It is a common knowledge that taking a vehicle insurance is mandatory. Whether you like it or not, your vehicle must be insured before it hits the road. But what you perhaps do not know is that there are an array of extra benefits you can take to make your insurance cover holistic, and all-encompassing.
These extra benefits are also referred to as riders. Although some of these riders may not be of much significance to a lot of us, but some of them are. An ideal car insurance plan should offer customisation through these riders. Also known as add-ons, they offer extra coverage over the basic car insurance plan.
“Some of the widely popular add-on covers are zero depreciation cover, roadside assistance cover, return to invoice cover, and many more. Add-on riders play a pivotal role in giving extended coverage for your car. Thus, customers should consider a vehicle insurance company on the basis of add-on covers offered by them,” says Naval Goel, Founder and CEO of PolicyX.com
They are offered at some extra cost – of course. They increase the level of coverage through a slew of value-added features.
"The price factor plays a role as the price may differ from company to company so the customers should be mindful of such factors at the time of buying a vehicle insurance plan," Mr Goel adds.
We give a snapshot of some of the common riders:
No depreciation: In this add-on, the insurer is supposed to bear the total cost of repair of car parts, without factoring in the depreciation factor.
Roadside assistance: This add-on feature provides assistance in case of vehicle’s breakdown. The services can include providing fuel, arranging an alternative mode of transport or even accommodation if the need arises.
For daily allowance: Under this add-on, the policy holder stands to get a daily allowance from the insurer in case car is lost or is out for repairs.
Engine protection: It offers financial coverage in an event of damage to the engine as a result of leakage of lubricating oil, malfunction of engine, among other reasons.
Improved vehicle owner’s accident: This additional cover gives financial protection against accident-related events which include partial disability, temporary or permanent disability and even death.
Loss of key: This add-on cover makes sure that the policy holder gets a compensation by the insurer for the loss of car keys.
Damage of tire: This additional cover provides damages in case of damage of tires because of puncture or bursting of tires or a cut on a tire, among other reasons.
Loss of personal belongings: With this cover, the insurer ensures to compensate the policyholder for the loss of personal belongings.
So, we have seen that a plain vehicle insurance can come with a range of extra benefits from daily allowance to loss of keys, from tire damage to protection of engine.