All you need to know about Insurance

Now that you know, that insurance must be taken from outside and not at the dealership , read-on to know how best you can take insurance.

The bare minimum needed is bumper to bumper, zero depreciation & consumables cover. This will take care of any body work, accident damage & other small scratches and dents. Now let's see the various terms about Insurance. However, if money is not a problem & you prefer peace of mind over money, please opt for all of the below covers. Do note that this is only a placeholder and brief information on various covers available. Although, we make every effort to update this article, there are so many covers that insurance companies launch everyday. Do check for all their additional covers before your buy any. We recommend taking all of the below covers for total peace of mind.

IDV: Refers to Insurers Declared Value. This is the amount they will pay, if your vehicle is damaged beyond repair. Always opt for the highest IDV, even though premium will increase, as it saves you money, if you car is totalled.

RTI: Refers to "Return to Invoice" . If your car is totalled in a crash, this cover will help you get the entire money including road tax & registration charges. Very useful to buy a new car, if the current car is totalled.

Consumables cover: This will cover consumables like gloves, apron, grease, oil, lubrication and other similar items, which is not covered in normal insurance.

NCB: Refers to No Claim Bonus. You premium will reduce by minimum 20%, if you haven't made any claims in the previous year. This will reduce your premium payable substantially. If you are exchanging another car for a new Nexon, you can transfer the NCB from the old car to the new car.

Third Party Insurance: This is the money that the insurance will pay the third party. If you hit another vehicle, person or an object (lamp post / house / shop) The insurance will pay his damages. This is mandatory.

Cashless Settlement: Refers to the process of the insurance company directly settling the bill to the workshop, without you having to first settle the bill and then claim it from the company. Most of the private insurance have cashless facilities at all workshops across all manufacturers.

Engine Damage cover: This covers damage to engine and its components.

Hydrostatic lock cover: If water enters the engine due to natural rain & flooding or the user drives the car in a lake or river, the engine will seize and water fill the entire piston and cylinder cavity, rendering the vehicle immobile. This kind of damage isn't covered in insurance and this cover will help you overcome such situations like Chennai floods of 2015, Hyderabad floods of 2020 etc.

Key cover: If you lose the smart key of the Nexon XZ+, it costs you 8000/- to replace. Key cover will cover this amount, even if mistake is on your side. DO note, an Innova key costs 21,000/- & some Big 3 Germans' key costs close to 50,000/- to replace

Accessories cover: This will cover the cost of accessories installed & this amount will be returned, in the case of total loss. This is just for peace of mind & not really a necessity.

Personal belongings loss cover: This will cover loss & theft of belongings from the car., however the process is cumbersome and involves FIR & other police formalities.

Taxi cover: If you car is stuck on the highway & it cannot be repaired by the road-side assistance team, you are your family can claim taxi reimbursement to reach the nearest town or city.

Hotel Cover: This cover will reimburse hotel expenses if your trip id interrupted due to a faulty vehicle. However, do note, there have been cases that they will reimburse the cheapest accommodation and that would be in the category of a typical lodge.

Tire cover: Damages to the tire are covered and could be reimbursed by the insurer.

Glass cover: This covers damages to all glass in the car.

Nil depreciation: Usually plastic and rubber have a 50% depreciation and the remaining money has to be paid by you. This cover will help you overcome the above cost and the insurer will cover 100% of the plastic & rubbers parts.

RSA: Road Side Assistance is a must and highly highly recommended. It is never a wrong decision to have dual RSA. Your manufacturer might also offer you free 2/3/4 year RSA but it is a good practice to have an additional RSA from your insurance provider too. The premium may increase by 1000/-but it buys peace of mind. If you are stuck in a remote place, the manufacturer's RSA might quote say 3 hrs to reach your spot, but your insurance provider's RSA may come in 30 mins.

Wrong Fuelling Cover: If one inadvertently fills in diesel in a petrol car or petrol in a diesel car, the while fuelling system needs a through clean / change. Normal insurance will not cover this. Wrong fuelling cover will help you get your car back on its feet without pinching your pocket.

NCB Protection cover: If you make a claim, as mentioned above, you will lose the NCB. This cover will protect your NCB and most insurers offer upto two claims per year, without losing your NCB.

Insurance FAQs

1. What is the problem, if I buy insurance from the dealership itself, for a new car? If you have a heart problem would you go to a cardiologist or a general physician? Answer would be Cardiologist, who is a heart specialist. Similarly, for insurance go to an insurance specialist or those providers who provide insurance. Car dealers are aggregators and for the convenience you would end up paying at least 15,000/- more on a Nexon.

2. Which is the best/good insurance provider in market? There is nothing called good or bad. It is usually the one with the most convenience. Ensure that the provider has sufficient field staff to address speedy claims. Don’t go with sweet talking people at the call centre. I personally stick to private players compared to government / government aided ones.

3. My own damage policy about to expire soon. The dealer enrolled me with Insurance provider A, where my third-party insurance is still there for next 2 yrs. Should I continue the own dame renewal with the same or shall I go with different one? You can go with any provider. Take only own-damage insurance from them. You can send them a copy of the old insurance as proof that you already have 3^rd party. Ensure to carry both proofs to ensure smooth clearance of routine RTO/police checks.

4. What happens to the third party insurance if I go for own damage alone with a different provider? Will it be any problem during claim for third and own damage in case of accident? No. Let’s say you have own damage with provider A and 3^rd party with Provider B. In case of an accident, claim own damage insurance through provider A and claim third party through provider B.

5. If the insurance is on my wife name as I registered my car on her name, so while going to renew own damage shall I go with named one to include my name as well? Always the primary owner of the car will be the name against which motor insurance will be issued. You can opt for any of the two covers namely, insurance for paid driver and insurance for unnamed passengers. This will take care of any liability to driver. Insurance for unnamed passengers will take care of unpaid driver (spouse/relative/friend etc). Paid driver cover will take care of your full time appointed driver or a hired call driver.

6. Mine is already B2B for first party, while I'm going to renew the own damage shall I ask for comprehensive coverage? if so what happens the old policy’s B2B? Will it be added advantage or no use of it? Old policy’s B2B (bumper to bumper) would expire with your insurance. You need to request to add B2B cover, with your new provider. All providers offer B2B.

7. My IDV value in current policy is 10,20,000/ -, recently I received a quote from provider A with 8,00,000 as IDV , will 2L get reduced just 1yr old vehicle or the IDV differs with different providers? If so how Much I can demand IDV even premium increases? The reason for the low IDV is to show lower premium payable. The average person always looks to pay lesser premium. It is only the informed customer or informed auto enthusiast, who is ready to pay a premium for higher IDV. There are cases where I have seen IDV of 4,00,000 for XZ+ and premium was between Rs. 8,000-10,000/- . It is a good idea to select a higher premium and pay a little more. At the end of the day, it all depends on your wallet.

8. How can I trust the 0 percent depreciation if anyone offers? Will there be any issue while going for claim with any hidden T&C? The provider will write zero-depreciation as an add0on in your policy. Once its written, no one can deny the claim.

9. How about going with Cashless service network? Will it be hassle free while going for claim any idea? Most of the renowned providers have cashless tie up as all service centres across any manufacturers. You can avail cashless at any Tata service center. In addition, renowned players also have tie up with some well-known aftermarket garages. They are also known to send their field personnel to the workshop of your choice upon request.

10. Any suggestion which comp has good claim settlement ratio so far in the market? Claim settlement ratio is just a marketing gimmick. There is no way to independently find out the claim settlement ratio of any provider. This is something only the senior management will have access to. Let’s take a scenario. If I request 50,000 claims but they pass only 12,000, it is still considered a settlement from company’s side but it is not a settlement from the customer’s side.

11. The NCB (No Claim Bonus) is determined by the company or can we negotiate the percentage as mine is just 1yr old? It varies with the provider. Usually 10-20% NCB is offered for one year of no claims.

12. What is mean by OD Term and TP term means in the policy? OD term is the period of coverage of own damage (our own vehicle) liability. TP term is the period of coverage of third-party liability.

13. I came across an Advertisement to use Financial Freedom APP to know or workout the insurance policies estimations. Can we go with these online projections or going with word of mouth personal experience would be good to choose our policy renewals? We at TNOC don’t recommend third party apps. Always buy from direct call centre of the provider, direct online website of the provider or from an authorized source like Tata dealer. Please please avoid third party apps, third party intermediaries, insurance aggregators and similar. Buy from the direct source only.

14. Can I claim third party insurance without FIR / police / court case? No. Third party insurance can only be claimed after an FIR is registered, the case is presented to the court and there is an adjudication from a judge.

15. Is this insurance valid in India only or internationally? This insurance is valid in India only. If you are travelling to Bhutan by road, or to Sri-Lanka by ship, then you would need to take additional insurance.

16. Does TNOC recommend any provider? No – TNOC is a non-commercial group, so we would point you in the right direction. It is up-to individual’s choice to select a provider that suits them.

17. I have some queries, which are not answered on this website. What should I do? Please post the query in main group or reach out to any of the core team members of TNOC, who’ll willing help you with the query. Alternatively, you can also check directly with the call centre of the insurance provider.