claim bonus or NCB during policy renewal: Insurance companies offer no-claim bonus reward to its policyholders as discount on auto insurance premium for not making claims during the policy period at the time of policy renewal. And NCB is incremental and can go as high as 50% if the policyholder has not made claim during the last 5 policy years. Also, if you have changed the insurer, your new insurance company will consider the overall no-claim bonus and you will be entitled to a discount on the premium amount.

Opt for voluntary deductible diligently: There are two deductibles when it comes to auto insurance i.e. compulsory deductible and voluntary deductible. By compulsory deductible we mean the amount the policyholder contributes while making claim and voluntary deductible is the contribution made over and above the compulsory deductible.

So, if you opt for voluntary deductible, you agree to contribute some pre-specified amount at the time of making claim. In simple terms, choice of voluntary deductible means reduced claim amount and thus you need to properly weigh in the option.

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