You might notice that car insurance premiums increase with each passing year. This is due to the increase in third-party premiums for each passing year by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). IRDAI essentially reviews the third-party claims made at the end of each period and the premiums are revised accordingly.
Although these third-party premiums keep on increasing, your effective premium can be kept in check, and in fact be reduced. Thanks to the No-Claim Bonus (NCB) facility. No-claim bonus is the facility where insurance companies offer a benefit for not making claims during a policy tenure. This benefit is passed on the policyholder, i.e. you by way of concession in car insurance renewal. The no-claim benefits range between 20% to 50% and are go on increasing with each consecutive claim-free policy years. Here are some handy tips about NCB that you should know. Let’s have a look –
NCB benefits belong to the policyholder and not the vehicle
NCB benefits are associated to the policyholder and not the vehicle. With this feature, it allows you to carry forward the NCB benefits irrespective to the car you use. Say, for instance, you buy a car insurance cover and do not make any claims for five consecutive years. At the fifth policy renewal you replace this car of yours with a new car. These NCB benefits can be transferred to your new car with 50% concession in own damage premium. However, the only limitation for transfer of NCB is among different policyholders except in the case of legal heirs where the original policyholder dies.
NCB benefits are limited to own-damage plans only
You must make a note that the no-claim benefits are applicable only to own-damage premiums i.e. no third-party plans can take advantage of NCB benefits. So, in order to have NCB concessions, you must have a comprehensive plan or an own-damage cover alongside third-party policy. So anytime you compute your no-claim benefits using a car insurance calculator, keep in mind that the percentage of no-claim bonus is based on the own-damage premium.
Raising claims for smaller amounts will in-turn lead to bigger losses
Making a claim is tempting even when your car suffers minor damages. But in fact, small claims need to be even more carefully analysed. At every claim, you need to mandatorily pay for the compulsory deductible in your policy. Over and above that, any voluntary deductible that you might have opted also forms part of out-of-pocket expenses. Other than that, you also will be required to pay a higher premium in the future in case you raise a claim. So, considering these factors, make a cost-benefit analysis before you make a claim.
Transfer of NCB
Transferring your NCB benefits is a fairly simple process. It required you to submit Form 29 and 30 along with the sale agreement to the current insurance company. On submission of these documents, the insurer issues a NCB certificate wherein the accumulated NCB benefits are mentioned. With this certificate, the same benefits shall become applicable with the new insurance company. For online process, you generally do not require this certificate, and is based on the declaration at the time of purchase.
These are some lesser-known things about NCB that make you a smart buyer. With these tips available to you, make the right choice of skipping a claim for minor expenses as well as take the most advantage when transferring your policy too. Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms and conditions, please read sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.
