Rupanjali Mitra Basu, Author at Turtlemint

Are car insurance riders worth buying?

August 29, 2016May 14, 2021 Rupanjali Mitra Basu

In this busy life of ours one thing which keeps us moving from one place to another is cars and maintaining a car can cost you a fortune if you don’t have any car insurance. Car insurance is a contract that helps you to protect your financial loss when your car meets an accident. Often it happens that you do not get cover for every kind of damage. In that case, an insurance rider comes handy. If you are thinking, ‘what is a rider’? ‘How does it cover car’s damage’? ‘Are these riders worth buying’? This article will surely help you to understand and get all your answers.

What are riders?

Rider is an optional add-on benefit that comes with car insurance plans and enhances the coverage on insurance. It offers few unique benefits if you pay out some extra money. There are different kinds of riders for everyone according to their needs.

How does it work?

Applying for these add-on benefits is very simple. At the time of choosing your car insurance one can opt for rider because sometimes your car insurance plans fall short of providing you complete protection. An additional benefit comes with an additional cost and protects your car from situations that your regular can insurance plan does not cover.

Types of rider

There are different kinds of rider for every situation. Followings are the types.

Engine coverage rider: This rider comes handy during monsoon especially in India. It provides you HYDROSTATIC cover, which provides your car a cover for the damage caused by leakage of oil, water stalling etc. If you opt for this particular rider, your engine problems will be covered.

Roadside assistance: This rider helps you by providing assistance during emergencies such as an accident, car breakdown in middle of the road, lost car keys or flat tyre. This rider will provide you 24×7 assistance and toeing facility anywhere anytime.

Zero depreciation: this rider helps you get full cover for your damaged car parts. Without this rider, your car insurance provider will depreciate the value of the damaged part according to factors like model and age of the car. While metallic parts are consider depreciated after 6 months, depreciation value of plastic parts are 50% from the second day itself. To understand depreciation factor please follow the chart below-

NCB Protect: No Claim Bonus is payable only if you do not claim in the previous policy year. This rider protects your No Claim Bonus even if you have filed a claim already. Under this add-on, you can file a maximum of 2 claims without losing your NCB. Hence, if you want to retain your NCB while keeping a window open for filing claim in the coming year, do buy NCB protect rider.

Read more about Anatomy of a car insurance plan

Paid Driver Legal Liability: This is almost a mandatory feature these days especially with the rise of chauffer driven cars. If you driver gets the car into some sort of legal liability, it becomes your responsibility as he was driving your car. Thus, protecting your paid driver against legal liability is of utmost importance.
Passenger Personal Accident Cover: This feature covers for Personal Accident cases for passengers and can be availed at a nominal additional cost.
Rental reimbursement: This benefit helps to pay for your rental car bills during the period for which your car is at the repair centre.

Vehicle replacement: In the cases where car is stolen or damage is beyond repair, insurance companies declare total loss. This rider will help you to replace your car with a new and equivalent car.

Are these riders worth buying?

All the above-mentioned riders help you to save your hard-earned money. However, you must be thinking that how much money it helps you save. Suppose accident occurs to your car and complete loss of the car stands for Rs 1 lakh. If your car does not have zero depreciation rider, your insurance company will pay only Rs 75,000 to Rs 60,000 after 25%-40% depreciation. However, if you had availed the mentioned rider, your insurance company will pay Rs 1 lakh, which is the full claim amount. Not only that, a personal accident cover can secure you and your family’s future in the time of any unfortunate incident of your death and one can get up to Rs 2 lakhs for damaged cost.

It is always better to be safe than sorry and in these times of unfortunate events a rider can bring you plenty of relief because doing the right thing at the right time can save you from the damage in future. So, next time when you buy your car insurance do not forget to add-on few riders according to your problem or requirements to get benefits at the right time.

Still confused on which riders are beneficial for you? Let Turtlemint help you.

Why to buy a dengue insurance cover?

August 27, 2016May 14, 2021 Rupanjali Mitra Basu

Monsoon brings a relief from scorching heat and an array of diseases. Dengue is one of them. It is a mosquito-borne painful fever caused by dengue viruses and the claim of this disease is increasing every year. Data from health insurer Max Bupa shows that reimbursement of dengue claim went up by 200% in 2015 compared to the previous year and this year the number could increase and that is why it is always better to be safe than sorry. Any illness needs extensive care and treatment but when it comes to dengue, needless to say, all the tests, treatment cost and hospitalization burn a big hole in your pocket. Health insurance comes handy in such situations. Now-a-days health insurance companies are coming up with specialized plans that cover for specific ailments. But how helpful or important specialized health insurance plans could be? If this question arising in your mind too, this is the right article for you. Read on to know more about dengue insurance cover.

What is dengue insurance cover plan?

Dengue insurance comes under the section of specialized health insurance plan that covers all dengue-related medical expenses. Apollo Munich has developed such specialized health plan known as DENGUE CARE PLAN and DHFL Pramerica has developed DENGUE SHIELD designed to treat solely dengue patient.

What does the apollo munich’s dengue care plan cover?

Here are the coverage features of Apollo Munich’s Dengue Care Plan:

Inpatient treatment: the patient has to stay in hospital for more than 24 hours if treatment arising from dengue fever and hospitalisation cost cover up to sum assured.
Room rent: the plan covers the rent of single private A/C room.
Pre and post-hospitalisation: the plan covers any pre and post hospitalisation expenses for periods ranging 15 days immediately before hospitalisation and 15 days immediately after discharging from hospital.
Shared accommodation benefits: the plan covers shared accommodation expenses.
Outpatient treatment: these following benefits are available and covered under this section and cover expenses up to Rs 10,000

Outpatient consultation by specialized doctor.
Diagnostic tests for dengue fever.
Expenses of medicine prescribed for dengue fever.
Home nursing facility.

On other hand, DHFL provides 100% of the sum insured if you are diagnosed of dengue fever under the following conditions:

If your platelet levels decrease rapidly below the minimal level.
Minimum 48 hours inpatient care and hospitalization in a hospital.
If your blood tests report shows positive for dengue.

When is the right time to buy this plan?

The answer is as early as possible. This policy covers persons from 91 days baby to 65 years old. For child the minimum entry age is 91 days and the maximum is 25 years. For adult, the minimum entry age is 18 years and maximum is 65 years.

Is the coverage beneficial?

A dengue patient entails a hospital stay of five to six days depending on the condition of the patient. In this scenario if you own such insurance plan, it makes life easier. The tests, the admission as well as the transfusion, if required, involve quite a lot of expenses. An article in Hindu states that Dengue treatment costs a bomb as corporate hospitals charge anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for a platelet separation, in case it is needed. Some people have ended up spending Rs 1.75 lakhs to Rs 2 lakhs for a dengue treatment of their children. With the rising cases of reported dengue, the need to look into this becomes very important.

But how beneficial these insurance plans are? To give you a clear idea on benefits of dengue insurance cover go through these pros and cons of such plan.

The pros:

The Apollo Munich Dengue Care Plan does not require you to undergo any medical health test. In the proposal form, just a self-declaration is more than enough to buy this plan
This plan allows upto Rs 10,000 for outpatient treatment, which is enough to avail treatment at your own house.
The dengue cover’s premium rate does not depend on age. It depends only on the amount of coverage one wants from this plan. There are two coverage options available in Dengue Care Plan- one is of Rs 50000 and premium for this is Rs 508 inclusive of taxes and the other option is of Rs 1 lakh with premium Rs 662 annually.
While DHFL Pramerica Dengue Shield plan offers a sum insured of Rs 25,000; Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000. Here, you can pay the premium either annually or a single installment for a 5 year term.

As seen here, the cost for the benefits provided is very low. You pay only Rs 55 per month for Rs 1 lakh of coverage irrespective of your age from Apollo Munich’s Dengue plan.The cons:

This plan only covers expenses for the treatment of Dengue. If you are suffering from any other ailment, this plan will not allow any coverage.
This is an annual policy, thus you have to give the premium annually.

If you compare between your regular health insurance and specialized dengue insurance, you will see that besides the benefit of treatment at home, there are no special benefits that your regular health insurance does not provide.

However if do not have a regular health insurance and if you see dengue symptoms prevalent in your area, you should definitely consider at least buying this specialized dengue plan. The specialized dengue plan comes at a very low premium and since a disease like dengue is very uncertain, it makes a lot of sense to opt for it without much thought especially if you do not have any regular health plans.

You can also buy a Dengue plan alongside your regular health plan, since this plan comes without much pinch in the pocket. Moreover, if you have a dengue claim, you need not disturb the No Claim Bonus of your regular health plan. So, with the rising risk of Dengue in this country, this dengue special health plan can be seriously considered.

For any other queries with health insurance, get in touch with Turtlemint representatives.

11 factors that affect your car insurance rate

August 16, 2016May 14, 2021 Rupanjali Mitra Basu

If you own a car, chances are that you love it, much as your parents love you. What you might not love, however, is the high premium that you may need to dole out every month just to insure your mechanical baby!

There are 11 rating factors used by car insurance companies to decide what premium amount they should be charging you. Read on to check and ensure that most of them are in place so that your car insurance plan doesn’t make a deep hole in your pockets:

#1 Car model and age

Insurance rates are greater for car models that have a high market value and need costly spare parts or fuel. Therefore, new cars, imported cars, and cars that run on diesel, all carry high insurance rates. Insurers know that though damage to an old car may need more repair, you are likely to junk or replace it in the case of an accident

#2 No Claim Bonus (NCB)

Depending on the number of continuous claim-free years, you can get up to 50% discount on your car insurance premium. You can find the NCB amount in your policy document.

#3 Coverage and deductibles

If you’ve failed to get the recommended coverage in the past, you may need to pay a higher premium now. The good news, though, is that you can lower the premium costs by selecting a higher deductible (the amount you will need to pay to claim the cover). Although add-on covers increase the premium rate charged, they are well worth it as they increase the protection provided. The No claim Bonus Protect add-on by Turtlemint is totally value-for-money, as it lets you make an annual claim without losing your NCB discount!

#4 Car usage

Insurance premium rate will be higher than normal for you if you use your car for commercial purposes. This is because your car probably covers more ground than a car engaged in personal use. The time when you drive the car also affects the insurance rate; in the case you frequently drive at night, you’re at a higher risk of going bump in the dark, and because of this, you’ll pay a higher premium.

#5 Location

Your neighbourhood and car registration zone too influence the insurance rate. You’ll get a much better deal if you live in a safe neighbourhood with a lower crime rate. As a rule, premiums are higher in the metropolitan cities than smaller towns. This is because, a car in a densely populated area is more vulnerable to crime, traffic and accidents, as well as, higher repair costs.

#6 Profession

A profession that requires a lot of travelling will attract a higher insurance rate; If your job asks you to travel a lot, chances of a mishap on the road are greater for you than for someone with a shorter or fixed work commute.

#7 Anti-theft and safety devices

If your car is susceptible to damage or theft, it’ll carry a higher insurance rate. An easy way to improve the security rating of your car is by buying an anti-theft device (as offered by AutoCop, Minda, Nippon and Xenos). This will give you a 2.5% discount on your premium.

#8 Credit Score

An insurer will usually go over your credit history and financial status to find out your credit score before deciding what to charge you. If you’ve been smart about how you manage your finances, you’ll have a healthy credit score, and a lower insurance rate.

Know more about Credit score.

#9 Gender and Age

Be ready to pay a higher premium if you are a man and/or under the age of 25. Studies have shown that men and younger drivers are more prone to rash driving and collisions than women and older drivers who tend to be cautious on the road.

#10 Marital status

If you’re married, you can drive the premium costs down by combining insurance policies with your spouse. In addition, married drivers are generally believed to be more responsible since they get into fewer traffic violations and accidents as compared to unmarried drivers. Therefore, tying the knot can really bring down your car insurance rates, especially if you are 25 years or less!

#11 Driving history

A perfect driving history with a clean record of no violations or prior claims will come in handy when you go to apply for or renew your car insurance. A bad record, on the other hand, can raise your premium rate or even cost you the insurance, as not many insurers will safeguard a risky driver. So, remember to drive safe!

Contact a specialist today to review your car insurance policy and learn how these 11 factors are affecting your car insurance rate. You can also click here to compare car insurances and save up to 60%.

Read more about Anatomy of car insurance

Comparing online before renewing your car insurance plan

July 20, 2016May 14, 2021 Rupanjali Mitra Basu

With technology, our lives have become a lot simpler. Therefore, when you sit to renew your car insurance, you must make use of this very technology and simply save yourself a lot of money and effort! However, not just simply renew your car insurance policy online, comparison helps you to choose the best deal amongst the ones available.

Since Car Insurance policies are completely portable, you can now transfer benefits from one insurer to another without disrupting the continuity of the plan. Know more about renewal and portability. So it makes sense to choose the best possible option by comparing it online and then purchasing the same so as to get the best deal. Not only in terms of money, but best deals can provide you with the best features and flexibilities.

How to compare for car insurance renewals?

Turtlemint.com is a dedicated comparison website for your convenience. It helps you in comparing the various available insurance plans.

All you have to do is enter your requirements and the different plans with the different features and rates at the click of a button. You can then compare the plans, see what they have on offer and make your final decision.

This process of comparison will not only help you choose the most competitive policy for your car insurance renewal but also help you check out other features which you might have missed out otherwise. The choice of riders, the zero-depreciation of your car, etc. can be chosen at the convenience of your house only you compare the same along with the premium amounts.

Things to consider when comparing for car renewals on Turtlemint.com.

You must consider a few things while you look for car insurance plans online. They are:

Scanning the plans – To do this, you must keep three things in mind: the price, the deductibles, discounts, and the coverage amount. You must remember to compare apples with apples. This means that you must look to compare the same features in all the plans you are looking at. Different types of car insurance policies have different features and thus have different prices. You have to specifically look for the policies that meet your checklist; else the whole purpose of buying insurance will be defeated.
Look for discounts – When renewing your car insurance plan, you may be eligible for certain discounts such as the no claim bonus. Check to see what discounts you get from each insurer and how much of an impact that will have on your final premium. Also, if you have installed some safety features in your car then you may be eligible for some extra discounts. Look out for insurers who offer discounts for gadgets, etc in cars.
Deals and offers – Many insurance providers have special deals and offers at certain times. If you happen to find such a deal, look into it closely to see if there are any hidden charges, etc. If you are satisfied with the clauses and find that your premium is lowered because of the deal, go for it. At times however, these deals bring along with them a lot of extra costs and charges that eventually make your car insurance more expensive in the end. So read the policy documents carefully before making a purchase.
Bonus – No claim bonus gets added for a claim free year. NCB can be carried forward even if you transfer the policy to a different insurer by portability.
Riders and Benefits – Car Insurance policies are available with quite a few additional riders, like Zero Depreciation, Engine Protect, NCB Protect, Road Side Assistance, Paid Driver Legal Liability, etc. which needs to be considered and higher riders will have higher benefits and it should be considered as these are some of the most important riders that you can opt for.

Also, ensure that you check the Insured Declared Value of the car and not choose the lowest premium with low IDV. That reduces the value of the car.

Thus, you get to choose the best plan for your car insurance renewal by simply comparing the same and then opting for the one, which best suits your needs rather than blindly buying the same one you already have. This way you get to weigh the pros and cons of all the additional benefits available at the cost charged and then settle for the best one, as per your needs!

Delaying health insurance purchase is a bad idea. Here’s why

July 5, 2016May 14, 2021 Rupanjali Mitra Basu

‘A stitch in time saves nine’. Yes, we have heard this saying and read fables about this many times when growing up, but did we follow it? Procrastination is the say of the day and people always delay in completing chores which they consider is a burden. A health insurance policy too, though beneficial, is associated with money outflow, and hence, is constantly delayed. Youth often blinds us in its rosy picture and we feel that we are and will be disease-free till we hit the middle ages. This preconceived notion delays a health insurance purchase and it is not until later that we feel the harmful effects of such delay.

Delaying a health insurance plan involves costs, both literally and metaphorically. Let us see how we lose in both literal and metaphorical senses through delaying our health insurance plan:

Higher premiums – your age determines your health insurance premium. A higher age depicts a higher probability of contracting diseases and hence premiums are always high. So, if you delay in buying a health insurance policy, your premiums would increase and would literally cost you dearly. For instance, Apollo Munich’s Easy Health Premium Plan for a Rs.5 lakh Sum Assured has the following rates of premiums for an individual at different age groups:
So, you see, delaying a health plan is expensive and even the numbers prove that.

Reduced coverage – there is a pre-existing waiting period clause in all the health insurance plans. This clause excludes the coverage of pre-existing illness which you have when buying the policy. When you delay buying a health insurance plan, you might develop some illnesses along the way. Such illnesses wouldn’t be covered in the initial few years of your plan. As compared to this, if you buy young you are free from any serious pre-existing illnesses. So, you get a comprehensive coverage and can wait out the waiting period. Later, when you actually contract any illness, the waiting period would have ended and you can enjoy a comprehensive coverage. Moreover, if at a later stage, any pre-existing illness becomes severe your health plan might be denied. Though health plans cover pre-existing illnesses after a specified waiting period, severe illnesses are not covered at all. Sad, but true!
The necessity of medical check-ups – the pre-entrance medical check-ups which you dread would become compulsory if you buy a health plan late in life. Most health insurance plans require a pre-entrance medical examination for individuals above the age of 45 years. The cost of such examinations would be paid by the company, either in full or partially, only if the cover is granted and the policy is issued. So, if you delay buying the plan, you would have to undertake the required medical check-ups. Moreover, you might also have to shoulder the examination costs, either partly or completely (if the policy is rejected due to adverse medical findings).
Compulsory clauses – many policies have a co-pay clause or a voluntary excess clause for people in the higher age groups. These clauses are compulsory and also heavy on your pockets. For instance, many policies include a 20% or 10% co-payment clause as the individual crosses 60 years of age. This means that in the event of any claim, 10% or 20% of the claim would have to be met by you.

The reasons show how a delay in making the health insurance purchase is costly both in literal and metaphorical terms. A health insurance plan has become a mandatory requirement in today’s age when medical expenses are touching the roof. When you would ultimately buy a health plan later, why not buy it young? You would be saving a lot in terms of premiums and coverage availed. After all, prevention is always better than cure, isn’t it?

Read more about Dejargonizing health insurance terms

Is long term two wheeler insurance a good idea?

June 16, 2016May 14, 2021 Rupanjali Mitra Basu

Having a two-wheeler is a very convenient thing when it comes to conveyance. It is a stylish vehicle which can easily go through traffic, fast, uses less fuel and cheaper than a four-wheeler. No wonder it is loved by young and adult alike!

It is great that you own a two-wheeler, but do you also own the compulsory insurance cover? The Motor Vehicles Act of India has mandated a valid insurance cover on every two-wheeler which is driven on Indian roads. So, your two-wheeler must have an insurance coverage.

As it is compulsory, insurers offer two-wheeler insurance plans which are renewed every year. This annual renewal is seen to be complex and many of us do not renew our policies. In fact, more than 50% of the two-wheelers on Indian roads are without an insurance coverage.

Recognizing this trend in the two-wheeler insurance market a new formula is developed. The Indian Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the leading insurance body, has recently allowed for long-term two-wheeler insurance plans. You can buy these plans for a continuous stretch of two or three years. Today some insurers are selling such plans with longer terms because of their benefits. Such benefits include:

Convenience
– since the coverage continues beyond a year, there is no stress of annual renewals. Thus the policyholder can enjoy a continued coverage under these plans.
No fear of lapse related risks –
if your two-wheeler plan lapses, you have to take a lot of trouble for renewing your lapsed policy. The company inspects the bike for fixing the IDV and accordingly, the premium. This might take a lot of time. During this time, you are supposed to bear the risk of any contingency. Moreover, in case of lapsed policies there are certain drawbacks. The premiums might be higher or the IDV fixed might be very low. Both these cases are bad for the policyholder. A long –term plan reduces such lapse-related risks. However, even if your plan expires, you need not worry. Turtlemint.com offers an online renewal of lapsed policies. The process is very convenient, simple and also does not involve any inspection. For renewing your two-wheeler package plans, you can visit the website at: https://turtlemint-stage.dreamhosters.com/two-wheeler-insurance

Read more about What is Insured Declared Value

Lower premiums
– this is the best benefit which long term two-wheeler plans provide. Insurers encourage individuals to buy this plan and allow premium discounts for package policies. Moreover the premiums also remain fixed for the entire term. Both these points are good for the policyholder as it saves him money.

Higher No Claim Bonus discounts –
if there is no claim in a year, you earn an NCB in your annual policy. On the other hand, if you make a claim in any year, you lose the NCB for that year. As a result, your subsequent premium does not earn any discount. In long term plans, the NCB is relatively higher than annual plans. Moreover, if there is one claim during the total plan term, total NCB is not lost, it is reduced. Thus, a longer term plan ensures that you earn a higher NCB discount which also lowers your premiums.

Some of the insurers offering long-term two-wheeler insurance plans and the corresponding coverage features are mentioned below:

IRDA has allowed longer term plans in the interests of the two-wheeler owners and the above plans are proofs of that. The policies are really attractive and cheaper alternatives to annually renewable policies. So what are you waiting for? Buy these long-term plans and save yourself the cost and stress of yearly renewals.