Buying Standalone Insurance Covers to Your Standard Two-Wheeler Insurance Policy – Explained
A two-wheeler insurance plan is an essential purchase and is necessary for two reasons–first, for legal compliance, and second, to safeguard your vehicle. But many new buyers tend to ignore the importance of comprehensive two wheeler insurance and instead opt for the bare minimum insurance coverage of a third-party policy. By doing so you may save on the premium amount, but your vehicle is exposed to the risks that are prevalent. Hence, even if you have already purchased a standard third-party plan, you can enhance the coverage using a standalone own-damage policy.
Standalone own-damage cover in two-wheeler insurance – Explained
A standalone own-damage plan, as the name suggests is a limited coverage insurance policy where only the damages to the insured vehicle are covered. Unlike a comprehensive policy that includes own-damage protection in addition to the third-party cover, a standalone plan covers only one part of it. A standalone policy not only compensates during an accident, theft, fires, damages due to natural calamities as well as man-made events are a part of its scope. Thus, only the damages to your two-wheeler are covered by such standalone own plans.
The need to introduce a standalone own-damage plan
From September 2019, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) made own damage plans available as standalone covers which were earlier available only when you bought a comprehensive two-wheeler plan. However, it cannot be purchased in replacement to the minimum requirement of a third-party plan. Thus, it requires to be purchased in addition to a third-party cover. You can visit the official website of IRDAI for further details.
The primary reason to make such a standalone policy available was to give an opportunity to the holders of two wheeler insurance third party policies to enhance their insurance covers any time after its purchase. So, the importance of buying a comprehensive plan is you can very well increase the policy scope on a later date with a standalone own-damage policy.
Who should consider buying a standalone plan?
Standalone plans are ideal for two types of individuals:
- For someone considering enhancing their insurance policy’s scope from a third-party plan to include the own-damage cover.
- For someone who already has purchased a third-party liability policy from a different insurer and wishes to increase the benefits under their insurance cover later.
What is covered in a standalone own-damage plan?
A standalone own-damage plan covers the following:
Damages due to accidents: Accidents are events that not only cause damages to a third-party vehicle but also to yours. Thus, a standalone policy helps provide financial protection for these damages that are caused to your bike too. *
Vehicle theft: Another situation where a standalone policy comes in handy is vehicle theft. With the increasing number of vehicles on the road, the crimes related to them are also going up. While a third-party plan provides coverage for third-party liabilities, no coverage is available for events like theft of your bike. Hence, a standalone plan includes vehicle theft in its scope helping safeguard losses. *
Damages due to fire: Like the unpredictable nature of accidents, an engine can light up in flames due to various factors. With an own-damage cover, you no longer need to worry about these unpredictable damages. *
Natural calamities damaging your bike: A standalone own-damage plan includes natural calamities as part of its scope helping you avoid a financial setback due to natural perils damaging your bike. *
* Standard T&C Apply
With these different reasons that enhance the policy scope, you must consider buying a standalone plan in addition to the third-party cover if you have missed buying a comprehensive policy. Also, remember that it will increase the bike insurance price as there is a substantial increase in the coverage too. Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms and conditions, please read sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.
