[MMV]

Originally Posted by GTO

Car insurance is more or less commoditized. I buy based on who is giving me the lowest price as long as, of course, the company has some reputation.

Agree on the decision making process but with added emphasis on TAT. Personally I was using Bajaj Allianz and Tata AIG till last year. During Unlock 1.0, when I needed renewal and some modifications, I approached the above mentioned names and Acko (based on a friends input, it was also cheap too). Was happy with Ackos TAT and service level, so switched to them.

In fact more than benefits you get when claiming, purchase decision is made on service quality at the time of purchase.

[Hispaniola]

Voted for IFFCO Tokio.... For our 7 year old Honda Amaze, this is the only Insurance provider that has been giving 100% dep cap for our car consistently. And we have saved a lot in past 7 years against the claims made.
Interesting fact, during one of the campus presentations by HDFC executives during my MBA, there was general consensous in team that Motor Insurance has become a commodity. What is cheapest and VFM, wins! Customers switch immediately once they get something cheaper or one that justifies the additional premium made. So true. Every year I look for cheaper insurance as long as it is cashless and provides decent IDV. Had I found some other provider with 100% dep coverage I would have made the switch immediately.

[ask_017]

Sorry for sounding a little illiterate. Can some one explain how important is IDV at the time of renewal. Is it always like the higher IDV, the better?

I used policy bazaar for the first time last year and compared many policies and opted for Reliance General for which premium came to exactly Rs 5002 for the IDV of 2,43,000 for my 2012 Ford Figo Diesel Titanium. This year, they are quoting 4320 + GST for IDV of 2,18,700.

Now Acko is quoting a lesser premium and higher IDV (higher even than what Reliance gave me last year). So I am confused which one to choose.

[whitewing]

Touch wood, I have never claimed insurance.
The nearest I came to claiming one was a long time ago after being rear ended by a police van! I made an attempt to claiming insurance and realized, the NCB loss would be bigger than getting it attended to in a local garage. Post that, it has been the cheapest provider.

[AkhilR]

Originally Posted by ask_017

Sorry for sounding a little illiterate. Can some one explain how important is IDV at the time of renewal. Is it always like the higher IDV, the better?

Now Acko is quoting a lesser premium and higher IDV (higher even than what Reliance gave me last year). So I am confused which one to choose.

In the case of a minor collision, IDV is irrelevant. But IDV is important if there is a huge crash and the car is declared a total loss. IDV is also relevant if there is fire or flood damage to the car and it is declared a total loss. The car is declared a total loss if the quote for repairing the car is higher than the IDV. One of the other advantages of having a higher IDV is in the case a car is stolen. In that case you get the IDV amount as settlement.
Based on this, you can go for ACKO they provide a higher IDV for a smaller premium.

[kamilharis]

Mostly I used to get the insurance renewed from the nearest New India agency since long. But for the last 2 years I purchased all my insurances ( including for friends ) from policybazaar and most of them were HDFC ERGO. So I voted for them.

In general their terms and policy details were found better than others'. No experience yet regarding any claims from them, and I sincerely wish that situation never comes up!

By the way one OT question. Suppose if I am having a third party coverage for any vehicle, and in online if they are showing policies with IDV and full coverage, will it be valid if I purchase a Full Coverage insurance upon expiry of a Third Party insurance ??

[ask_017]

Originally Posted by AkhilR

Based on this, you can go for ACKO they provide a higher IDV for a smaller premium.

This surely helps sir. I am leaning towards Acko.

[procrastinator]

We have got Oriental, New India assurance, Bajaj Allianz and Tata AIG.

Once the claim has been filled with Oriental.
This insurance was bought from outside.
The amount was reimbursed after we paid the bill. Decent experience overall.

Just like other bhpians, I have renewed this year insurance with Acko.
Not only they offered better IDV for lesser amount but a zero dep with standard deductible of Rs.5000/- in case of claim’s premium was slightly more the Comprehensive policy and cheaper than 0dep of other insurance companies.

As smartcat pointed out on best claim settlement ratio, I was inclined towards Iffco-Tokio while renewing the six year old machine.
They covered all garages of Hyundai at my location and offered both options of Zero Dep and comprehensive.

The deterrent was price. It was slightly expensive in comparison to others.

[RaSing]

I see this thread just when i am about to renew my car's(Hyundai Creta) this year insurance. I have had a good experience with Maruti Cars and getting the insurance renewed from them. I have made numerous claims on them. But since i am not familiar with Hyundai and their garages, based on some research , I am confused on below points. Can anyone help

1 ) Should i buy directly from Hyundai or a third party (independent agents/policy bazaar). Though i have been getting this done from Independent Agent for the previous few years.Hyundai says that they give unlimited number of claims on Zero Dep(chances of using are less)
2 ) Since this is the fourth year of the car i am not able to get RETURN to INVOICE add on renewed. They say it is only available till 3 years with the major insurance providers. Should i try to continue it? But that means i will have to opt a lesser name provider
3) Besides Comprehensive cover, i ll opt for Zero Dep and Engine Protect and as i said RTI is not available. am i missing anything ?
4) Why is the independent agent interested to get the provider changed every time to a new one. Earlier it was ICICI, now he doesn't want to go with ICICI.(I remember he does this everytime)
5) I am in Delhi and the car is Hyundai. So thinking of going with HDFC Ergo this time. Any experiences of anyone ?

[nishad.hameed]

Useful thread. Voted Royal Sundaram based on my claim experience. Acko experience is also good, nice follow ups with the workshop. But they were not ready to renew my insurance after two claims within the insured period, probably they are trying to play safe within budget range.

[balavj27]

I have bought insurances from Future Generali, Liberty, Bajaj Allianz

Bajaj Allianz provided me with a long list of supported garages and RSA covered.

I have learnt that the criteria for choosing the insurance is to get the list of insurance providers from the garages we service and to know who is fast in cashless claims.
Also the insurance provider should offer cashless claims across large number of garages.

The insurance should also have Road Side Assistance at a nominal cost.

Bajaj Allianz has provided RSA at a critical time towing from a tough place free of cost using two towing vehicles.

Liberty provided worst customer service delaying claim and giving false claim on the list of garages supported for cashless.

[R2D2]

I was with ICICI Lombard and HDFC Ergo for decades with all my cars, but now shifted to Digit for their reasonable premiums. I also tried IFFCO Tokio but that is like dealing with Government GICs. One car is insured with HDFC Ergo, only third party of course.

[rags.singh]

Voted for Iffco Tokio as it is the only company that offers zero dep policy for old cars plus my experience of claim has been pleasant, didn't face any issues in the claim process even though the claim amount was decent (~70k).

On the other hand, will always stay away from ICICI Lombard. During a claim, they forced me to send the car to one of their "authorized garages" to save on the amount that they will have to pay out instead of sending it to company service center. I ended up spending quite a bit on rectifying the mistakes made by their garage. Never again!

[agelesstravelle]

I usually compare the quotes online using a policy portal and buy the one best suited to my needs. While negotiating with Royal Sundaram this month I was having the lowest quote from Oriental. I found out following disadvantages of having an insurance from PSU company -

1. Most of them do not offer cashless facility as they do not have such tie ups with auto manufacturers. Portals like coverfox offer express service on their behalf promising 3 days TAT to clear the claim. I feel cashless is still desirable.

2. Royal Sundaram strongly promoted that no PSU covers true 100% zero dep or consumables. It is difficult to recover all from them. I have no data to verify their claim.

3. It is not easy to escalate claim matters to PSU insurance companies branch offices. I have first hand experience in escalating matters at Oriental and New India Assurance for medical claim. Nothing moves easily there until someone is willing to help you.

4. Private insurers on ground claim assessment team can be helpful as they talk to you in front of the car to assess damage and approve claim. They can be nasty as well when sometimes they dont approve the repair as per customer ask for instance replace bonnet instead of repair the damaged one. Atleast there is a chance to negotiate with insurance and garage repair manager based on cost. Such negotiations are less likely for PSU insurance companies.

[F150]

I have voted for Bajaj Allianz, but surprised to see other companies at the top. I have been renewing with Bajaj since 10 yrs now.
Primary reason for renewing with Bajaj for the last 5 yrs is the national tie up with Skoda.

Tried renewing with Tata AIG few times and the quote was always matched or bettered by Bajaj.

Went with Bajaj again this year as they offered zero dep even in the 6th year of ownership.

Are there any other companies that offer zero dep upto 7 yrs ?

I shifted to Acko from Bharti Axa for my Alto AMT, due to cheaper quote and some hybrid zero dep offer