It is as per the mandate of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 that a two-wheeler need to have a valid insurance. We believe to secure your peace of mind and to safeguard you against losses, you should buy a bike insurance policy, if not already done so. A lot of parameters are considered while pricing the two-wheeler insurance policy. A broad list is captured in the chart below.
Let us know each of the above in brief :
- Details of the bike: Policy premium will be a function of the age, model and make of the bike. The insurance companies have separate build in algorithms through which they decide availability of spares, make and model of the bike.
- Type and term of the policy: Policy premiums will vary on the type of policy- comprehensive policy or a third-party policy. As the value of the vehicle is higher in initial years and decreases as time passes, do does the value of the insurance. There are some policies in market offering a 3-year insurance cover at discounted rates. It is advisable to renew each year as there may be some add-ons that you might require in 2nd or 3rd year but it could not be added to a 3-year policy.
- IDV and selected add-ons: Insurer Declared Value or IDV is the amount up to which the insurance company has agreed to pay in case of claim. In case you chose a lower IDV, the premium gets reduced as per the internal calculations. Also, there are some insurers offering add-ons at extra cost for additional coverage. You are required to study and choose wisely as per your requirements. Choosing an add-on which we don’t really require can increase the policy premium.
- Claim history or challans on the bike: if we do not avail claim on our vehicle, our no claim bonus (NCB) gets accrued each year (20% at the end of first year, 25% after second year, 35% after third year, 45% after fourth year and 50% thereafter for claim free periods). As directed by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), each year NCB gets adjusted in our policy premiums. It is not advisable to take small claims on your policy. By doing so, we forego the NCB on our policy and increase our next year premium. The insurance policy premium is also driven by driving history and challans on the vehicle.
- Discounts available: The policy premium can also be reduced by the discounts being offered by insurers. Please do not always go for discounts, as you may have to face issues in such policies for settling claims or for any other clarification.
Now that we know the broad parameters in pricing a policy, we will look at the 5 best and cheapest bike insurance policies (considering comprehensive plans for easier comparison) in the market today. While there is a large overlap on the offerings, but there are some unique features too for each of them.
- Future Generali (Hello Zindagi) two-wheeler insurance policy:
The unique offerings by the insurer are given below-
- Quick issue of policy and faster claim settlement
- Network of garages to process cashless claims
Choice of riders/ add-ons making the policy customizable to customer’s requirement
2. Digit two-wheeler insurance policy:
The unique offerings by the insurer are captured below
- Cashless garages
- Third party damage up to 1 lakh covered
- Choice of riders/ add-ons to customize the policy as per need and requirement.
3. Acko two-wheeler insurance policy:
The unique offerings by the insurer are captured below
- Highest cover on insurance
- 24×7 assistance in case of claims
- Cashless claims at network garages across India
- Choice of riders/ add-ons to customize the policy as per need and requirement
4. ICICI Lombard two-wheeler insurance policy:
The unique offerings by the insurer are captured below
- Higher cashless garages and faster claim processing
- Third party damage up to 1 lakh covered
- Choice of add-ons to increase the coverage as per need and requirement
5. Chola MS two-wheeler insurance policy:
The unique offerings by the insurer are captured below
- Third party damage up to 1 lakh covered
- Adequate cover/ IDV
- Choice of add-ons to customize the policy; zero depreciation cover available at minimum payout.
In a nutshell:
