Isn’t it a sense of achievement when you own a car for the first time in your life? It is a great pleasure to see a brand new car parked outside your home. Most of us spend a significant amount of time in choosing the model of the car. However, we are equally laid back when it comes to buying the right
car insurance. It may seem very easy but it takes dedication to actually get the best car insurance policy at the lowest possible premium. In India, it is mandatory to buy car insurance and hence one simply does not pay much attention to the type of policy as it would be time consuming. This is when you land up in a problem. You end up buying a car insurance policy which has a higher premium. Did you know that there are ways to cut down on your car insurance premium? Yes! You read that right. Here are the 4 ways to cut down on your car insurance premium –
Pay more deductible
Deductible is an amount that a person has to pay while receiving a claim from the company. The best way to reduce the premium is to pay more deductible amount as it inversely related to your premium amount – the more deductible you pay now, the premium gets lesser. However, you must not agree to pay a deductible that may prove expensive to you in the long run. Arrive on a realistic figure which is light on your pockets. If you end up paying too much, the entire purpose of buying a policy does not make sense.
Avoid claiming for small damages
Remember, every time you ask for a claim, you have to pay deductible. If there are some minor damages like a damaged light or a petty scratch, avoid asking for a claim as it is not a good idea to pay the deductible amount for these small things. A claim proves to be fruitful only when the damages are big enough. When you want to avoid it, you can simply take your car to a local mechanic. This will save your costs and cut down on your premium.
Transfer Your No-claim Bonus
If you do not register a claim, the company pays you a No claim bonus for every claim-free year. If you sold your vehicle, you can transfer the no claim bonus to your New car as the policy is generally in the name of the person and not the car. As NCB Bonus runs on the Fortune of the Insured and not the vehicle, it’s a discount offered for its good driving behavior. He will Get an NCB reserving letter from his insurance company which is valid for 3 years. Within 3 yrs he can transfer his NCB to his New Vehicle.
Transferring of Insurance policy while transferring the vehicle
NCB Rules while Transfer of vehicle shall be on the same line for Private Car & Two Wheelers
For example, say the insurance policy of old owner mentions 25 % NCB at the time of transfer of insurance policy, the Insurance company will charge the New owner the 25 % NCB + Rs 50 as transfer fee instead of the full premium.
If the New owner takes New insurance on the Transferred vehicle he will have to pay the entire Premium with No NCB discount.
Compare and buy
Most insurance companies are selling car insurance policies online. There are a lot of comparison sites where you can check the kind of policy and the premium that you have to pay. Never settle unless you find the best car insurance policy at the lowest premium.