Today, motor insurance is a compulsory legal requirement. Choosing a suitable auto insurance policy has become a part of car buying process. With the variety of products offered by insurance companies, picking up the appropriate one has become quite difficult for car owners. Buying car insurance is a continuous process as you need to renew the policy year on year. That means, you need to face this tricky situation every year.
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Here are some tips that can help you make the right choice as well as save money while renewing your car insurance:
- Compare Various Policies: Increasing use of internet is creating a strong consumer base across the entire sector. Almost all the insurers have their own website and are providing a platform to go through their products in detail. With the help of their online premium calculators, you can easily calculate the premium by providing some basic information. Process of visiting each and every insurer’s website for policy details is a time consuming process and inconvenient at times. There are various policy comparison websites available today which helps you compare the policies of different insurer’s side by side easily basis your need. Insurance comparison portals are the convenient platform to compare and choose the best plan as per your requirement. Comparing policies will help you get a better rate and thereby saves your money.
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- Additional Benefits/ Riders: It’s very important to consider the additional features of the policy while buying. There are many add-ons like zero depreciation cover and engine protector cover which makes your policy more efficient and economical. These two are generally recommended as must have riders for the luxury cars whose values tend to depreciate more over the years.
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- Know your Car’s Value: In case your car gets stolen or suffers a total loss, insurance companies will compensate to the extent of current market value of your car which is called as insured declared value (IDV) in insurance term. Hence it’s important to know the present value/depreciated value of your car so that you can ensure to get the highest possible IDV.
- No Claim Bonus: No claim bonus is reward from insurer to policyholder in the way of discount on premium for each claim-free policy year. Discount ranges from 20% after completion of first policy year to 50 % on completing 5 years of policy without any claim. Hence ensure to make use of your no claim bonus benefit at the time of renewal as it can reduce your cost of renewal by up to 50% over the years.
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- Read all the Clauses Carefully: You should read the terms and conditions, clauses carefully before buying or renewing your car insurance policy to be familiar with the type of plan and the benefits offered by your insurer. It’s essential to know the portability clause as you can switch your policy from one insurer to another at the time of renewal. It’s better to ensure all your benefits from existing insurer like no claim bonus and valid IDV are continued even after porting to avoid any problems in future.
- Cashless Facility at the Network Garages: Running behind insurance companies for reimbursement is sometimes very inconvenient. Check with insurance provider on the list of cashless network garages. Exclusive list of network garages are normally available in their website. You can also inquire with your preferred/ regular garages on the list of insurance companies they are tied up with to ensure hassle-free cashless claims.
- Go for higher deductibles: Deductibles are the portion of claim which is borne by you as a policy holder. There are basically two types of deductibles-compulsory and voluntary. Compulsory deductibles are the mandatory deductions made by insurer on each claim and are unavoidable. Voluntary deductibles are optional. If you are voluntarily willing to pay more out of your pocket, your premium will be reduced. Hence, it makes sense to opt for higher deductibles if you have a good driving profile.
Conclusion
On a closing note, it’s essential to make a right and comparative choice considering the factors like features of the plan, riders offered, convenience and affordability of rates etc. Tips given above will make renewing process quick and easy. Investing some of your valuable time on research and comparing different policies available will surely help you save considerable amount of money when renewing your car insurance policy.
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