[Pedaltothefloor]

Since the premium quoted is more or less the same by all companies (HDFC Ergo, Bajaj Allianz, Tata AIG, Bharti Axa), is there any consensus on the least evil motor insurance company? I will be renewing my existing Zero Depreciation policy with HDFC ERGO but I am interested in other brands as HDFC does not have any cashless facility for Fiat cars in Chennai.

Companies like Bajaj Allianz, Tata AIG & Bharti Axa offer cashless facility as well as Zero Depreciation add on. Bharti Axa goes one step ahead and offers "Unlimited" number of claims in a year. Other companies restrict this to two claims in a year, when you choose the zero depreciation add on.

[arunphilip]

My friend bought a second-hand i10, and has completed the RC transfer into her name.

Now she's dealing with ICICI Lombard to get the existing policy transferred across to her name also. She's been asked to pay approx. INR 1,100 to cover the NCB difference (as the policy was renewed by the first owner).

When she was on the phone with the ICICI Lombard agent, the agent asked for the credit card number and expiry date, as well as the bank name and type of card (Visa, etc.); and with that the agent was able to transact the 1,100 amount.

What surprises me is that:

• The cardholder name wasn't required
• The 4-digit CVV wasn't required
• The PIN wasn't required
• The 'Verified by Visa' password wasn't required
• The OTP for online transactions wasn't required

When she asked the agent how she can transact this without the PIN/password, the agent said that was possible. A few minutes later, an SMS confirmation was received from the credit card issuing bank that the transaction was approved.

This is a surprise and a concern as a credit card transaction was made with information that we don't consider secret. Forget skimming the magnetic strip on credit cards, all the information the agent requested was readable off the card. This also flies in the face of RBI's recent push to secure credit and debit cards.

Does anyone here have any idea how such a credit card transaction is possible?
Is it because ICICI Lombard is registered as a NBFC that they have permission to do this?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Simple question...

I have been owning and driving cars here for about seven years. I have never made an insurance claim: how much NCB should I get?

My present car is coming up to its second birthday this week. Looking at the Insurance renewal online, I see NCB at 25%. Shouldn't I get more?

Car is VW Polo Highline 1.6, and current insurer is HDFC ERGO

Thanks for help...

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I have been owning and driving cars here for about seven years. I have never made an insurance claim: how much NCB should I get?

My present car is coming up to its second birthday this week. Looking at the Insurance renewal online, I see NCB at 25%. Shouldn't I get more?

You should be eligible for a 50% NCB as per the NCB chart. I hope you must have got the NCB letter from the previous Insurers for your previous cars. Also how come you didnt claim 50% NCB last year? Alternatively communicate to HDFC that the eligible NCB should be 50%.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hmmm... I don't have any ncb letter[s], and would find it tough even to find the previous docs now. Last year, I didn't even think about it; when taking the insurance, it was just a matter of being quite a lot less than the VW dealer option. Bad thinking on our part!

Thanks for your reply. Perhaps we'll begin by phoning hdfc and see what they say. I'll get the Financial Director (aka wife!) onto it

[Thad E Ginathom]

<Later...>

We checked out the previous car papers, and, back in 2011 we were getting 45%

But we can't get it now

It seems that we should have transferred that at the time. However, the story goes on...

HDFC Ergo would not give us more than 25%. Also, their quote was for over 16,000 without depreciation waver. Although Royal Sundaram would only give us 35%, their quote was almost the same with depreciation waver.

Going through the quote, I found I could get 150 off for AA membership, and elected for 10,000 voluntary deductible. We would not make a claim for less, anyway, so we might as well get the discount for not doing so.

We (err... my wife) spent a lot of time on the phone teasing out the various issues and possibilities with both companies. In the end, we have paid Royal Sundaram 15,337 instead of HDFC 16,640. We have got more for 1303 less. I'm happy

[mobike008]

What should be the ideal and best quote for an ex-showroom price of a new vehicle (Bike) costing 5.91 Lakhs?

Dealer is quoting INR 21,000 for zero dep and may go down to INR 16,000 for non-zero dep. Apparently the quote is from HDFC bank

United India Insurance has quoted the following :

1. INR 13,443 for some charges upon claiming insurance
2. INR 14,650 for zero charges when you claim insurance

Is this the best quote that I can expect? Anyone taken insurance in the recent past, your inputs would be helpful.

Cheers !!

[travelex]

How does the premium for the next year change if you have taken a claim in the previous year?
I have a skoda rapid and I had a bad accident last year. The toal expense was 198000 and I had to pay 18000 out of this from my pocket. Rest was paid by the insurance company (Bharti axa).
How is my premium for the coming year going to be calculated? I understand that there will be no no claim bonus. Apart from that will my premium be higher than what it was last year because there was this huge claim?
Last year I had paid 27000 for a zero depreciation policy. This time I have got quotations of 30000 and 26000 approx. from two companies. Bharti axa gave me quote of 42k for a non depreciation cover policy. I still do not understand if that is correct or not.
Another thing that I noticed is that the IDV mentioned on these quotes is 830000 which was 875752 last year. I read somewhere that IDV should reduce by 10% every year.
I have got quotes from TATA, SBI. Will get one from Future generali as well.
Do these companies have good reputitions in terms of claim settlement?
Please suggest and advice.

[travelex]

Edit - just got a phone call from Bharti Axa and they told that they were not offering me loading discount that they had given me last year. I have no idea what it is. Is it advisable to go for a newer company or should I stick to Bhart only?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by travelex

How is my premium for the coming year going to be calculated? I understand that there will be no no claim bonus. Apart from that will my premium be higher than what it was last year because there was this huge claim?
Last year I had paid 27000 for a zero depreciation policy. This time I have got quotations of 30000 and 26000 approx. from two companies. Bharti axa gave me quote of 42k for a non depreciation cover policy. I still do not understand if that is correct or not.

Its not clear as to how the companies calculate the premium for renewal when there is a claim in the previous year. One thing for sure, Bharati has not categorized you as a high risk cover since you claimed last year. This means Premium is going to be increased. Thats one way of Bharati saying "either pay us higher or you are free to move on". Even if you want to move out to a different Insurer for next year, the premium offered will be more than that offered to a new customer with no claims record in the previous year. First confirm with which Insurer does the workshop have a cashless tie up. Next buy a comprehensive policy with zero dep add on, this will minimize your contribution in case of any claims.

Originally Posted by travelex

Edit - just got a phone call from Bharti Axa and they told that they were not offering me loading discount that they had given me last year. I have no idea what it is. Is it advisable to go for a newer company or should I stick to Bhart only?

Above the usual NCB, Insurers offers a discount of certain % in case of new customers or loyal customers. Better shift to a different Insurer for the next year and take care not to make any claims. Drive safely.

[Musa]

I have a Ford Figo Diesel in my wife's name. We currently have comprehensive zero dep insurance with ICICI Lombard. The car will be entering the 3rd year and we need to renew the policy. So I go online to do the needful and notice the following:

Last Year IDV: 472427. Basic Premium: 9226. NCD Discount 20% so Rs. 7333.
This Year IDV: 413374. Basic Premium: 9449. NCB Discount 25% so Rs. 7124.

My simple question is this: the IDV has gone down by about 60,000 while the Basic Premium is up by 229 !
I was so sure that the Basic would be lower but it's not!

What I am trying to understand is are Basic rates revised UP every year? And if so, can one get the details of the same? (The Customer Service at ICICI Lombard could only escalate the issues and they said they would revert by 18 Feb!). Note: I have NOT made any changes to the policy features from last year to this year.

And lastly, are the above quotes "fair", should I renew with ICICI Lombard or do Bhpians feel I could get a (much) better quote elsewhere?

Requesting inputs to clarify the issue.
My thanks in advance,

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Musa

My simple question is this: the IDV has gone down by about 60,000 while the Basic Premium is up by 229 !

What I am trying to understand is are Basic rates revised UP every year? And if so, can one get the details of the same?
And lastly, are the above quotes "fair", should I renew with ICICI Lombard or do Bhpians feel I could get a (much) better quote elsewhere?

Ideally your IDV should be in the range of 4.25L based on the depreciation chart. By Basic premium I hope you meant the OD part of the premium. If so then this is dictated by the Insurance co and is subject to change every year depending on lot of factors unknown to us. The fixed part of the premium i.e the TPL is governed by the IRDA. If you feel the premium on the higher side, then get online quotes from different Insurance co, do a comparo and take a call. Nobody will stop you from moving away from ICICI.

[Musa]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Ideally your IDV should be in the range of 4.25L based on the depreciation chart. By Basic premium I hope you meant the OD part of the premium. If so then this is dictated by the Insurance co and is subject to change every year depending on lot of factors unknown to us.

Thank you for the clarification Ghodlur. By OD it means Own Damage? Then yes, the TPL is NOT included in the quote I got, that is extra. I am just very surprised that Basic / OD Premium should rise even though IDV came down. Obviously I don't fully understand how the insurance companies work.

I shall do a survey with other insurance companies and decide which to go with. Many thanks for your help. Much appreciated

[Red Liner]

This is the insurance quote I got from TATA AIG for a Honda Brio, Feb 2013 model with a 1st year IDV of 442,700. He's given me a further cash back making it 12k overall. is this fair?

Zero dep/Bumper to Bumper insurance.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

This is the insurance quote I got from TATA AIG for a Honda Brio, Feb 2013 model with a 1st year IDV of 442,700. He's given me a further cash back making it 12k overall. is this fair?

Zero dep/Bumper to Bumper insurance.

Your ideal IDV should be less than 4L i.e 3.98L. If you opt for this then premium will be further reduced by another 500 bucks maybe and the subsequent reduction in the add on charges. Also whats the amount Rs 485 added to the zero dep cost.