GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

Not only buying insurance online but renewing it online as well is also possible and is very important at the same time. You can renew two-wheeler insurance online and the whole process is hassle-free along with being very less time-consuming. Renewing your insurance online will help you in continuing the coverage and benefits you receive under your current bike insurance policy.

Some of the benefits that you get when buying two-wheeler insurance are: -

● The insurance will save you from heavy expenses that occur due to natural disasters like fire, earthquake, landslide, flood, storm etc.

● The policy will also protect you from theft, burglary or accidents that are caused by humans.

● Third-party insurance which is mandatory as per the Motor Vehicle Act ensures the owner that the insured vehicle is free from any third-party liability that may arise if the insured vehicle is involved in an accident.

● Insurance Cover in Foreign Land will make the insurance company liable to pay for damages that occur to the insured vehicle outside the Indian territory as well.

● Having your vehicle insured will also save you from any penalties that you may face if you do not have two-wheeler insurance that is mandatory by law.

Once you buy insurance for your bike or any other two-wheelers, it is necessary to keep a check on when the insurance expires. It is always good to get your insurance renewed before it expires so that you may not face any difficulties in case you are travelling.

Benefits of renewing two-wheeler insurance online.

You can go to the office of the insurance company from where you purchase your insurance from, or there is a much simpler and better method to get your insurance renewed. Insurance policies are renewed online as well and there are many benefits of renewing your two-wheeler insurance online. some of them are: -

● NCB or No Claim Bonus is another benefit that the insurers are entitled to if they go throughout the year without any claim for the year. The benefit of NCB is available in various percentages, and even if you switch your insurance provider, you get an outstanding benefit which is that you can get your NCB transferred to the other insurer.

● Renewing your insurance is not only money-saving due to a lot of deals present online but also time-saving because you do not have to go through an exhaustive process of researching where to get your insurance renewed.

● Setting up an online insurance renewal system for your two-wheeler will save your efforts in future because next time you won’t even have to step out of your office or home to get the insurance renewed for your bike or any other two-wheeler.

● Along with all these benefits, you also get timely reminders to get you insurance renewed through the portals, and you won’t miss the deadline to get your insurance renewed. You also get to receive reminders of different discounts or offers available with online insurance renewal plans.

Online insurance renewal for your two-wheelers simplifies much of your effort and you can carry out the complete procedure of renewing your insurance from home only. The transactions for the renewal process can be carried out through credit cards, debit cards, net banking which are very safe methods of payments and you can rest assured that your confidential information will not be misused in any manner.

Coronaviruses are a large group of RNA viruses. It comes under the sub-family Orthocoronavirinae. Coronavirus virions are spherical to pleomorphic enveloped particles. The envelope is studded with projecting glycoproteins and surrounds a core consisting of matrix protein enclosed within which is a single strand of positive-sense RNA (Mr 6 × 106) associated with nucleoprotein. The envelope glycoproteins are responsible for attachment to the host cell and also carry the main antigenic epitopes, particularly the epitopes recognized by neutralizing antibodies. OC43 also possesses a haemagglutinin. The size of coronaviruses ranges from 26 to 32 kilobases. Most human coronaviruses fall into one of two serotypes: OC43-like and 229E-like. Coronaviruses cause acute, mild upper respiratory infection(Common cold) to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS).

Discovery of coronaviruses

The very first discovery of the coronavirus took place in 1960, the name of this virus comes from the crown-like spikes that it has its surface. The word corona came from the Latin word "Crown." The early discovered was an infectious bronchitis virus which was found in chicken's respiratory tract and then later in 1963 two more cases were discovered from the nasal cavity of humans named As Human Corona Virus 229E and Human Corona Virus OC43 as a result of zoonotic transmission (transmission of disease from animals to humans). Since then the cases have occurred in several other forms in minimal numbers. Many shreds of evidence in history state that corona has always spread from an animal to a human, for instance, SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was transmitted from bat to a human being in china in November 2002 and caused severe acute respiratory syndrome(Infected-8,098 and Killed 774). That virus disappeared by 2004. Middle East respiratory syndrome(MERS) is caused by the MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which is also called camel flu was transmitted from camel to human in Saudi Arabia in September 2012(Infected-2,056 People and killed 862 people worldwide). But this time the scientist are having difficulty in identifying the animal responsible for COVID-19.

WHAT IS A NOVEL CORONAVIRUS(nCOVID-19)

Covid 19 means : CO = corona, VI= virus ,D= disease 2019.

A novel coronavirus (CoV) is a new strain of coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is defined as an illness caused by a novel coronavirus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly called 2019-nCoV), which was first identified amid an outbreak of respiratory illness cases in Wuhan City, China in December 2019, which has a well-known seafood wholesale market, were a large number of people come to sell or buy live seafood; this market is also known for its wide variety of seafood. This strain of coronavirus was named COVID-19 on February 11 by the World Health Organization. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of WHO, mentioned that they had to find a name that didn't point out any animal, geographical location, a person, or a group of people. The name should be easily pronounceable and had a clear relation to the disease. It's essential to have an impartial name so that other names don't get stigmatized. On January 30, 2020, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global health emergency. On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, its first such designation since declaring H1N1 influenza a pandemic in 2009.

How does infection happen?

COVID-19 appears to be spread via respiratory secretions when infected people cough or sneeze, similar to how influenza (flu) spreads. Currently, people at risk for COVID-19 include those who have been in close contact with infected people within 14 days before their symptoms began. The average time from when persons are exposed to signs of illness is about 5 days and can range from 2 to 14 days.

What are the symptoms of coronavirus?

People with COVID-19 have a fever, cough, muscle aches, headache, and diarrhoea, which are all symptoms similar to other viral infections, such as the flu. People who need hospitalization usually have severe pneumonia.

What are the prevention methods that we should follow?

1. Washing your hands with soap - every time you come from outside.

2. Social distancing of around 6 feet - so you do not get the infection.

3. Wearing a mask - this prevents the droplets from entering.

4. Living in a hotter environment - do not turn on your AC - the virus does not survive in hot conditions. Drink hot water/tea.

5. Cleaning and disinfecting the environment around you.

6. Take your medication for your illness - as COVID generally clings to your already existing illnesses and escalates it - this causes most deaths in diabetics, heart patients etc.

Insurance is proof of verifying your track record, living and financial status, assets, etc. And if you own a car, having car insurance in India is mandatory. The main reason is to fulfil the interests of your vehicle and how you can safeguard it in case of any accidents or damages. But while this is a consumer-oriented measure that provides financial protection against car damages, the motor insurance company takes stringent background checks before allowing the customer to proceed with the process.

Are you looking for answers as to why and how these insurers perform such checks on potential customers? This blog will answer all your queries and decode the details one by one.

• Insurance companies want to be aware of their customers, their identities, and mandatory details about them to serve their consumers in the best way possible. This also helps them improve their services, which is why they conduct background checks on their customers when required.

• Confirming the consumer’s identity is essential to ensure they are claiming their real identification. This will assure the insurance providers that they are not creating a profile and selling the car insurance to a fake name.

• We all see how scammers these days are getting ahead of the intelligence agencies and finding their way out to fraud people and steal their money, identities, etc. This is why background checks of consumers are essential to verify all their information through government-attested documents. Insurance companies have reported that they receive fake claims for third-party insurance and background checks provide a solution to this issue.

• One of the reasons for conducting background checks is to ensure that their policyholders’ identities have not been stolen through other means such as phone insurance, where the consumers have been scammed into revealing their identities to third parties, which eventually use the information to accomplish malicious tasks and activities.

• The insurance companies must abide by the “know your customer” and local and international anti-money laundering rules and regulations as per government standards. To follow these rules, they need factual information about no criminal activities and involvement, financial scams, money laundering, etc., associated with their customers.

• The background check also involves checking your credit score reports. A good score reflects that you have a good financial status and can repay your bills on time. This acts as proof of your spending habits, money-saving capabilities, etc.

• While issuing car insurance, your motor insurance company looks at your driving history and evaluate your driving record and its details. This assures them that you are a responsible driver and avoid any brazen or rash activities on the road. Such activities might endanger other people’s lives and vehicles on the road and put the road safety protocols at risk.

We hope these factors will help you understand car insurance and insurance companies’ protocols in a better way. Speaking of car insurance, have you considered getting online car insurance? Buying online is the smartest way of investing in insurance. Purchasing a policy from a reputed motor insurance company promises several benefits that protect your car against any damages and prevent you from venting your pockets.

Click HERE to know more about online car insurance.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

If you don't drive often, you could believe you don't need the competence to change a tyre and may leave it to the mechanic. However, the "flat tyre" problem can happen to anyone at any moment, whether you're driving your car around the block or through highways. The process of changing a tyre is more straightforward than you may imagine. It is better to fix the flat tyre issue immediately before it results in an accident.

Also, remember another best practice to follow is to buy new car insurance. This will provide a considerable financial benefit if your vehicle meets with an accident and causes loss or damage to any third party's property.

Here are some of the most frequent problems encountered while changing a tyre are listed below.

1. Shifting while on an incline:
Get to level ground before pulling the jack out of the car and changing the tyre. If you try to replace the tyre while on a slope, the car can slide off the jack. Before you jack up the car and steady it, set the emergency brake. To prevent rolling, put wheel wedges in front or behind the tyres.

2. Lacking the required tools:
Most individuals don't examine the vehicle jack kit when they acquire a car and undermine the importance of a complete kit. Ensure you check the jack kit thoroughly before driving.

3. Having passengers in the car:
Consider the situation when you have to repair a flat tyre quickly, and you have located a suitable location to do it. Before the tyre-changing procedure begins, ensure all passengers, including pets, exit the car. This can help change the tyres easily as you remove obstructive weight from the vehicle.

4. Stuck alloy wheel rims:
Even seasoned drivers can get caught off guard by this one. Due to rust, alloy wheel rims that haven't been removed for a while may end up attached to the hub immediately behind where the tyre is located. You might need a hammer in the car, which you can use to hit the centre of the wheel covering the tyre. However, it is recommended to take the help of a professional mechanic.

5. Incorrect use of jacking points:
Every car has a few places on the underside that are intended to be used with a jack. Neglecting this part of a flat tyre replacement could cause damage to the automobile or cause it to fall off the jack. The owner's manual for your particular car model will include the proper jacking points. Always use those points to secure the jack.

6. Forgetting about your spare tyre:
Some vehicle owners heed it. An easy maintenance task is to check the spare tyre's condition every few months. If you need to put the spare tyre, do ensure that it is adequately filled and in good condition. If it's flat, weak, rotten, or fractured, it is of no help.

7. Impossible to unscrew wheel nuts or studs:
Even people with well-developed biceps may struggle with this. It might be relatively easy to manually free wheel nuts if they were excessively tight the last time you visited the workshop. Additionally, overtightening has the potential to harm threads permanently.

A flat tyre is a common occurrence that causes stress levels to soar. Take a deep breath and ensure you exit the road safely to prevent the risk of accidents. While there is no way to avoid a flat tyre, you can prepare for such situations by knowing basic car know-how. We also urge you to buy new car insurance since it covers the costs of an accident and financially protects your vehicle against the damages.

Click HERE to buy new car insurance policy.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.