Purchasing a bike has become more of a necessity rather than a luxury. Having your own bike has a lot of benefits. It will help you save money on transportation while also enabling you to commute with ease and speed. Purchasing two-wheeler insurance for your bike becomes essential. It keeps your vehicle guarded. There is no fixed price for the insurance policy, and there are various elements affecting the premiums you have to pay towards it. Comprehending the top factors impacting motorcycle insurance purchases will help you find the most suitable plan for insurance cover at the best possible rate.
Important Factors Affecting Motorcycle Insurance Purchases
Model and Make of the Bike
The model and make of the bike influence the insurance premium you will have to pay for the bike. This is because different models and makes have different replacement costs associated with the parts of the bike at the time of the claim.
If the replacement costs are higher, the loss ratio for the insurance company would be higher, thus resulting in higher premiums. For instance, the insurance premiums paid for Yamaha bikes is higher when compared to Honda bikes, because the cost of replacement is higher for Yamaha models at the time of accidents.
Also, imported bikes create a higher loss ratio for the insurance company because even a small part has to be imported from abroad thus increasing replacement costs.
Coverage
Coverage is an important factor in deciding the insurance quote. The bike rider must decide what type of cover his bike requires. There are two types of covers.
- The Third-Party Cover: The Indian law requires every biker to have a third-party cover, which will cover any damage caused to a third party. It is mandatory to have this cover to run the vehicle on the road. However, this plan is not enough to protect the biker’s vehicle.
- A Comprehensive Plan: A comprehensive plan protects your vehicle from natural disasters, such as hailstorms, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, snow, landslides, and tsunamis. It also encompasses man-made damages, such as riots, accidents, and thefts.
The cost of the comprehensive plan is much higher than the third-party plan, since it provides a wider cover. It is always advisable to opt for the comprehensive plan, since this plan offers complete protection of your vehicle.
The Age of the Bike
The age of the bike is an important determining factor affecting two-wheeler insurance purchases. Bikes with higher age will have lower rates in the markets since vehicle prices depreciate with time. New bikes will be priced higher. So, you will have to pay high insurance premiums for bikes, which are brand new.
Insured Declared Value of the Bike
Insured declared value or IDV is the maximum value the insurer will pay for accidents or robbery of your bike.
- IDV is obtained after computing the depreciation value.
- As your bike ages, the IDV comes down. This is because the bike depreciates over the years.
- Every year, it is evaluated at the time of renewal of the insurance policy
- It denotes the value of the vehicle and is an important part of the premium calculation.
Cubic Capacity of the Engine
The size of the vehicle’s engine, which is measured in cubic capacity, is the most important factor in determining the insurance premium to be paid.
- If your engine capacity is 75 cc or less, then the premium that you pay will be low.
- On the other hand, if your engine capacity is more than 350 cc, then you will have to pay a larger premium cost.
- Most two-wheelers have a cubic capacity of less than 150 cc.
NCB
No claim bonus or NCB is the reward offered by the insurance company for your disciplined and good driving behaviour.
- This will significantly bring down your insurance premium cost.
- This is granted for each claim-free year as per pre-defined slabs
- It starts from 20 percent for the first claim-free year and goes up to 50 percent over a period of 5 successive claim-free years.
Installation of Gadgets to Prevent Bike Purloining
If you install safety devices certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to protect your vehicle from theft, then you will have to pay a lower premium. This is because the probability of robbery and vehicle loss will be minimized greatly by modern technologies. This reduces the insurance companies’ responsibility to recompense the loss.
Add-On Covers
The insurance premium increases considerably when you are opting for add-on covers including personal accident cover, medical cover, cashless hospitalization cover, and zero depreciation cover. So, choose only the essential covers, the most important one being zero depreciation cover.
Related Read: read about personal accident cover for unnamed passengers - a very important add-on cover.
Experience of the Driver
The insurance companies look at the driver’s age, gender, driving experience, and driving record to assign premium amounts. For instance: young men in the age range of 20 to 25 years with less than one year of driving experience may be charged an extra premium compared to middle-aged men.
Conclusion
To get the best two-wheeler insurance premium, you should explore and compare various insurance premiums in the market. Understanding and assessing the elements above will certainly help.
Get two-wheeler insurance rates that are best matched to your credit profile at CreditMantri
FAQS Factors Impacting Two-wheeler Insurance Purchases
1)What are the requirements for two-wheeler insurance?
The requirements for two-wheeler insurance are as follows
- Proof of identity documents - passport/driving license/government-issued photo ID/Aadhaar card
- Proof of address documents - driving license/passport/bank or post office passbook/government-issued address proof.
- Recent passport-sized photograph.
2) How can you reduce the two-wheeler insurance premium?
These are some of the ways in which you can decrease your two-wheeler insurance premium.
- Renew your insurance policy on time
- Buy from the same insurance company
- Compare insurance policies
- Avoid raising small claims.
- Install anti-theft devices
- Select suitable add-on covers
- Ask for discounts
3) What are some of the best two-wheeler insurance plans in India in 2022?
Some of the best two-wheeler insurance plans in India are:
- Bajaj Allianz two-wheeler insurance
- Bharti Axa two-wheeler insurance
- Edelweiss two-wheeler insurance
- Kotak Mahindra two-wheeler insurance
- Liberty two-wheeler insurance
- Digit two-wheeler insurance
- Iffco Tokio two-wheeler insurance
- National two-wheeler insurance
- Navi two-wheeler insurance
- Reliance two-wheeler insurance
- Oriental two-wheeler insurance
- New-India two-wheeler insurance
- Shriram two-wheeler insurance
- SBI two-wheeler insurance
- Tata AIG two-wheeler insurance
- Universal Sompo two-wheeler insurance
- United India two-wheeler insurance
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