According to a survey done by People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) in 2016, one in three households in India own a two-wheeler. Two-wheelers are the prominent choice of majority in the country when it comes to the daily commute to work or to travel to nearby places. But, as good as the figures might seem, most of these two-wheeler owners do not have a valid insurance cover for their vehicles. Purchasing two-wheeler insurance is the last thought in mind and even if a mandatory third-party cover comes from the dealer, it is often not renewed after expiry!
Bike owners are recommended servicing of their bikes at regular intervals and most of them do so without hesitation. But, what about any unfortunate mishaps in which your two-wheeler is partially or completely damaged? In such cases, your costs of getting the bike repaired can be much higher than the premium of a valid insurance cover!
Let’s have a look at how a two-wheeler insurance policy will help you overcome the high costs of repair and replacement of your bike accessories through certain examples:
- Singh bought a new self-ignition bike six months back which has been working fine. But, last week, he collided with a car and due to the impact of the accident, the fuses and brakes got damaged. The total repairing cost was estimated around Rs 8,000. This was a huge loss, as the bike was purchased just a few months back. With an insurance policy, the amount would have been covered and the replacement done at a much lesser rate than what Mr. Singh had to bear personally.
- Kaushik owned a two-wheeler which was stolen from the parking area of her school! It was an unforeseen loss of Rs 80,000 for her. With a bike insurance policy, she would have got the costs covered at a minimal premium amount!
- Rahul lives in a cyclone-prone area in East India! Every time a cyclone alert is declared, he is worried about the resulting damage to his precious vehicle which is the only mode of transport that he owns. Almost every cyclone is accompanied by heavy rainfall, sometimes leading to floods. Last year, the flood water damaged the air filters, the ignition system and silencer of his bike and he splurged around Rs 8,000 on getting the damages fixed! An insurance policy would have covered these frequent expenses resulting from uncontrollable natural disasters and it would have cost less than half of what the owner spends annually on his two-wheeler. The persistent rainfall can also damage the engine of his bike. As the cost of repairing an engine can run in lakhs, Rahul should buy an engine protect rider which will cover engine repairing expenses.
- Saxena has just bought a brand new bike with all the spare parts in place like the front tyre lock, self-ignition system, etc. He gets a mandatory third-party liability cover along with the vehicle but chooses not to opt for the comprehensive cover. Unfortunately, while he was driving it home the next day, he collided with another two-wheeler. The third-party cover saved him from the financial liability to the other party, but since he did not opt for a comprehensive cover, the damage and repair of his brand new bike were borne personally. Had he opted for a comprehensive insurance, he would have been saved from huge repair expenses just two days after he purchased the vehicle.
Above are some of the common situations that one might face in which a two-wheeler insurance policy is a much better option than bearing the repair costs personally. One must be prepared for unfortunate mishaps and acknowledge the fact that an insurance cover can always come in handy and save the precious savings of the owner.
