Two Wheeler Insurance

As per the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, all vehicles plying on the Indian roads must have a third party liability cover. The liability bike insurance policy is mandatory to ensure that in case of a road accident, the person being injured or property being damaged by your vehicle is compensated.

The premium of liability insurance cover is calculated on the vehicle's engine capacity (cc). The premium of comprehensive cover is calculated on the vehicle’s make, model, variant, RTO location, and the age of your vehicle.

The third party liability insurance cover premium for your two wheeler is decided by the IRDAI. The premium for liability cover changes every year. Whereas, the premium for comprehensive two wheeler insurance is decided by the insurance company from whom you are purchasing the insurance policy.

You can save a lot of money on premium by buying and renewing insurance on time. Apart from that, the following would help you to save money on insurance premium:

• Comparing premium rates of plans offered by different insurance companies
• Buying only necessary add-on covers
• Utilizing accumulated No-Claim Bonus (NCB)
• Installing anti-theft device
• Opting for Voluntary Deductibles
• Buying Multi-year/Long-term two wheeler insurance policy

The third party liability cover does not cover vehicle's own damage either by natural or man-made perils and vehicle theft. A comprehensive insurance policy provides financial protection against both third party liability cover and own damages incurred on the two wheeler due to natural or man-made perils and bike theft.

A comprehensive two wheeler insurance policy covers damages incurred due to all natural and man-made perils including floods. However, damages to the vehicle's engine or engine parts is not covered under a comprehensive policy. The same can be covered by an engine protection add-on cover.

A No Claim Bonus is a discount on the own damage premium under the comprehensive policy given by the insurance company on renewal if there were no claims lodged in the previous year by the policyholder. For instance, this is the second year from the date of your bike purchase and you renew your two wheeler comprehensive policy. If you have not lodged any claims in the first/previous year, you get a 20% of discount on your own damage premium as a reward for riding safely.

A No Claim Bonus increases with every claim-free year. NCB is cumulative in nature, so it means you can increase the percentage of discount for every claim-free year.

The below table shows the increase in the percentage of discount:

To gain the maximum benefit of NCB, it is advisable not to claim for minor damages or dents.

Yes, as the NCB belongs to the rider and is not attached to the vehicle, No Claim Bonus is transferable on the name of the owner of the vehicle even after the buying a new or old two wheeler and even if you change to a new insurance provider. So, on renewal, if there’s an accumulated NCB, the owner can avail the discounts.

First, you need to ensure the old insurance policy is cancelled. When you cancel the old insurance policy, you will receive an NCB retention letter. To avail the bonus on the insurance policy, you need to submit the NCB retention letter to the new two wheeler insurer.

When you buy a liability cover, a personal accident cover is provided for the rider-owner on a premium amount of Rs.50 for a sum insured of Rs.1 lakh. There are many insurance companies that provide optional personal accident cover of higher sum insured on paying an additional premium. Moreover, there’s an optional pillion rider personal accident cover, which can be opted by paying an extra premium.

When you buy a mandatory third-party two wheeler insurance, you get a personal accident cover of up to Rs.1 lakh for a premium of Rs.50. A pillion rider/passenger accident cover is optional and can be opted by paying an additional premium.

In case of an accident and unfortunate events the coverage is payable by the insurance company in the following ways:

A third party liability cover is mandatory as per the Indian Motor Vehicles Acts, 1988 for all the vehicles plying on the Indian roads. If you are riding a bike without two wheeler insurance you would be charged a fine of Rs.2000, and/or be imprisoned for 3 months. It is therefore suggested not to ride your vehicle without an insurance policy.

It is easy to buy a second-hand bike with the right kind of knowledge. To know how to buy second-hand bike read – Buying Second-hand Two Wheeler.

At the time of claims with a cashless two wheeler insurance policy, you can opt for cashless garage service through any of the authorised network garage of your insurer where you can get your two wheeler repaired without paying any cash.

You can simply check the list of the companies offering long-term two wheeler insurance using Coverfox’s insurance premium calculator. Once the list of the insurance companies is displayed, from the drop down menu below each company, you can select the number of years for which you want insurance policy. You can select 1, 2, or 3 years and accordingly the premium amount will be charged.

Prior to the implementation of GST, service tax and cess was 15% tax on the two wheeler insurance, but after GST, you will have to pay 18% tax on the two wheeler insurance policy purchase.

If you are buying a 2 wheeler insurance for someone else, all you need to do is to enter the bike details to get quotes online, once you finalize the insurance company, while filling the policy document, kindly enter the details of the bike owner so to ensure the policy is in the name of the vehicle owner.

When the vehicle has suffered damage that is beyond repair (more than 75% of the IDV) is called Total Constructive Loss.

In case of bike theft, the insurance company pays full IDV to the policyholder. The policyholder needs to submit the original and duplicate keys with “No Trace Report” from police.

In case of TCL, the insurance company pays the IDV less salvage value to the policyholder.

On relocating to another city, the policyholder will need to communicate the new address to the insurance provider. After the individual has obtained a local registration number for the two-wheeler, the same will need to be informed to the insurer so that his or her records can be updated. The premiums may or may not be affected depending on cities.

For instance, Mr. Ajay moved from Mumbai to Kolhapur, his two wheeler insurance was still valid, however, his renewal premium decreased since Kolhapur was classified as a lower-risk city than Mumbai.

If you have purchased online, you can simply login to the account and download a copy to take a print of it. Or check your registered email id. If you haven’t purchased online, request your insurance provider with your bike details and engine chassis number to reissue the policy.

You need to visit the nearest RTO in your city and give a test. After passing the test you will receive the driving license.

Depending on the registration zone (RTO location) of the bike, the premium varies. In India, RTO zones are categorised as Zone A and Zone B.

Zone A: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad

Zone B: Rest of India

Depending on whether the two wheeler is registered under the Zone A and Zone B, the premium varies for the same bike model and variant. The two wheeler insurance for a bike registered under Zone A will be charged more than the same bike registered under Zone B.

A zero depreciation is an add-on cover, which you can attach to your comprehensive insurance policy. If you lodge a claim in case of an accident under a comprehensive two wheeler insurance, the repair cost associated to the repair or replacement of the bike’s depreciable parts are not covered. The costs of repairing or replacing depreciable parts must be borne by the owner of the vehicle (policyholder). But, if you have a zero depreciation add-on cover, these costs are covered and paid by the insurance company.

Under the third party liability cover bike’s own damage is not covered.

Under the comprehensive liability cover and own damage cover, but following things are not covered:

• Any claim lodged when the policy is not active or expired
• Any kind of mechanical wear and tear due to aging
• Any kind of mechanical or electrical breakdown
• The policyholder riding bike without legal and valid license
• The policyholder riding bike under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any intoxicants
• Using your private bike for commercial purposes

Keep such exclusions in your mind to ensure your claims are legit and approved without any hassle.

You can easily compare and renew your two-wheeler insurance policy online. You have to enter your two wheeler’s detail to check the premium quotes. Enter your make, model, variant, RTO location or just enter the number of your vehicle, once the premium quotes from the top insurers are fetched you can choose the best policy for your vehicle.

You can now renew your expired two-wheeler insurance policy without any hassle. No need of inspection or any paper work, just enter your two wheeler’s details as you would have done it with your active policy.

No, you can renew your two wheeler insurance policy without any inspection also.

No, your old bike insurance is not valid for your new bike as the engine capacity, engine chassis number, age of the vehicle varies. You need to buy new two wheeler insurance policy for your new bike with the details of your new bike.

Without a valid insurance policy, you would be charged a fine of Rs.2000, and/or be imprisoned for 3 months. Besides, without a valid policy, any unfortunate incident that would cause damages to or by your bike would be borne by you.

Yes, you can change your current two wheeler insurance provider and buy a policy from another insurance company.

Any person sitting behind the rider on the bike can be covered under pillion rider cover. This cover provides financial protection to the pillion passenger.

Voluntary Deductible, in a two wheeler insurance, is the volunteered amount that a bike owner agrees to pay at the time of claim repairs and against this gets a discount on the own damage premium. You agree to pay only in case you lodge claim, however, you get a discount based on the amount you agree to pay.

The below table shows the percentage of discount you get on own damage premium

The compulsory deductible amount is the mandatory amount the policyholder pays on the approval of claim. This is not dependent on the garage repair bill. It is dependent on the engine capacity (cc).

Compulsory Deductible in two wheeler insurance:

• For two wheelers with engine capacity less than 350cc: Rs. 50/-
• For two wheelers with engine capacity above 350cc: Rs. 100/-

If you have purchased a wrong two-wheeler insurance policy, for instance, the vehicle model is not the same as you own, then you need to cancel the policy.

If you cancel after the start of the risk date – policy start date, the refund would be on pro rata basis. It is advisable to cancel the policy before the policy start date.

In case of the third party property loss, the insurance company will cover up to Rs.7.5 lakh.

You can trace the authorised cashless garage network facility in the location you would prefer with the help of information posted on the insurers’ website. Or check the list of network garages listed by the insurance company you wish to buy insurance from.

You would be charged a fine of Rs.2000, and/or be imprisoned for 3 months. It is advisable not to ride your bike without an insurance policy.

Buying a second hand two wheeler insurance can be a tricky thing. However, we have written an article so that you can avoid all the possible mistakes. Read - Buying Bike Insurance: Mistakes you Will Never Make Again

To file a claim with a two-wheeler insurance company, first get in touch with Insurer’s claim team representatives via call or email. The representative will inform you about the various documents that need to be submitted to get the claim process moving. The kinds of documents required along with the filled-up claim form will differ depending on the type of claim filed. A FIR will have to be filed in case of damage or loss of vehicle. A surveyor will be appointed to come and inspect the vehicle. If the claim filed is genuine, the insurance company will make the necessary claim payment.

Policy copies are generally emailed across to the policyholder on the day of purchase. A copy of the same is also sent by post to the residential address of the vehicle owner.

Yes, you can. To transfer two-wheeler insurance, it is necessary that the ownership of the vehicle is successfully transferred to the new owner. Once the transfer is complete, the entity can initiate the process to transfer two-wheeler insurance. The insurance company will begin the policy transfer after the necessary documents and forms are submitted and appropriate fee is paid.

If your two-wheeler insurance has lapsed, then there is no way to file a claim. To ensure this does not happen, always make sure to renew your two-wheeler insurance on time.

No, the full premium of the two-wheeler insurance policy has to be paid before the policy coverage can commence.

IDV, or Insured Declared Value, is the maximum sum assured that an insurance company would offer against a two-wheeler in the event of theft or major damage, or total loss of the insured vehicle due to an accident. This sum assured is usually equivalent to the prevailing market value of the two-wheeler, at the time of its purchase.

It is advisable that you bargain for a sum assured that is closest to the current market value of your two-wheeler. This will enable him/her to claim a fair amount of compensation in the event of theft or severe damages. At times, insurance companies may offer to lower the IDV by about 5% to 10%, as per the discretion of the applicant, when the applicant wishes to pay a lower premium amount and vice versa. When a policyholder files a claim, insurance companies usually consider the age of the insured two-wheeler.

Yes, most leading insurance companies offer their policyholders the convenience of renewing their two-wheeler insurance policy online. You can renew your bike insurance online through either of the following options:

Your existing insurer’s official website: You can visit the official website of your insurance company and follow the online insurance renewal procedure. Remember that you must mention the required details accurately. These details include your two-wheeler registration number, your existing policy details, your contact number and email id, etc. Next, you can proceed to the online payment method. The accepted online payment options usually are debit/credit card and net banking.

Third-party websites: If you want to change your existing insurance company, you can compare the premium rates being offered on two-wheeler insurance policies from other insurers. After you have made your choice, you can fill up the online form of your chosen insurer with accurate details, and then pay online.

In an insurance policy, the insured or the policyholder is referred to as the first party. The first party is eligible to receive the pre-determined sum assured from his/her insurance company, which is known as the second party, in the case of a loss, injury or accident that may be caused by you to any another entity is known as the third party.

According to the July 2018 directive by the Supreme Court, five-year upfront third-party liability cover has been made mandatory on all two wheeler insurance policies. This regulation is applicable for all newly purchased two wheelers bought on and after 1st September 2018.

While they are mentioned in your policy document, some of the common ones that you would require are:

• Duly filled in claim form
• RC copy of the vehicle
• Original estimates of loss
• Repair invoice and payment receipt

In case of theft, you need to first file an FIR with the police (apart from having the other documents mentioned above). Submit a copy of the same to your insurance company along with a non-traceable certificate and the keys of your bike. That’s all!

Like always, there are multiple factors that determine the premium for your new bike.

• The IDV (Insured Declared Value)
• Age of Bike
• Zone of Registration
• Cubic capacity (in case of a third-party insurance)

Generally, your premium won’t be affected majorly. But, if you have a No Claim Bonus that has not yet been availed 90 days before the expiry of policy, you could still lose the benefit. Also, you would have to have your bike inspected by the survey team all over again!

Right from the day your policy starts to the day it expires, this entire duration is called as policy period. So always make sure you renew your two wheeler insurance policy before the due date; because even a day’s lapse can change everything!

Yes, you can. But then, claims should not be raised subject to 30 days prior to the expiry date of the policy. Then, even a refund cannot be raised. In fact, a nominal cancellation fee might also be charged in such a case. So always take care!

Once you make a claim for your two-wheeler, you lose out on NCB (No Claim Bonus). Hadn’t you raised a claim, you could have availed NCB, thus reducing your premium in the next policy year. But if you did, sadly, the premium automatically increases the following year.

Driving while intoxicated is a criminal offense in India. If you are responsible for a drunk driving accident then under the bike insurance policy, the insurance provider is not legally bound to meet your own damage claims since the damage was the result of an illegal action.

Many two-wheeler insurance companies reject the own damage claims outright. Some may be willing to consider making payment if the driver’s blood alcohol content was not high enough to regard the individual as drunk. The payout result will differ, depending on the situation of the accident and the extent of damage.

Yes, you can visit the official website of the Government of India – Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (https://parivahan.gov.in/parivahan/) Enter your registration number; you will be able to verify the status of your bike insurance policy. It shows till when the insurance is valid. It also gives all the details of your bike like engine number, makes and model, year of registration, registration city, etc.

The web portal of Insurance Information Bureau (created by IRDAI) has comprehensive data of all the insurance policies linked to every registered vehicle in our country. Go to the website (https://iib.gov.in/), under the head “Vehicle Insurance Status Search” you will get the detailed information regarding your two-wheeler insurance policy by your registration number. Note: The above answer has been compiled by gathering inputs from Royal Sundaram General Insurance official website (https://www.royalsundaram.in/two-wheeler-insurance/tips/how-to-find-bike-insurance-details-by-registration-number)