[Karan1981]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

I don't think that its encouraging careless driving. The increased number of claims are just because more people are willing to get the damage repaired/replaced since they do not have to pay rather than continue living with it.

totally agree, people will start to get these repaired vs. living with horrible dented cars with scratches. Although this is costing them too quite a bit apart from the initial cost you also lost NCB of you claim.

One more thing I want to clarify is that you cannot claim insurance for small scratches ect as that comes under maintainence and not insurance for accidental damage which needs to be a visible scar / dent.

While you think we pay nothing to claim, but there is still a rs. 250 fee to claim and in my case it's 2000:(

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by F50

Great topic. The same was up for discussion in our office last week.

Well I do agree with your point of view. Yes people are bit carefree (or careless) once they are covered under Zero Dep. We love cars and we do take utmost care to keep it scratch less but not many love them as the way we do.

Under Zero Dep once can claim only twice a year. Saying that the chances of the same company renewing the policy are slim unless you are staying in jugaad city. On top of that, the Zero Dep rating changes every year. And no NCB.

Example: Bajaj Allianz will cleanly refuse to renew Zero Dep policy if there are 2 claims registered in a year

Peaceful insurance demands people to be careful or else,

a) Lose NCB + Reduced Commercial Discount

b) Two claims a year and same company won't renew. Adds headache to hunt for another company to renew

c) Rating goes up, so does your premium (for Zero Dep)


So according to me being careless is NOT the smartest thing to do.

F50 you have cleared almost all doubts and pretty much confirmed that you can't be careless if you have zero dep policy because of the clauses.

Only 2 claims a year and same company not renewing ensures no misuse of this policy.

However what happens if you need to claim for a 3rd time? Is insurance outright rejected or just zero dep? Also what happens if I have a minor accident and want to claim regular insurance but not avail of zero dep facility. Can I still do that?

Basically if I have zero dep do I have the option between zero dep and regular insurance? Say for a small accident. Will that still be part of 2 claims a year?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

However what happens if you need to claim for a 3rd time? Is insurance outright rejected or just zero dep?

No the claim is not rejected, but will be treated as any regular claim with you paying your part of the damages.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Also what happens if I have a minor accident and want to claim regular insurance but not avail of zero dep facility. Can I still do that?

Yes, the option is with the Insured to decide whether to claim through zero dep or regular.

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Basically if I have zero dep do I have the option between zero dep and regular insurance? Say for a small accident. Will that still be part of 2 claims a year?

That depends on you whether you want to claim thru zero dep or not. The Insurer allows a max 2 claims under zero dep option

But claiming twice in an year even with zero dep will result in steeper premium next year and also will be decided by the Insurer whether to continue the policy with Insured or not. The Insurer will have the right to decide whether they will offer for renewals.

[Geo_Ipe]

Could we discuss some actual numbers here??

For example, how much would a regular (comprehensive) insurance cost, as against the Zero Dep (ZD) for say a new Swift??
And how much would be the renewal cost for each, with and without claims??

Probably we should also discuss the actual insurance costs of both over a 5-6 year ownership period with 2-3 claims. How many of us get 2 insurance claims per year in the real world? I've claimed insurance only twice for my 6 year old Santro Xing.

[GTO]

Nope, I completely disagree. Reasons:

1. People care about their own cars, even if the insurance is going to foot the entire damage bill. For most Indian homes, the car is the 2nd largest cost center (after a house). Irrespective of whether he has 0% depreciation or not, a safe driver will remain a safe driver. Damage to the car pinches non-car lovers too.

2. Inconvenience Not only do we hate to have our property damaged, but the inconvenience from the car being off the road for a couple of days, potential legal issues (from an accident), towing the vehicle to the garage, assessing damages etc. is enough of a deterrent.

3. Resale value of such a car will be down in the pits.

4. No claim bonus Another point you can add a monetary value to. Believe me, nothing gets the point across as a loss does.

5. Safety A 0% depreciation policy is not going to save your life in an accident.

Therefore, I'm pretty sure most 0% depreciation customers understand that it's in their interest not to drive carelessly, just because they are fully covered.

On the other hand, I can see how claims would go up. As already mentioned, owners would want to repair the smaller dents they otherwise wouldn't bother about. Two reasons : Justifying the additional cost of insurance, and not paying any deductible on the repairs.

[coolboy007]

What i have observed with zero dep policies is that as other things, people are abusing the service. A friend of mine proudly told me that his bonnet had a very small dent which would have fixed outside but he wanted a new bonnet as he had a zero dep policy so he used his sick mind to hammer it and claim a new bonnet, get all other dents removed and pay a meagre 1000 claim charges, all i could do after listening to him was

I dont think it promotes careless driving but does give one peace of mind, driving in cities does cause damage some times and in the case of bigger accidents where the claims run over a lakh, the zero dep insurance does save you. Our Scorpio had an accident and the claim amount was 1,60,000 out of which we had to 70,000, wish we had a zero dep insurance at that time, i really appreciate this service.

Even my bike is now insured through Tata Aig zero dep, the zero dep cover was just 2000 extra and is a big relief especially knowing that each fairing costs 40k and side mirrors 8k - paying 50% of it would definitely burn a hole in my pocket.

[Bh.P]

^^
"used his sick mind to hammer it"!!!
Really. people do that? damn demon (sorry if he is your close friend). But he is misusing a facility that may be pulled out for genuine people in future.

I do not think people drive carelessly just because they have a 0-dep policy. They would still be concerned about the resale value of the car, NCB, higher premiums etc. But yes, as many others have stated, it does incline a person to get even minor issues fixed rather than "live with them"

[Swanand Inamdar]

I wouldnt go to the extent of saying - they have encouraged reckless driving.
Yes, there is this peace of mind that a 0% dep would cover damages, but that doesnt mean people would drive as if on a death mission.

Of course, such policies have their own cons too. Higher premiums, even higher renewal costs (in terms of past claims), but then thats the price you pay.

As a car lover, I wouldnt want to see a single scratch on my car, but then thats not the reality, thanks to our traffic conditions. For cars that are considered premium, and those that have expensive parts, a 0% dep is always a better option.

[amitayu]

Rash drivers never needed any excuse for their insanity.
Zero depreciation infact is a boon for drivers like us who are always scared of rash drivers in the streets.

[IndigoXLGrandDi]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

I wish sooner or later Insurance companies will work towards giving incentive to defensive and safe driving, that looks like a good thing over long term.

I wish the same.
In fact, the Government should give incentives (in the form of lower duties on fuel), to the owner of vehicle if he maintains the vehicle in good condition--
1) All lights are in working condition and visible even in bright sunlight.
2) Less Polluting Vehicle (in reality and not just BUYING PUC Certificate).


I don't know whether I should post this in this thread or No Claim Bonus Thread but here it goes (Request Mods to move to appropriate thread if necessary)--
Many people don't even know that they get NCB if they don't file for a claim for a whole year which gets added if there are no claims filed for consecutive years and this NCB can be used to reduce the insurance premium amount while buying a new car.

[hrman]

I do not think Zero Dep policies encourage rash driving. I do think it provides the owner with more peace of mind, assured that in case of huge bills , he would not have to shell much. This is more relevant when headlights, bumpers or other plastic parts are replaced.
I took a zero dep from ICICI Lombard on The Rapid. The premium was 20% higher. But that does not encourage me to drive rashly. My previous car had an NCB of 50% accumulated over the years.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hrman

I do not think Zero Dep policies encourage rash driving.

*Careless* is not to be equated necessarily with *rash* IMO.

[sen2009]

I don't think it will make drivers more careless, but workshop fraud claims will definitely be on the rise.
Workshops will definitely try and push replacements against repairs for clients with zero dep covers. One instance of Honda CRV is already cited in this thread, and I am sure there are many more such examples.

I feel this policy will be most misused in case of minor repairs like scratches, dents etc. In a normal policy world, body shop guys always advise us to wait for a bigger dent to come in the area of a smaller dent, so that whole thing can be claimed. With zero dep, there will be no need for such wait.

In a similar matter of cashless medical insurance, similar effect has already been observed. Most insurance companies are now averse to issuing cashless medical covers and they have blacklisted a whole lot of hospitals. For many other hospitals, which are not "blacklisted" as such, cashless facility is stopped.

We'll soon see this effect in service centers as well.

[F50]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

However what happens if you need to claim for a 3rd time? Is insurance outright rejected or just zero dep? Also what happens if I have a minor accident and want to claim regular insurance but not avail of zero dep facility. Can I still do that?

Basically if I have zero dep do I have the option between zero dep and regular insurance? Say for a small accident. Will that still be part of 2 claims a year?

Sorry I guess I missed the quote pop-up.

Yes you can claim as many times you want till your sum insured is exhausted.

If you are insured under Zero Dep:

1) First 2 claims are Zero Dep and rest would be regular

2) However, if your first claim was claimed under Zero Dep and you feel second claim is a small one and claiming as a regular claim wouldn't harm you - yes you can do that

So you are still left with another Zero Dep option for a bigger claim. You can juggle your Zero Dep option.

Hence, your first and third or second and third could be Zero Dep. And its not compulsory that first two claims has to be registered as Zero Dep.

[vskesavan]

Originally Posted by IndigoXLGrandDi

I wish the same.
In fact, the Government should give incentives

At least the government can give some subsidy in insurance premium for those maintaining their vehicles without any claim for more than three years.