Top 10 cheap car insurance tips

1. Compare car insurance quotes before buying. You can easily do this through an insurance aggregator like policybazaar.com. Typically you can save up to 55% on you insurance premium.

2. Compare both prices and features.

3. Watch-outs:

a. IDV : This is the maximum money you can get in case of total loss. To reduce your premium your agent can reduce this amount.

b. Voluntary excess : Say in case of an accident, you opt to pay for the first 5 thousand rupees. Then this amount can be reduced from your premium. But there can be a problem, if your agent does this without informing you. Which is what happens quite a bit, so watch-out.

c. No claims bonus : Please ensure you get the right no-claims bonus. In case you take more than you are entitled to, your claim if any may not be processed.

4. Your cover note : This is valid for the first 60 days, after that you must get the final policy document. If you do not receive this, you may not be insured. Please ensure your broker / agent provides you this.

5. Cashless : Do not get over excited by this. Most companies have a cashless settlement process with multiple partners in every city. A broker can guide you regarding which companies have a cashless settlement tie-up with which company, and garage.

6. Always buy insurance from an insurance broker. Ask for the broker’s license number and cross check it on the IRDA website. These brokers are paid same amount irrespective of the company’s policy they sell. So they are not biased to any particular insurance company. An Insurance agent on the other hand can sell policy of just one company and hence will always push that company and its benefits.

7. You can get additional personal accident Insurance for passengers and driver. This is a great way to insure people who travel in the vehicle with you.

8. Be truthful in your declarations on the proposal form. This will ensure that your genuine claims will be paid.

9. There is a lot of mis-information in the market. So get everything in writing or cross check it on a reputed website like policybazaar.com.

10. Always drive safely. Never drive under the influence of alcohol. Over time this will reduce your premium while covering the risk.