Own Damage Car Insurance

 Own Damage Car Insurance

The standalone own-damage car insurance policy gives coverage to damage or loss sustained by the insured car. The plan is relatively economical in comparison to a comprehensive car insurance plan and enables policyholders to protect their car apart from third party coverage at affordable rates.

What is Own Damage Car Insurance?

Own Damage Car insurance a.k.a. OD Insurance is a motor insurance policy that is intended to safeguard your car against unforeseen own damages. This policy offers car insurance coverage for own damages sustained by your car due to road accidents, fire, natural calamities, or any other mishap. It is designed to give you added coverage apart from the third-party liability.

Benefits of Own Damage Car Insurance

An own-damage car insurance policy offers the following benefits:

1. No Obligation To Opt for Long Term Comprehensive Plans

New car/vehicle owners are not obligated to buy a long-term comprehensive car insurance policy to meet the mandatory requirement of 3-year third party car insurance cover. With a standalone own damage policy, policyholders can opt for a third party car insurance plan for 3 years alongside a standalone damage plan for 1 year, which can be renewed on a yearly basis.

2. Flexibility Regarding Choice of Insurance Company

After the release of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) order, where they have allowed the car owners to buy a standalone own damage policy cover other than a third party liability cover, which means that the car insurance policyholders are allowed to opt for different car insurance companies for both the covers.

3. Economical Car Insurance

With the availability of standalone own damage insurance policy and third-party liability covers separately, car insurance policies have now become much more affordable for car owners. Additionally, the policyholders can now purchase their own damage policy at the best offered price to add-on to their financial benefit.

Who Should Buy a Standalone Own Damage Insurance?

A standalone own-damage cover will compensate the policyholder for losses including accidental damages, damages due to transit, theft or vandalism, natural calamities and man-made disasters. However, the limit to the compensation you can receive depends on the Insured Declared Value or IDV. The IDV, in turn, is heavily determined by the depreciation rate which gets higher with the car’s age.

How to Calculate Depreciation?

Thus with the depreciation rate affecting your compensation value, there are points when after the 5-year mark it may make more financial sense to simply set aside some money for your possible mishap and keep only your third-party insurance updated. However, keep in mind, if your car is new, or an expensive car it makes sense to keep the own-damage cover since the compensation even with high depreciation rates still offers quite a bit of money. Lastly, you can also purchase a zero depreciation cover as an add-on to the existing own-damage plan.

What Is Covered in Standalone Own Damage Car Insurance?

You are offered the following protection under your own-damage car insurance cover:

1. Accidental Damage – The own-damage car insurance gives coverage to the damages caused to your car in case of an accident or collision.

2. Theft of Your Car – The cover gives compensation for your car in case if it gets stolen or you lost it in a burglary or due to housebreaking.

3. Loss Due to Fire – If your car gets damaged due to fire, lightning, self-ignition etc., then your own damage cover will cover for such damage or loss.

4. Damages due to Natural Calamities - If your car falls prey to natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, hailstorms, etc, your own damage coverage will pay for it.

5. Expenses due to Man-made Disasters – When your car suffers damages due to man-made disasters like a terrorist attack, riots and strikes, etc, then it will get coverage.

What Is Not Covered in Standalone Own Damage Car Insurance?

Here are a few exceptions when it comes to own damage coverage:

1. Third-Party Liabilities - The standalone own damage cover will not cover your third-party liabilities and they will be taken care of only under the third party plan.

2. Driving without a Licence – No car insurance claim will be accepted if the driver is driving the car without holding a licence.

3. Consequential Damages - Consequential damages are the ones that take place after an accident. They are not covered under their own damage cover.

4. Contributory Negligence – Your car will not get coverage if you have done something that you should not have done like driving your car in an already flooded city.

5. Driving Drunk – The own damage cover gives protection to lawful citizens only and no claims will be covered if the driver is caught driving under the influence of alcohol.

How is the Own Damage Premium Calculated?

There are various factors that affect the calculation of insurance premium for own damage insurance cover either for your insured car or a two-wheeler. These factors include:

• Type, Age and Make of the vehicle
• Insured Declared Value for your vehicle
• Cubic capacity of the engine
• Geographical zone

The premium for Own damage insurance is calculated as a percentage of Insured Declared Value decided by Indian Motor Tariff

Formula to calculate Insured Declared Value:

Insured Declared Value= Showroom cost of the insured car + Accessories cost (if any) – Depreciation Value according to IRDAI

Now, the formula to calculate the Own Damage premium is explained below:

Premium Own Damage = Insured Declared Value or IDV X [Premium Rate (as per the insurance provider)] + [Add-Ons (eg. Bonus Coverage)] – Discounts and Benefits (theft discount, No Claim Bonus, etc.)].

Tips to Reduce Premium Payable against Own Damage Insurance

To reduce the premium paid against your own damage insurance premium, you can follow the below-mentioned tips:

• Voluntary Deductibles: In own damage insurance, there are voluntary deductibles, which is the amount that you opt for to pay at the time of claims. Henceforth, depending upon your feasibility, you can choose to increase the voluntary deductible percentage, which will directly lead to reduction of your own damage premium.
• Declare the Right Insured Declared Value (IDV): Ensure that you always declare the right Insured Declared Value of your insured car as it will affect both the claim amount at the time of claim settlement and Own damage premium.
• Transfer your No Claim Bonus: In case you have earlier had a comprehensive motor insurance plan or own damage insurance plan, make sure that you transfer your No claim bonus to your existing insurance plan, in order to avail all the accumulated discount.

How to Renew Your Standalone Own Damage Cover?

The following steps will help you renew your car insurance policy online:

Step 1: Visit our website InsuranceDekho

Step 2: Provide your car’s registration number, fuel type and variant to proceed. In case you do not remember these details you can also enter your car’s brand name, model, make and year of registration, city of registration and RTO.

Step 3: Enter the expiry date of the insurance policy of the previous year along with the name of your insurance provider.

Step 4: Fill in the section with your personal details, i.e., name and phone number and select the tenure of your policy. Also, provide the details of any claims you made in the previous year. Next click on ‘Continue’.

Step 5: All the available quotes in your category will be visible on your screen. You can compare them and decide on the policy that is best suited to your needs. At this stage, you can also opt for add-on covers to further strengthen your insurance policy.

Step 6: After you have selected your policy and add-on covers, click on the ‘Buy Now’ button. Make the payment for the selected policy and we will send the policy document to your registered email ID.

How to File for Standalone Own Damage Insurance Claim?

The following are the documents required to file for a car insurance claim:

• Copy of policy document
• Copy of FIR
• Copy of registration certificate
• Original bills of the car’s repair
• Evidence of the mishap

The following are the steps required to file for car insurance claim:

1. Inform the Insurance Provider: In case of a mishap make sure to take all the safety measures and then call the insurance provider of your car as soon as possible.

2. Lodge an FIR: In case your car is stolen or there is any sort of accident involving others it is crucial to file an FIR at the nearest police station. You will require a copy of the same when filing for an insurance claim.

3. Collect Proof: When you make a claim you need to provide proof of the incident being a genuine mishap. Hence collect as much evidence as you can, take pictures or videos and note down the contact of any bystander who saw the incident as well.

4. Submit Documents: The documents required for the claim process may vary slightly according to your situation and/or insurance provider. The most common documents required are listed above and need to be submitted to the insurance provider to process the claim settlement.

5. Surveyor: After the documents are submitted, the insurance company will schedule a visit with the surveyor. He/She will check the damages to the car to ensure the damage. The surveyor may ask you questions to make sure to answer them honestly, any discrepancies can lead to your claim request being cancelled.

6. Repairs: After the surveyor approves the claim you can send your car for repairs. It is best to do this in one of the insurance provider’s network garages. This way the cost of the repair will be compensated directly with the garage with no out-of-pocket costs for you.