Rainy season 2020 is here! We have seen in the recent past few years major flood situation occurring in North India (2013), Gujarat (2015), South India (2015), Assam (2016), Kerala (2019). In August 2019 over nine states in India was majorly affected by the heavy rain in the month of late July and early August.
Major metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai every year experiences water clogged areas which damages a lot of Public and Personal property. With the arrival of monsoon in all parts of our country every year we witness flooded cities and damaged vehicles in all small and large cities.
The number of vehicle insurance claims in this period suddenly increases many folds. According to some insurers the claim ratios are 10-15% higher in the monsoon compared to other seasons.
We can now understand that how important it is to have a comprehensive motor insurance policy all-round the year as the vehicle damage risk is there not only when it is plying on roads but also when it is standing still at our premises or any other place by factors like water damage in monsoon and other natural and man-made perils.
Everyone should get the motor policy renewed for all round protection from unwanted and fortuitous damage or accident vehicle repair costs which can sometimes go high and can have an adverse impact on our pocket and household monthly budget.
Given the introduction we will discuss in this article the reasons one should get the auto policy renewed in the wake of monsoon season.
It is the time when protection is needed the most: At the very outset in the introduction paragraph only we have mentioned that maintaining the insurance policy during monsoon is important. Moon soon season every year sees the spike in the number of road accidents on the account of roads being wet, visibility not clear and similar other factors.
Thus, we say that this is the season when your vehicle needs utmost care and a comprehensive insurance policy will ensure that any out of pocket expenses is avoided at times if the vehicle is damaged in an accident while plying on the roads.
Water damage can even damage the vehicle when it is standing position. In the low-lying areas water is fully logged in with continuous rain and all the vehicles standing in that particular place will get completely damaged. Many vehicles are damaged to that extent that any repair is not possible for the same and claim is settled on a total loss basis.
In addition to water damage by flood there is also a greater chance of damage by falling trees and flying objects in the time of monsoon storms. So not only the chance of accident is higher in this season there is no guarantee of safety even when the vehicle is standing or parked still.
Engine damage is a costly affair! In rainy season there is a greater possibility of water entering the engine of the vehicle and damaging the internal parts which is not covered by the own damage section of a motor vehicle package policy. But no worries, we can opt for an engine protect cover specially designed for this situation.
It covers the damages to engine parts like pistons, connecting rods, gearbox due to water ingression and hydrostatic lock i.e. damage when you try to start the wet engine. This is pretty safe to have such an add-on in the monsoon season and avoid the costly engine repairs due to water damage from own pocket.
Buy some add-on covers to make the vehicle monsoon ready. There are various add-on covers apart from the engine protect which can safeguard a lot of additional expenses in the monsoon season when the chances of damage and an insurance claim is pretty high.
It should be noted that policy premium will increase with adding these riders under the base policy but the cost and benefit analysis must be done properly to see what add-on covers should we finally purchase to give our vehicle an all-round protection. We discuss below three important additional covers that we may consider to opt for solving this purpose.
- NCB Protect – You may have accumulated some no claim bonus under the policy over the years which can give you some discount while renewal but once you claim under your policy say in the monsoon season damage, NCB returns to zero. NCB protect can save your accumulated NCB even you file 1 or 2 claims under the policy which can be beneficial when compared to the cost incurred to purchase the add-on.
- Return to Invoice – This is especially useful in the case of total loss cases. As we have mentioned earlier also there is a great chance of total loss when the vehicle is submerged in water in low lying areas due to heavy rains and flood resulting from it. In this case which settling a total loss claim the insurer will deduct depreciation and salvage charges from the claim amount before handing over you the cheque. But once this particular rider is opted there will be no such depreciation deduction and the complete invoice value will be paid to you.
- Roadside assistance – This cover may help if you get stranded somewhere while travelling and enjoying the monsoon with a road trip in your vehicle.
IC 72 MOTOR INSURANCE EXAM
IC – S01 Principles and Practice of Insurance and Survey & Loss Assessment: IC – S01
MCQ’s on General Insurance Licentiate Exam : IC 01 / IC 11 / IC14 (Total 300)