Regular claims may jack up premium

Everytime we bump our cars in an accident, the first thing that comes to our mind is insurance. But what we do not know is that with every claim that we make, the insurance renewal premium goes up. Thus, at the time of renewing our policies, we start searching the Internet or haggle with our agents to ensure we don’t end up paying high premiums.

Every car owner looks for the cheapest auto insurance. Of the 75 per cent traffic we get, the first question I am asked by people renewing their policy is, “Is it the cheapest you can offer?”. In this quest for the cheapest, we sometimes forget that to take a better plan or fail to add a few add- on riders or ensure that our car insur- ance premiums do not rise, is completely in our hands.

While making a claim, we do not estimate the level of the claim and just try and get the repairs in the car done as soon as possible. What we fail to understand is that every claim that we make irrespective of it being small or large has a bearing on our renewal premiums and especially our NoClaim Bonus or the NCB as it is commonly known.

A customer should not be fooled by the constant fights between the general insurers, who are competing with each other to grab attention in the buyer’s market by offering cheaper car insurance covers.

In order to ensure that the premiums for car insurance do not rise, you should be careful about:

■ The customer should know of the ways to get a discount on car insurance

■ Add voluntary excess to her/ his policy

■ Try and protect the NCB to the maximum .

A no- claim bonus is a reward that the insurer gives to the customer for maintaining a clean record throughout the year, with each claim free year you add an NCB to your car insurance policy.

A No- Claim Bonus can offer a car owner up to 50 per cent on his own damage premium ( OD premium). Having said this, a customer should always think twice before sending his car to a garage for a small claim as every time you apply for a claim you loose credibility and the insurer takes away the NCB.

Similarly, voluntary excess is an option in the hands of the customer, wherein he tells the insurer that for every claim they make they would also bear a certain part of the loss. By opting for this, the customer also gets a discount on own damage ( OD) premium, thus helping further reduce the premiums.

There are a few other ways by which you can add on to the discount in car insurance premium:

■ Most car insurers offer up to ` 50 off if the policyholder is a member of the Automotive Research Association of India.

■ If the car is fitted with an ARAI- approved anti- theft device, this can also fetch you upto ` 50 discount.

■ Experienced drivers get better discounts than young drivers, who also happen to be college students.

■ A few insurers take into account the occupation of the car owners and offer a discount of up to five per cent. You can avail of this discount if you are:

■ A chartered accountant

■ Defence and para military personnel

■ Government employee

■ Teacher in government recognised institutions

■ Government doctor

■ Women driver.