[aadya]

Cashless and Claim denial are not same. We tend to get confused and over worked up about the cashless part. Cashless means less paperwork that's all to that. Majority of the Auto insurance, particularly Commercial Vehicles work in the reimbursement way.

Compare the quotes given by the dealer with the independent agents and websites like coverfox, then take a call. All you have to do is check whether a particular insurance company has tie up with this dealer. If so go ahead and renew with the channel of your choice.
These are cheap marketing tricks by the insurance sales personnel. As GTO mentioned no workshop will be ready to loose a body job for silly reasons.

[Chetan_Rao]

When in doubt, always ask the insurance provider.

A friend recently purchased a Creta, and the dealer insurance quote with limited add-ons was ~20k more than a direct quote from the same insurance provider with all possible add-ons. The insurance provider confirmed cashless claims won't be an issue irrespective of the channel we bought the policy through.

Went with the latter option, and the dealer ultimately backed off once he realised we're well-informed, won't fall for his tricks and he may actually lose our business.

[Sheel]

Does Maruti have its own insurance, I mean other than tie-ups, do they have some other benefits if insurance taken from MUL? Two independent insurance managers told me so and advised to take the insurance from Maruti, for other brands, they suggest to go for any insurance as per one's preference.

[hserus]

Don't even bother with cashless. It will generally lead to inflated workshop bills and a subsequent drastic rise in your premium. Settle the bills yourself and then claim insurance reimbursement.

No shortage of stories on tbhp and elsewhere of insurance overinflation.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-what-con.html for example.

[knightrider_7]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Does Maruti have its own insurance, I mean other than tie-ups, do they have some other benefits if insurance taken from MUL? Two independent insurance managers told me so and advised to take the insurance from Maruti, for other brands, they suggest to go for any insurance as per one's preference.

AFAIK, Maruti has an insurance brokering agency. They source insurance from other insurance companies. We have the option to choose the insurance companies at the time of purchase or renewal.

See the screenshot below. I have taken insurance through Maruti, but the service provider is National Insurance.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by knightrider_7

AFAIK, Maruti has an insurance brokering agency. They source insurance from other insurance companies. We have the option to choose the insurance companies at the time of purchase or renewal.
]

Yes, this is what, they did belt out few insurance companies name and asked me to choose.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by hserus

Don't even bother with cashless.

Sorry but this is bad advice. Unless the damage is minimal, say bumper being changed or a glass being replaced, repair estimates tend to easily cross 50k or even a lakh. In today's cars with a plethora of sensors and electronics and expensive equipment (fog lamps, LED headlights), even a fender-bender can cause a massive dent on the wallet.

Majority won't have such spare cash lying around; even if they do, it doesn't make financial sense to have the money stuck, even if it is for a fortnight.

Furthermore, with cashless, it is the dealership's responsibility to get the bill settled; you drive off the moment the car is ready.

It will generally lead to inflated workshop bills and a subsequent drastic rise in your premium.

How? From what I understand, your premium depends on if there's a claim (loss of ncb), not how big a claim it was.

[hserus]

The premiums seem to rise much higher when a major accident has been claimed, compared to when someone just claims a bad fender bender that requires bumper replacement and a spot of repainting.

This is for US insurers but the same logic applies in India. The same when you make multiple claims in a year, your premium shoots way higher.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/heres-h...r-an-accident/

When you're settling by cash the least expensive way to fix an issue will be explored. With cashless, even if say a spot of tinkering will fix a dent, the dealer will push for replacing the fender. That will drive up the bill presented to the insurer. And that will then contribute to just how much your premium goes up by.

Any sort of claim leads to your NCB going bye bye and that is a given. But the amount claimed and the frequency of claims is also a factor in the next premium calculation.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by hserus

Any sort of claim leads to your NCB going bye bye and that is a given. But the amount claimed and the frequency of claims is also a factor in the next premium calculation.

Try getting the NCB bonus, that too is a big scam as you have to furnish details of your transferred RC card post which you get the waiver, now I am not known to be that patient.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Try getting the NCB bonus, that too is a big scam as you have to furnish details of your transferred RC card post which you get the waiver, now I am not known to be that patient.

It is quite fair on their part to know that the vehicle indeed has been sold and transferred. Because they then have sufficient legal proof not to honour any claim made on the vehicle going forward.

The same with sending a form TCR to the concerned RTO along with a copy of the delivery note and receipt, stating that you have sold the vehicle and don't take responsibility for its use any longer.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Try getting the NCB bonus, that too is a big scam as you have to furnish details of your transferred RC card post which you get the waiver, now I am not known to be that patient.

I don't think there is any kind of scam involved with the NCB. Its a fair requirement by the Insurance cos to give you the credit for the vehicle you drive. If you sold your vehicle, then it becomes the seller obligation to inform the Insurance co of the change of ownership.

Insurance co do not stop the process of providing the NCB, they do provide you the eligibility. Its just that to formally issue a document, some kind of proof is required. That's all.

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by hserus

Don't even bother with cashless. It will generally lead to inflated workshop bills and a subsequent drastic rise in your premium. Settle the bills yourself and then claim insurance reimbursement.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Sorry but this is bad advice. Unless the damage is minimal, say bumper being changed or a glass being replaced, repair estimates tend to easily cross 50k or even a lakh.

I had to claim insurance 4 times over the years. Only the first time it was Cashless and the process was no so smooth and led to delays. It was ICICI insurance, so it was expected.

Second time, It was Bajaj Allianz which had cashless facility with the workshop, but due to the surveyors personal issues (His relative passed away) the cashless claim was getting delayed. The claim was > 100K and I paid the amount with Credit card and released the vehicle. Bajaj refunded the amount within 2 weeks though it required an angry tweet after which the money was credited to bank within 24Hrs.

Third and fourth time (both minor repairs), again with Bajaj, I preferred not to use cashless facility and paid with credit card. Both the times the money was refunded within 3 weeks. One refund was through cheque and other time it was NEFT to bank account.
So overall, I prefer not to use cashless option. I get the added benefit of credit card points and Frequent Flyer miles.

Edit: Forgot to mention, except the first claim with ICICI, the rest were all claims made with 0 Depreciation policy. So there was not much ambiguity regarding the final refund amount. I do not know how the experience would have been if the policy had not been 0 Depreciation.

[deemash]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

A friend recently purchased a Creta, and the dealer insurance quote with limited add-ons was ~20k more than a direct quote from the same insurance provider with all possible add-ons.

Same here. In coverfox, I am getting only 2 options for my location. one from New India Assurance and another from HDFC ergo.

The HDFC is cashless as per the coverfox agent but the other one is not. So I am confused as to go with cashless or reimburse later policy. The cashless policy permium is approx 3.5k more than the reimburse policy.

Please let me know which one will be a good choice.