[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Whether you need these depends on personal preference. I'd avoid return to invoice since it is applicable only in case of total loss. Engine protection too can be avoided considering you are an informed vehicle owner who will keep an eye on oil level and warning lights and avoid water logged roads.

Thanks. First time I've heard about this invoice thing so wanted a clarification. As far as engine protection is concerned, I feel I'll take it because at my place, there are good chances that I'll have to wade through water logged roads as I won't have any option. Yes, I do keep an eye on my car but there are inadvertent things that can't be avoided.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

As far as engine protection is concerned, I feel I'll take it because at my place, there are good chances that I'll have to wade through water logged roads as I won't have any option.

Suggest you read through the T&C of this add on cover. It varies from one Insurance co to another.

[shijanto4]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Quick questions,
* What's engine protection cover?
* What's invoice price protection?

The company is National Insurance and car is a 2016 Brezza. Is it advisable to take these?

Engine protection cover is an add-on that covers the cost of engine replacement in case the engine conks due to flooding, seizing/freezing, etc.

Invoice price protection is an add-on that keeps your purchase value stable throughout the policy period without standard depreciation.

In my opinion, from where I live, both aren't really useful and are mere addition to the overall premium. However, your geographical location should be considered while deciding on engine protection cover - if your location is prone to flooding, water-logging, etc., it may be worth opting for. Invoice price protection doesn't help us in getting a better resale value either. It would just ensure that we get the original/purchase value from insurance company in case the car is totaled, stolen, or deemed unfit for any further use. Also, I believe these add-ons are applicable only for the first five years of a car from the date of its original sale (that's what my insurance company says). Please verify this with National Insurance in case you decide to go ahead with these.

Thanks.

[k88k]

I didn't check the IDV amount while renewing my insurance with Bharati AXA. This has landed me in a soup and need advice on how to deal with this mess. I had renewed my insurance through a popular online insurance aggregator.

I have a IDV value of Rs. 2.46L for Celerio ZXi AMT purchased in Dec- 2016. I had met with an accident a week back and the car is a total loss! Since it was taken on loan, I have to pay the balance amount (Pending payment - Insurance claim) of approx. 2.8L from my pocket.

Now, I have seen many cases where people have contested lower IDV in consumer court and won! Also, understand that every insurance company has its way of calculating IDV, but close to 45% depreciation, when it should have been 10%-20% as per IRDA is plain ridiculous. Ideally,IDV should be around 3.8L to 4.2L for a 1.5 yr old car, as confirmed by many and also suggested by IRDA's IDV calculator.

Need suggestions on taking this ahead please!

[aadya]

Originally Posted by k88k

I didn't check the IDV amount while renewing my insurance with Bharati AXA. This has landed me in a soup and need advice on how to deal with this mess. I had renewed my insurance through a popular online insurance aggregator.
Need suggestions on taking this ahead please!

I don't know about the cases where they have won it. But regarding the aggregators this has been a problem. To show lower quotes they display lower IDV first, but usually they display it as IDV for best quote.The Insured’s Declared Value (IDV) of the vehicle will be deemed to be the ‘SUM INSURED’ for the purpose of this policy which is fixed at the commencement of each policy period for the insured vehicle.

Following are the policy wordings from IRDA regarding IDV
"The IDV of the vehicle (and sidecar/ accessories if any fitted to the vehicle) is to be fixed on the basis of the manufacturer’s listed selling price of the brand and model as the vehicle insured at the commencement of insurance/renewal and adjusted for depreciation (as per schedule below).

The schedule of age-wise depreciation as shown below is applicable for the purpose of Total Loss / Constructive Total Loss (TL/CTL) claims only.

The Schedule of Depreciation for fixing IDV of the Vehicle

Age Of The Vehicle % Of Depreciation For Fixing IDV of The Vehicle
Not exceeding 6 months 5%
Exceeding 6 months but not exceeding 1 year 15%
Exceeding 1 year but not exceeding 2 years 20%
Exceeding 2 years but not exceeding 3 years 30%
Exceeding 3 years but not exceeding 4 years 40%
Exceeding 4 years but not exceeding 5 years 50%

IDV of the vehicle beyond 5 years of age and of obsolete models of the vehicles (i.e. models which the manufacturers have discontinued to manufacture) is to be determined on the basis of an understanding between the insurer and the insured.

IDV shall be treated as the ‘Market Value’ throughout the policy period without any further depreciation for the purpose of Total Loss / Constructive Total Loss (TL/CTL) claims.

The insured vehicle shall be treated as a CTL if the aggregate cost of retrieval and / or repair of the vehicle, subject to terms and conditions of the policy, exceeds 75% of the IDV of the vehicle."

[JohnyBoy]

Originally Posted by k88k

...

Now, I have seen many cases where people have contested lower IDV in consumer court and won! Also, understand that every insurance company has its way of calculating IDV, but close to 45% depreciation, when it should have been 10%-20% as per IRDA is plain ridiculous. Ideally,IDV should be around 3.8L to 4.2L for a 1.5 yr old car, as confirmed by many and also suggested by IRDA's IDV calculator.

Need suggestions on taking this ahead please!

I don't think you can do anything. The insurance company is not going to be sympathetic.

1) You paid the premium for the lower IDV. Now when an incident happened you want to increase the IDV. Would you have gone to the insurance guys to increase the IDV if the incident hadn't happen?

2) The cases of lower IDV, I believe is of cases where insurance companies give an amount lower than the IDV stating that it's the market value, depreciation etc. Not case like yours.

Good if you can pull of something form the insurance company. All the best.

[k88k]

Originally Posted by JohnyBoy

I don't think you can do anything. The insurance company is not going to be sympathetic.

1) You paid the premium for the lower IDV. Now when an incident happened you want to increase the IDV. Would you have gone to the insurance guys to increase the IDV if the incident hadn't happen?

2) The cases of lower IDV, I believe is of cases where insurance companies give an amount lower than the IDV stating that it's the market value, depreciation etc. Not case like yours.

Good if you can pull of something form the insurance company. All the best.

Nope, I wouldn't have. Because I was completely ignorant about this. My bad. Big learning it has been.

Every insurance company might have an algorithm for arriving at IDV, but almost doubling the depreciation % for a 1.5 yr old vehicle calls for a few answers at least. When I raised the issue with the aggregator, I got a response that they inform the ramifications of lower IDV, but when I asked if they give it in writing, they had no clue. All they said was we inform "Verbally". Neither it is given anywhere in policy document.

The main question here is:

To what extent the IDV can be reduced by insurance companies when the set rules by IRDA indicate 10% to 20% depreciation YOY for vehicles <5 years old. Tomorrow a new company would come up offering 80% depreciation for lowest premium. People would still buy the insurance while being ignorant. But is it right? As a insurance company it should be up to them to give the right IDV options to choose from and not give a rock bottom number. When I had asked for lower premium / IDV value, I never meant to purchase insurance breaking the set rules / guidelines for depreciation.

Important thing to note is, except a counter argument from the aggregator & insurer that "Sir, you chose the IDV, we didn't ask you to chose", they do not have any thing else to say. No comments on IRDA defined rules or ideal depreciation %! Anyway, I have raised the issue through proper channels and with IRDA as well. Hoping for a resolution and relief.

[JohnyBoy]

Originally Posted by k88k

...
The main question here is:

To what extent the IDV can be reduced by insurance companies when the set rules by IRDA indicate 10% to 20% depreciation YOY for vehicles <5 years old. ......

It can be up to 100%, I mean the depreciation. So your IDV will be 0 and that means you insure your car up to 0 rupees. Or no insurance for your car. You take only mandatory 3rd party insurance.

Originally Posted by k88k

...Important thing to note is, except a counter argument from the aggregator & insurer that "Sir, you chose the IDV, we didn't ask you to chose", they do not have any thing else to say. No comments on IRDA defined rules or ideal depreciation %! Anyway, I have raised the issue through proper channels and with IRDA as well. Hoping for a resolution and relief.

Yes, you chose the IDV. It's not the insurance company which decides the IDV. You decide. They may give suggestions based on the normal practice. The depreciation % is a guideline not a rule.

Originally Posted by k88k

...
...Tomorrow a new company would come up offering 80% depreciation for lowest premium. People would still buy the insurance while being ignorant. But is it right? ..
...

It's happening right, not only in insurance, but other fields also. For example, you buy special flight ticket only to realise you have to pay extra for check-in luggage while checking-in at the airport. And most of the time, the extra to pay is very high.

Originally Posted by k88k

...
. As a insurance company it should be up to them to give the right IDV options to choose from and not give a rock bottom number. When I had asked for lower premium / IDV value, I never meant to purchase insurance breaking the set rules / guidelines for depreciation.

...

They gave you the options. They didn't break any rule.

Friend, don't think i'm supporting the insurance companies. No. I hate them. I am saying is you made a mistake, accept it and move on. The more you think about it and refuse to accept, you will spend more time and effort and will lose your peace.
Let this be a lesson for you and me and others.

[shijanto4]

Originally Posted by k88k

I didn't check the IDV amount while renewing my insurance with Bharati AXA. This has landed me in a soup and need advice on how to deal with this mess. I had renewed my insurance through a popular online insurance aggregator.

I have a IDV value of Rs. 2.46L for Celerio ZXi AMT purchased in Dec- 2016. I had met with an accident a week back and the car is a total loss! Since it was taken on loan, I have to pay the balance amount (Pending payment - Insurance claim) of approx. 2.8L from my pocket.

Now, I have seen many cases where people have contested lower IDV in consumer court and won! Also, understand that every insurance company has its way of calculating IDV, but close to 45% depreciation, when it should have been 10%-20% as per IRDA is plain ridiculous. Ideally,IDV should be around 3.8L to 4.2L for a 1.5 yr old car, as confirmed by many and also suggested by IRDA's IDV calculator.

Need suggestions on taking this ahead please!

It's a pure bad luck! Many opt for a lower IDV intentionally just to lower the premium and here unintentionally you fell trap, really unfortunate. As you know, once a policy is issued, it's not amendable after 15 days of issuance. So, there is hardly anything you can do to that policy. Maybe this is a lesson for your future insurance renewals and don't forget to thank God for coming out safe from the tragedy.

[Dhananjay_Desai]

Dear All,

I've a dilemma about insurance claim and it'll really be helpful if you could advice.

Today I met with a minor accident where a truck changed lanes without any indicator and grazed my one year old car. I got the estimate from Hyundai and the quote is 12-13k. The RH back door and quarter panel will be painted after dent removal. Now I recently renewed my insurance and the premium was 19.5k with a 20% NCB. What I'm confused about is, whether I should claim insurance and lose the NCB for next year or get the repairs done by paying from my pocket. Which would be a better option for me?

What I'm also worried about is, since the insurance has just started for this year, it's still 12 months to go. I can only claim the insurance 2 times (B2B insurance). If I claim for this amount then I will be left with only one claim for the entire year. Murphy is like my best friend since last year. So I'm a bit worried about his law coming to bite me again.

Kindly advice.

Thanking you in advance.

Regards,
Dhananjay

[tp_dominator]

Originally Posted by Dhananjay_Desai

Dear All,

I've a dilemma about insurance claim and it'll really be helpful if you could advice.

Hi Dhananjay,

AFAIK Hyundai Assured Program has just started unlimited zero dep claims for all the partner companies.

I would suggest you to check with your dealer whether you have a Hyundai Assured policy and you are eligible for the benefit or not.

Please get them in writing about the same and you would we good to go.

[Dhananjay_Desai]

Originally Posted by tp_dominator

Hi Dhananjay,

AFAIK Hyundai Assured Program has just started unlimited zero dep claims for all the partner companies.

I do have a Hyundai Assurance policy. I'll surely check with them tomorrow morning and confirm this. Thanks much sir!

However in case they still haven't introduced this here, what would you suggest? Should I claim or should I pay from my pocket?

Regards,
Dhananjay

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Dhananjay_Desai

I got the estimate from Hyundai and the quote is 12-13k. ... Now I recently renewed my insurance and the premium was 19.5k with a 20% NCB.

Your next year's NCB will be lower than the 12-13k that you will have to shell out now. It is ok to claim it based on this math. However the Murphy situation is something I understand well with a poor vein of luck I've had for the past 6 months myself , that decision only you can make. My 2 cents you should go for it.

Not to confuse you but another thing to try is to get one more price quote for a own payment repair. That may actually be 10k or thereabouts, just as an example. Now if you add the NCB + out of pocket that you would have to pay when claiming insurance repair, if it is above this 10k then you should spend on it yourself.

[Dhananjay_Desai]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Your next year's NCB will be lower than the 12-13k that you will have to shell out now. It is ok to claim it based on this math. However the Murphy situation is something I understand well with a poor vein of luck I've had for the past 6 months myself , that decision only you can make. My 2 cents you should go for it.

Thank you for the advice! I'll do the calculations tomorrow sitting with the body shop guy and decide which one will be easier on the pocket.

My 20k service in due in another couple of weeks which will easily Cost me 10-11k as I'm opting for synthetic oil. So was confused as both would be a bit heavy on the pocket.

Thank you once again.

[shijanto4]

Originally Posted by Dhananjay_Desai

Thank you for the advice! I'll do the calculations tomorrow sitting with the body shop guy and decide which one will be easier on the pocket.

My 20k service in due in another couple of weeks which will easily Cost me 10-11k as I'm opting for synthetic oil. So was confused as both would be a bit heavy on the pocket.

Thank you once again.

I went through pretty much the same situation as yours two months back, i.e., confused whether to claim or not, losing NCB if claimed, pending annual service with oil change, etc., in two weeks after the accident. My repair cost for the accident was quoted at 13-14K. Finally, after a lot of thought process and examining facts, I decided to go ahead and claim for the repair, foregoing my NCB at next renewal, and I am glad I did that. My next renewal amount came much lesser than what I expected (thanks to zero dep policies), and indeed, my decision ultimately saved me some money. Hence, please go ahead and claim if the body work isn't done yet (unless you have already taken a decision otherwise). We focus too much on saving NCB and allowed claims in a year and end up not utilizing the basic benefits of an insurance policy when it's actually needed. Hope I make sense. Thanks.