Can I claim for bike insurance twice in a year?

Having a bike insurance policy gives you a great sigh of relief as you know that your insurance company will provide you with financial coverage. A comprehensive bike insurance policy offers you protection against man made calamities, natural calamities, theft and even third party coverage. Moreover, insuring the bike with a third party cover is a legal requirement in India.

In case you end up damaging your own bike or that of the third party then you can easily raise a claim to get the required compensation. While there are no restrictions on the number of claims you can raise in one policy year, raising a single claim too can impact your no claim bonus. Multiple claims can also lead to rise in premium at the time of renewal. There are restrictions on the number of claims you can raise with the zero depreciation add on coverage.

How many claims are too many claims when it comes to bike insurance?

There is no specific number of claims that you can raise in one policy year. However, it is advisable not to raise a claim for minor repairs as it can impact your no claim bonus. Bike insurance claims should only be filed in case if the damages caused are major and involve a huge cost of repair.

What happens in case you make a bike insurance claim multiple times in a year?

Making repeated number of claims in a policy year can impact your insurance coverage in the below ways:

• Loss of no claim bonus: No claim bonus is a discount in premium that insurance companies offer you for making no claim in one policy year. This discount can go up to 50% for not raising a claim in five consecutive years. The accumulated NCB is lost in case even a single claim is filed in a policy year. Filing a claim for minor damages should be avoided to keep the NCB intact. To protect the no claim bonus, policyholders can avail the NCB protection add on and continue to claim, without having to lose out on the NCB.
• Hike in premium: Filing claims on a repetitive basis will lead to an increase in the premium at the time of renewal because insurance companies may consider you to be a risky driver and thus start levying a higher premium.
• Zero depreciation limit: Zero depreciation add on cover comes with a limit on the number of claims you can file in one policy year. With this add on, depreciation rate is not considered by the insurance company when settling claims.
• Deductible: It is best not to file a claim in case the cost of repair mentioned in the policy is slightly higher or lower than the mentioned deductible amount. In case of claim, it is likely that you will have to pay out of pocket if the deductible amount mentioned is higher.

Documents required for filing a bike insurance claim

Given below are the documents that you need to submit while raising bike insurance claim:

• Duly signed claim form
• Registration copy of the bike
• FIR copy
• Bike insurance documents
• Tax payment receipt, etc

Things to keep in mind when filing bike insurance claim

Given below are a few things you should keep in mind when claiming bike insurance.

• Avoid filing a claim in case if the repair costs are less than the accumulated no claim bonus
• Don’t file claim if the claim amount is greater than the deductible
• If the bike has been damaged due to fault of the third party, then it is best to claim insurance coverage under their policy instead of raising a claim under your policy

Conclusion

To sum it up, there is no limit on the number of claims you can file in one policy year. However, it is best to avoid making claims for small repairs to retain the no claim bonus benefit.