Five things to remember while buying car insurance

Expert tips and suggestions on the measures buyers must undertake while purchasing car insurance

Haggle with the dealer while buying a new car
It’s typically during the purchase of a new car that car dealers inflate the insurance price and hand you a bomb. Don’t blindly trust the dealer for insurance. Tell him that you want to buy car insurance from outside, and compare insurance policies online and through agents before making a choice. You will almost surely save a few grand.

Don’t be obsessed about no claim bonus
Sure, not making a claim makes the insurance cost for the following year cheaper, but you don’t always need to refrain from making a claim. If the cost of repairs is turning out to be slightly more than the money you’d save by not making a claim — don’t think twice before making a claim. Control your losses while you can. Also, No Claim Bonus NCB can be transferred from an old vehicle to a new one as it gets accumulated for the driver, not the vehicle, so you can use your NCB effectively while selling an old car and buying a new one.

Voluntary deductibles
In case of a claim, the money that you will have to pay is called a deductible. It can be compulsory and voluntary. Compulsory deductible is an amount which you have to necessarily pay while making a claim. For example, you may be asked by the insurance company to pay R500 as compulsory deductible. Now, if you are confident of your driving skills, and think that you would require to make a claim only in case of a major accident, you can increase your voluntary deductible to, say R3,000. This would reduce your premium by a certain percentage (20-30 per cent). On the flip side, you will have to pay more in case of a claim.

Insured Declared Value
Insured Declared Value (IDV) of your car is the amount you will get back in case your car is stolen. However, that amount doesn’t have any effect on the claim you make in case of an accident. Thus, if you believe that there is a very low probability of your car being stolen, you can reduce the IDV to save some money on premium.

Choose wisely
Getting the absolute lowest premium should not be your motive. Some insurance policies cost a bit more, but they come with some fantastic features such as zero deductible, towing charges refund and full coverage on plastic parts. Read all these terms and conditions before making the final choice.

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