GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

Car insurance is all about cutting your losses in case of an accident or theft. You will pay the premium annually or more frequently as per the guidelines of your policy. You need to pay the premium regularly to keep the policy active. Car accidents do not happen that frequently, but they do occur quite a lot. This makes having a proper car insurance policy extremely important. Though at the time of purchasing a car insurance policy, it is important to look up new car insurance rates, so you do not end up shelling an unnecessary amount of money. You will also be rewarded for driving safely and responsibly by No Claim Bonus.

No Claim Bonus is essentially a discount over the own damage premium component. It means that you would have to pay less in the forthcoming premium if you do not raise any claim in the entire year. You generally start with zero NCB (except in the case of NCB transfer) and accumulate discounts over the years. It is often misinterpreted, so here are few features you need to be mindful of: -

• NCB is available only on policy renewal. It is a reward for not making any claims during the entire year. It is earned by keeping a claim-free record. It starts at 20 percent after one claim-free year and accumulates steadily with each subsequent claim-free year and can reach up to a maximum of 50 percent.
• NCB belongs to you and not the car. It is essentially a reward to the driver. If you decide to change the car and get an insurance policy for it, you will retain your NCB discount from the first premium on your new insurance policy. So, in essence, NCB is transferrable between cars. However, NCB is not transferrable between two people.
• Transferring NCB is a simple procedure. After the purchase of a new vehicle, you have to submit Form 29 and Form 30 along with a letter requesting your insurer for NCB transfer. Your insurer will issue an NCB certificate which will be valid for three years after the date of the issue. You have to submit this certificate to your new insurer to retain your NCB benefits.
• NCB is only valid over the own damage component of the premium. This means NCB is not valid over the third-party liability component of the premium.
• NCB must be kept in mind before making small claims. NCB is reset to zero, no matter the magnitude of the claim. It is therefore important to make calculations before making any small claims. You can end up losing more than you gain. In addition to NCB be set to zero you will also lose any accumulated discount and will have to start over to reach a 50% discount earmark.
• You can purchase an NCB add-on cover that will allow you to make a limited number of claims without affecting your NCB. This can help you if you are stuck in the decision to make a small or moderate claim.
• Maximum NCB discount is 50% though some insurers allow higher discounts in their policies for driver's clean records.

Insurance is nothing but risk management. You buy insurance just so you do not fall into a financial burden in emergencies. Insurance is all about saving money. At the time of purchasing a new policy, you must always check up new car insurance rates, so you don't end up paying more. NCB too is a step towards saving money, you must always drive safely, and NCB ensures you will be rewarded for it.

A lot of people become victim to unfortunate road accidents. Merely witnessing an accident can leave a huge impact on the mind of an individual. Imagine the situation of those who have to go through such misfortune. That is why the Indian government always insists on following road safety rules.

It is very important to have car insurance for your vehicle to reimburse you for the losses suffered due to an accident. But as someone has wisely said, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, following road safety rules should be the topmost priority of every single person driving a vehicle. Road safety rules are made by the government for the safety of those on the road - be it people driving vehicles or pedestrians.

The given road safety rules are for the safety of Indian citizens and must be understood as well as followed by everyone: -

●Use of indicators - While changing directions or taking a turn on either side of the road, using an indicator is very important. If you wish to turn left, keep left with your indicator light on and turn when there is no vehicle following too closely to avoid a collision. Similar is the case while turning right.

●Overtaking - A lot of people are in a hurry to reach somewhere, that's why they keep on driving past the other vehicles. If you are in such a situation, always remember that if you want to overtake the vehicle driving ahead of you, it needs to be done from the right side. Never overtake in a curve as it might lead to obstruction of the view of the other driver. Also, if the vehicle ahead does not slow down, overtaking might end up in an accident.

●Helmets and seat belts - You all must be familiar with this rule! The government lays special emphasis on the use of seat belts in cars and wearing helmets while driving two-wheelers. If any accident happens, the damage to your car can be covered through policies issued from the best car insurance company in India, but your safety is not guaranteed by any means. That is why you should make sure that you undertake all safety measures like wearing helmets and seat belts while driving.

●Noise- Unnecessary honking can be very irritating to other drivers as well as pedestrians. Thus, you must use the horn only when required. Avoid using it in prohibited places like hospital areas, school areas and others. Also, ensure that the horn in your vehicle does not make a loud and blaring noise.

●Following distance - Maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle ahead of you is also a very important thing. In case the driver applies his brakes all of a sudden, you might not be able to engage your brakes at the same time, and this might end up in a collision.

●Documents - All required documents ranging from RC book of your vehicle to the car insurance papers, your driving license, PUC (Pollution Under Control) license and others, should be kept inside the vehicle so that you can access them whenever required.

●Traffic signals - Traffic lights are present at junctions or intersections of four roads. If not, there might be traffic police officers or authorized persons giving directions to the vehicles that must be followed. At such crossings, move carefully so that no inconvenience is caused to any other vehicle. You should always allow vehicles to turn right and avoid blocking the right side of the road.

●Emergency vehicles - Certain vehicles like ambulances and firetrucks work for saving the lives of people and it is your duty as a responsible citizen to give way to them.

If you have purchased a new vehicle, make sure that before everything else, you contact the best car insurance company in India to reap the benefits of their policies and also enjoy superior protection against possible incidents.

Anyone who has seen a person close to them in the hospital will agree that it is the most stressful time in their life. A medical emergency disturbs the lives of everyone around the affected person. The person who is battling a disease or any other medical condition goes through a lot of pain and suffers a lot. Along with that person, the people close to him also go through an equally stressful time. There is too much to look after. During those times, the financial burden can make everything worse. Medical expenses are rising continuously for many years. For many, it has become almost impossible to provide quality treatment to their family members out of their pockets. If the affected person has health insurance, it will lighten the burden on the people close to him, and everyone can pay attention to more important things in life.

Health insurance will provide you with coverage for a lot of medical conditions that you are likely to suffer from. The policy will cover most of the expenses that you will incur in the treatment. It will take the financial burden off the shoulders of your family members. This will, in return, help you as they will not be worrying about finances and can take proper care of you. If you do not have health insurance yet, you can quickly obtain one from one of the many online health insurance companies in India. Contact various health insurance companies to get health insurance quotes in India. Here are five explanations on why health insurance quote is essential:-

• It is the first step in getting health insurance. If you are looking forward to getting health insurance, you need to contact various health insurance providers and receive their quotations. The more you delay this step, the longer it will take you to finally sign the contract and get health insurance.
• Once you obtain various health insurance quotes, you can check which quote fits your budget best. You must not necessarily choose the cheapest quote. You should instead research coverage provided by the companies against their quotes and see which company gives you the best quote with all-round coverage.
• Health insurance quotes will help you be prepared on how you have to modify your monthly budget to accommodate the premiums. It might not be feasible to change your lifestyle overnight. Health insurance quotes will give you time to make small changes in life so you can better adjust to paying for health insurance.
• You can also contact the companies and check if you are getting all the available discounts. Many insurance companies offer various discounts on certain conditions. You must contact the insurance company after receiving health insurance quotes in India to talk in more detail and obtain a better quote.
• You can weigh the pros and cons of the policy financially after receiving the quote. The complete coverage policies might be too expensive for you. So, you might prefer opting for a policy with less coverage. Receiving the quotes will help you make a more informed decision.

It is crucial to have health insurance nowadays. If you do not have one, your family might fall into tough times, as they would have to go through their savings to provide you with healthcare. Health insurance benefits you as well as everyone around you.

'The more, the merrier'. A lot of you must be familiar with this phrase. It states that the more the number of people, the more fun they are likely to have. But that is not the only situation where this phrase is applicable. The same thing applies while buying a health insurance plan.

If you are thinking of getting insurance for yourself, you might want to get more than just one.

Many online health insurance companies offer insurance plans that offer you comprehensive protection against a wide range of ailments and allow you to avail cashless treatment in the network hospitals.

The following points elaborate on the benefits of getting insurance policies from 3 different companies: -

●Less premium - If you purchase an insurance policy which offers comprehensive protection against a wide range of conditions, it might require a greater premium amount as well. However, if you spread this amount within multiple policies, you are likely to pay a much lesser amount for each cover. Such small sums add up to a large amount with different companies and turn out to be less expensive.

● Better coverage of diseases - Usually, general health insurance plans include only a selected handful number of diseases. Such diseases are not critical, which might pose to be a huge threat in the future as you would not be able to avail the claim amount. Therefore, buying multiple plans from different companies can result in the coverage of a wide range of diseases - right from the basic ones to the high expense ones.

● Protection against price rise - With the rise in inflation, there is an increase in the price of medical treatment. Not just medicines, but the doctor's fees, hospital charges and other expenses can drill a hole in your pocket. That's why if you wish to save yourself from the given additional expenditure, you can invest in insurances from various online health insurance companies to claim the amount whenever required.

● No stress from claim rejection - There might be times when insurance companies do not find the claimed reason to be strong enough. Therefore, they might deny the claim, and you might end up with no amount of money. In such conditions, when you desperately require claims for paying medical expenses, your family might have to bear the burden of paying expenses at their own cost. To avoid this, insurance should be purchased from more than one company. That is how you can ensure that even if one company rejects your claim, you still have the hope of availing it from the secondary companies.

●Quick grant - Health insurance is like an amount of deposit which can be claimed in times of medical emergency. If you have insurance in three or more different companies, you can get the claim amount from at least one of them which can prove to be sufficient for your requirements.

●Diversified benefits - If you purchase insurance from a single provider, their policy might not benefit you as much due to the rules and regulations of premiums, cover, duration or claim on maturity and so on. However, if you purchase health insurance from different companies, you can get the best of each of their policies. Selection can be made based on each of your specific requirements, and you can avail the claim as per your convenience.

Life is not certain, and that's why insurance is something every individual should rely on. Buying it from various companies only results in a larger amount of benefits, so why not read them!