Car Articles

Most of the car buyers are unaware of the importance of car insurance. Some consider it as a legal requirement, while others chose to ignore it or blindly fill in a few papers that the insurance agent hands over.

Car insurance is a very essential component during purchase of a car. It covers you and your car against any damage as well as damage to the third party. In wider terms, car insurance is of two types: comprehensive policy and third party insurance.

The comprehensive insurance gives full coverage for any possible damage which can include dents, technical problems, repair, accidents and car thefts. Therefore, a new car buyer is often advised to make a comprehensive insurance policy. A new buyer should see that the car insurance policy should have cover for the loss or damage to the car or its accessories due to natural calamities such as fire, explosion, self-ignition or lightning, earthquake, flood, typhoon, hurricane, storm, tempest, inundation , cyclone, hailstorm, frost landslide, rockslide, burglary, theft, riot, strike, malicious acts, accident by external means, terrorist activity, any damage in transit by road, rail, inland waterway, lift, elevator or air and others.

The third party insurance offers a limited coverage to the car insurance claims payable to the third party in case of an accident. Yet, it is the third-party insurance which is the only insurance compulsory under the law. There is another type of third party insurance called the 'third party theft' insurance. In this insurance, the premium to be paid is less than the comprehensive insurance but the insurance covers theft of the car. However, car buyers opting for this type of insurance do not get any cover for repairs and other damages. The third party insurance is mainly offered by government-owned companies such as General Insurance, New India Assurance, United India Insurance and Oriental Insurance. Though private companies for example Baja Allianz, ICICI Lombard, Royal Sundaram, Tata AIG and others also offer third party insurance which are generally not very profitable for them.

Although none of the two policies cover medical expenses, the Motor Insurance Tribunal covers medical claims on account of loss of salary income due to hospitalization or any other disability. The J D Power Asia Pacific 2009 India Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Index Study carried out a survey recently. According to the study, ICICI Lombard ranks highest in customer satisfaction with car insurance providers. The inaugural study measures car insurance policy-holder experiences with their primary insurers. Customer satisfaction is measured across six factors: interaction, claims, product/policy offerings, renewal/purchase of policy, billing and payment process, and premium/price for coverage offered.

The survey conducted by J D Power Asia Pacific also found out that more than 80 per cent of car insurance policy-holders did not file a single car insurance claim with their provider. The study also discovered that satisfaction levels are primarily driven by the premiums and interactions with the insurer through a variety of contact channels and that highly satisfied policy-holders are more likely to renew their policy with the same provider. The 2009 India Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Study is based on evaluations from nearly 4,445 car insurance policy-holders and 11 car insurance companies in 20 cities across India.