Do's and Don'ts of Buying Car Insurance Online in India: Coverfox

A car has now become more of a necessity than a luxury. In the previous days, owning a car made showed the world that you are a rich person.

A car has now become more of a necessity than a luxury. In the previous days, owning a car made showed the world that you are a rich person. Today, it is a very indispensable transportation mode, but owning a car doesn't mean that you can now kick back and relax. The first and foremost thing to remember is that as per the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, it is mandatory for a car owner to hold a valid insurance cover before running their vehicle on Indian roads. The car owner must buy a bare minimum Third Party Liability Only Cover for their car before using it.

But, this bare minimum cover is not enough, as it just takes care of your legal liabilities arising from an accident towards third party person and property only. There is no cover provided for your vehicle, and you will have to bear all the repair expenses.

You must also take appropriate steps to protect it. The best thing to do is protect your car with a comprehensive motor insurance policy that protects it from all significant risks. You can even enhance it further by adding riders to your comprehensive car insurance plan if you wish.

But which plan to choose for your precious car? The Indian insurance market has a considerable number of plans. This makes buying the right car insurance plan more difficult. To avoid getting confused, the first thing you should do is read this simple checklist of Do's and Don'ts and then buy car insurance online.

Do’s and Dont’s of Buying Car Insurance Online

Here is a snapshot of what you should look at while buying car insurance online:

Do’s	Dont’s
Compare Online	Blindly Accept Dealers Offer
Do it Yourself	Leave Blanks
Read Inclusions and Exclusions	Rush into Buying without Reading
Assess Required Add-ons	Hide Information

Now lets what you have to do when you buy car insurance online:

Do's of Buying Car Insurance Online

Compare Online - Do you ever buy anything without comparing it against the various similar products in the market? Of course not. Then why not do the same for car insurance also.
It would be best if you always compared all the options available in the market. Evaluate various car insurance plans available in the market, check whether they provide what you are looking for.
The best way to compare various car insurance plans is to visit Coverfox. Here, you can perform a side by side comparison of all the plans, features, benefits, premiums, cashless garages under the network of each insurer, and other value-added services offered by them.
Do it Yourself - You should never allow another person to buy a car insurance plan for you. The reason being they do not know you. The information provided by the person filling the online application might be incorrect or incomplete. This lapse can prove fatal to you in the long run, especially at the time of a claim.
During the claim settlement, if the insurer finds out the information provided by you is false, the insurer can reject your claim. This can be quite a troublesome experience for you. You also face a double loss, i.e., the expenses of overcoming the damages fall on you as well the premium paid by you is null and void.
Read Inclusions and Exclusions - When you have zeroed in on a product that matches your needs, you must thoroughly read through the product brochure. You must be properly aware of what the product offers and what is excluded.

Under inclusion, check the IDV offered by the insurer, what are the events that are covered, which natural disasters are covered, which form of accidents are covered, etc.

Under exclusions, check which items are not covered under the plan, events, sub-limits, co-payment clause, and other things. It would be best if you were well-versed with what is not covered under the chosen plan before you hit the buy button.

Pay special attention to the limits imposed on the cover offered against natural calamities. Suppose you stay in a location where there is a constant threat of floods due to rain, and your policy excludes the same explicitly, then it is worthless to buy such a plan.

Assess Required Add-ons - Check the various add-ons offered by the insurer along with the plan you have chosen. The car insurance plans come with a variety of add-ons like

It would be best to remember that every add-on rider attached to the base comprehensive car insurance plan increases the premium payable. You have to pay an additional amount for this enhanced benefit. So, the wise thing to do is assess your requirement and buy only those add-ons that would be beneficial for you now and not waste money by attaching every add-on offered. Now let's see what you don't have to do when you buy car insurance online:

Don'ts of Buying Car Insurance Online

Blindly Accept Dealers Offer - This is the first thing you should never do when you buy a car is to accept the Car insurance policy offered to you by your car dealer. The car dealer will provide you with a car insurance policy with many add ons attached to it. The car dealer wishes to earn the maximum commission possible; hence he offers you a car insurance policy with add-ons that you might not require.

It is possible that you might be able to crack a good deal with the car dealer, but don't accept it until and unless you have compared it against other options available online.

Leave Blanks - Another essential thing to keep in mind while buying car insurance online is never to leave blank spaces in the online application form. If you think the question does not pertain to you in the application form, you should put not applicable against the same but never leave it blank. This way, you ensure that all the information provided by you is correct as per your knowledge.
Rush into Buying without Reading - You should also never rush into buying a car insurance policy. Evaluate all the options present, compare features, premiums, and other factors of various plans, and sure you have checked all the inclusions and exclusions. Once you have read everything, only then proceed to make payment.
Hide Information - Honesty is the best policy that is not just a fables tale. It is also a founding principal of insurance. In insurance, honesty is always the best policy.

If you lie or make a false declaration or withhold information knowingly to save just a small amount on the premium, It can come back to bite you hard at times of a claim.

The insurance company can outright reject your claim, stating you have been dishonest at the time of buying the policy. Apart from claim rejection, the insurance company can terminate your policy, Face steep fines, or even legal action.

To Sum it Up

Buying insurance online is the best way to ensure that you have purchased a plan that best fits your requirements. It would be best if you compared all the plans available online and then only buy it. Follow this guide on the Do's and Don'ts of Buying Car Insurance online, and you will have the best policy.

Coverfox helps you in comparing various plans easily online. You can get complete details on Premiums, Add-on Ridders, Features, and Benefits available under each plan. In case you need expert guidance, you can call us on 1800 209 9930.

Buying Car Insurance Online

Do’s and Dont’s of Buying Car Insurance Online

Do's of Buying Car Insurance Online

Don'ts of Buying Car Insurance Online

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