GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

COVID-19 has upended the lives of billions of people around the globe. People have been restricted to their houses for months on end, and personal and professional habits have changed considerably. It is only over the past few weeks that things might have started getting back to normal with the vaccination drives ramping up, but certain habits are here to stay. Some of these habits are related to driving. Since most people who own a personal vehicle are bound to use it for their daily commute once workplaces are reopened, it would be prudent to understand how you can protect your car from the COVID-19 virus.

Sanitizing:

The most obvious way to protect your car from COVID-19 is by sanitizing all possible surfaces in your car. It is essential that you make a note of all the surfaces that you are likely to touch inside your car while driving. This includes the steering wheel, manual gear, belt buckle, glovebox, and dashboard. Make sure that you use a medically certified alcohol-based sanitizer to clean these surfaces before you start driving. Sanitizing surfaces is the most important step that you must regularly take whenever you take your vehicle out.

Cleaning Fabrics:

Apart from regularly cleaning polymer and leather-based surfaces on the interior of your car, make sure to clean the seats and other fabric-based surfaces from time to time. There are currently no recommendations on the kind of liquid to use when cleaning these fabrics. There are several soaps and liquids that claim to purge viruses from fabrics, but these are seldom medically certified. It is sufficient to use regular soap and water to clean your fabrics for now since these also help wash away any external elements from the fabric of your seats. It is prudent to recall that when you buy Online Car Insurance , it often includes periodic servicing, which is a great feature to take advantage of for cleaning your car.

Using a Microfiber Cloth:

While it is good to clean your seat fabric and other interior surfaces of your car, it might not be practical to do this often, for example, every time you step into your car. It might be much more practical to use a microfiber cloth for cleaning. This may be a dry microfiber cloth or a damp cloth that cleans surfaces thoroughly. Non-microfiber cloths often leave scratches and marks on surfaces when they’re used for cleaning. Microfiber cloths contain minute loops that trap dirt particles in them and prevent them from causing scratches.

Wash Your Hands:

Perhaps the most important part of keeping your car and other surroundings safe from COVID-19 is to keep your hands clean. Wash your hands before you step into the car and sanitize them after getting in. This is very important to ensure that you don’t inadvertently end up acting as a vector for COVID-19 for your car or the people around you.

COVID-19 is a once-in-a-century pandemic, and it is essential that we all stay safe from getting infected and keep our surroundings hygienic enough to reduce the risk of infection. The above steps will go a long way in ensuring that your car does not become a carrier of the coronavirus. Alongside these steps, do not forget to follow the personal sanitization steps to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

It is known that COVID-19 infections spread faster in places where people come in proximity to one another. Therefore, one would need to be cautious about the threat of infection, especially in offices and other closed workplace settings. There are many commonly used areas in the office like canteens, conference halls, meeting rooms, elevators, parking lots etc., where the chances of infection are much higher. That is why every office-goer needs to consider these risks and exercise utmost precaution while in office.

While health insurance (check for health insurance online today) stands out as a basic personal precaution, there are many precautions one can keep in mind to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in office spaces. It includes general precautions like:

● Maintaining a minimum distance of 2 yards or 6 feet from others.

● Wearing a face mask or cover at all times to cover your nose and mouth. Also, remember to avoid touching these areas of your face with your fingers.

● Washing your hands with soap or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer regularly, particularly after touching foreign objects and common surfaces.

● Covering the mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing. Spitting should be avoided altogether.

● Monitoring health and reporting it timely whenever required.

● Using the Aarogya Setu app for timely medical response and COVID-19 awareness.

Here are some precautions that can help prevent infection in office premises:

● Mandatory hand hygiene and thermal screening should be installed at entrances. Employees or visitors with suspected medical conditions should be barred from entry.

● Work-from-home should be permitted for people living in containment zones.

● Service providers such as transport and housekeeping should maintain similar rules regarding containment zones.

● Office vehicles should be disinfected at least twice a day with a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution or spray.

● Aged and pregnant employees and employees with medical conditions should not be exposed to front line work.

● Officers, staff, visitors, valet parking personnel and all other support staff should be wearing masks at all times. Valet parking personnel must also wear gloves.

● Keys, steering wheels, door handles etc. of all office vehicles should be disinfected.

● Proper permission and screening of visitors must be made compulsory.

● Meetings must be conducted over video conferencing as far as possible.

● Awareness of COVID-19 should be promoted through standees, posters and audio-visual presentations

● Crowd management within and outside office premises should be ensured, with adequate physical distancing norms.

● In case of queues, physical distancing norms and marking signs should be put in place.

● Washrooms must have an adequate supply of sanitizers, soaps and running water.

● Restrictions on the number of people using elevators at the same time must be adhered to.

● A temperature of 24-30 ℃ and relative humidity of 40-70% should be ensured in office air conditioning.

● There should be adequate cross-ventilation within the office.

● Large physical gatherings should be avoided.

● Sanitation should be maintained in washrooms, drinking water stations, and hand wash points.

● Commonly used places like doorknobs, elevator buttons, benches, handrails, and bathroom fixtures must be regularly disinfected with a 1% sodium hypochlorite solution or spray.

● Cafeterias and canteens should have their staff checked for temperature and respiratory wellness. Crowd and queue management should be ensured with adequate social distancing, including seating arrangement.

In case health issues or signs of infection become apparent, the office should:

● Facilitate isolation for the unwell person till medical attention is available.

● Inform the nearest medical facility, and confirm availability of cashless Health Insurance Online , if possible.

● Disinfect the places used / visited by the infected person in the last 48 hours, in case of one or two cases of infection.

● Disinfect the entire building or block in case of a large number of infections.

While making efforts to control the possibility of infection, offices should also work to dispel social stigma and show consideration towards the mental health impact of isolation and infection on their employees.

As millions of people have learned over the past year, time spent in quarantine can be an absolutely harrowing experience. While your physical health may not be impacted if you’ve not been infected or had a mild version of it, it can have a tangible and perceivable impact on your mental health. Human beings are inherently social animals. We love talking to each other and being in each other’s presence. Our survival depends on the cooperation between other humans and ourselves. So, when we are suddenly reduced to being in the company of nobody but ourselves, surely the effects would be felt.

If you and your family are in quarantine or any of your family members are isolated, here are some ways to support them and take care of their mental health:

Stick to a Timetable –

Even though we know the benefits of having a timetable, we are not used to adhering to these timings. Although many aspects of our lives depend on these routines, it is easy to allow mundane, every day things to get in the way of these schedules. However, the importance of a timetable cannot be understated when you are in quarantine. Having a timetable gives you something to look forward to for the entire period of your isolation. Try to pack your timetable with many fun activities to keep you engaged every day, such as reading, painting, playing an instrument, etc.

Inculcate Physical Activity –

Your physical health has a definite and perceivable impact on your mental health.

 This is why when you build a timetable, it is a good idea to include some kind of physical activity into it. Since you would mostly be confined to a room, make time for some light exercise once or twice a day. This does not need to be high-intensity exercise; just enough to keep your blood circulating and limbs moving. Exercise helps release endorphins, a very important hormone that keeps your mood up throughout the day.

Communicate Frequently –

Being in quarantine means you cannot step out of the house. Kids cannot go out to play, and you cannot go out for work or even to meet your friends and relatives. However, not being able to meet others in person doesn’t mean you cannot communicate with them. Make sure to call your loved ones frequently over video calls as well as phone calls. Quarantine can often make one feel like the distances between people are increasing. Relationships can be brought closer together simply through regular online interactions.

Limit Consumption of News –

News today is full of distressing stories of people getting infected, suffering, and losing the battle with the pandemic. Following the news closely for extended periods, especially if there are kids in the house, can be a bad idea. Negative news tends to make one feel morose and drastically reduces productivity. It is important to have an atmosphere of positivity in the house, especially during these days. One simple step is to reduce the amount of time spent watching or reading the news, and only follow it on your personal device. Let communal devices such as the television be for entertainment with the family.

Along with the above steps, to maintain your mental health, it is important to guard yourself against the virus. It would be wise to buy Health Insurance Online to ensure that you have additional cover in case the virus enters your bubble.

It is pretty easy to get insurance for new two-wheelers. Several dealerships provide a complimentary 1 to 5 year insurance plan when you buy a two-wheeler. But, what if you are planning to buy insurance for an old two-wheeler? What is the process of purchasing 2 wheeler insurance for an old vehicle? What documents and checkboxes do you need to figure out?

Let’s follow the below mentioned tips to find a two-wheeler insurance policy for an old vehicle.

1. Search your plan online:

The first step is to do some research work to get all the information pertaining to a 2 Wheeler Insurance for an old vehicle. While looking at the various insurance plans, make sure that it satisfies all your requirements. Go through all the terms and conditions, claim settlement process, renewal of the policy, premium, and information about the add-ons. You can do all this simply and remotely from your home or workplace by searching on the internet.

2. Gather all the required documents:

When buying insurance for an old vehicle, the proper documents play an essential role. These documents are valid proofs regarding the ownership of the vehicle and its physical condition. Keep the below-mentioned documents handy that are made mandatory by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India:

a. Original registration papers of your two-wheeler

b. Personal details and associated documents regarding nationality and address proof

c. Brief inspection analysis report of your vehicle.

You can also get an idea of the premium that you will have to pay for your vehicle based on the insurance plan and add-ons you select. There are many premium calculators available online. You need to pick the one having a good rating, then enter necessary information like:

a. Registration details of the vehicle

b. Model number of the vehicle

c. Current policy details (if any)

3. Read the policy carefully and proceed to make the payment:

After completing the documentation process, it is important to verify the policy documents before making a payment. Check all the details thoroughly, and you can now proceed to the payment gateway. Once you pay your policy premium, you will receive your 2 wheeler insurance policy receipt and documents through your registered email.

Note – Please have a fact check done about the company, such as CSR (Claim Settlement Ratio), time taken to process claims, testimonials from the customers and the company policies carefully before you buy an insurance.

There are few important things to be taken care of while buying a two-wheeler insurance policy for your old vehicle:

1. Note the date of manufacturing of your vehicle to get the correct premium

2. Calculation of the Insured Declared Value (IDV) of your vehicle

3. Derive the premium expected (premium lowers as the age of the vehicle increases)

Note – Don’t commit the mistake of declaring a lower IDV just for the sake of availing a lower premium. This will cost you heavily if your vehicle faces massive damage as you will not be able to claim the actual damage compensation.

No matter if your vehicle is old, it too deserves the best treatment and care. Gift your old vehicle the best available insurance coverage to help it serve you actively for more years to come.

Wish To Buy The Best Insurance Plan For Your Old Vehicle? Click Here…