Two Wheeler Insurance- Types of Cover you need, Exclusions, Benefits

Posted on: Jun 16, 2020 | | Written by:

Two Wheeler Insurance- Types of Cover you need, Exclusions, Benefits

Published on June 16, 2020. EST TIME:5 MIN

Two wheeler insurance offers insurance coverage to bikes and two wheelers. It provides coverage against loss to them from road accidents, theft and natural disasters. Also, it is mandatory as per the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 that all the drivers plying on the road needs to have valid motor insurance at all times for their vehicle. You have bought your beloved two wheeler with your hard money; it would be a wise decision to get it insured which would also help you to stay on the right side of the law.

Types of Two Wheeler Insurance Policy

1. Third party Liability: This insurance policy is mandatory under law. As per the Supreme Court order on September 1, 2018, it is mandatory that all the two wheelers bought after the date need to have a compulsory 5 year third party policy. The policy offers coverage against the liability from claim of the third party in case of any damage to third party property or any physical injury, also personal accident cover is provided to the policyholder, but coverage is not provided for any kind of theft or damage to the own vehicle.

Exclusions include -

Any damage arising out of contractual library,
Accidental damage to the third party resulting from consequential loss
Loss from war, riots etc.
Loss from war like situations
Any liability that might arise from radioactive emissions or from nuclear weapons
Accidental loss or any damage which is borne out of geographical area.

Comprehensive Two Wheeler Insurance: The insurance policy offers complete protection any own damages that affects your bike, also if your bike gets stolen, it will not burn a hole in your pocket as theft is also covered in this insurance plan.

Comprehensive Insurance policy includes two components which are

Standalone Own Damage
Third Party Liability
Personal Accident Cover (for the owner-driver and optional pillion rider cover)

It offers insurance coverage for-

Damages caused from Fire, explosion or lightning
Damage from Earthquake, floods, tornado, storms, inundations
Burglary, thefts, riots, strikes, malicious acts
Accident by external means, terror activity
Damages caused during transit by road, rail, inland waterway, lifts, elevators etc.

Exclusions include-

Any damages incurred if the policy is in lapsed state
Mechanical wear and tear from aging of the vehicle
Mechanical or electrical breakdown
If you are driving without a valid license
If you are driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any of the intoxicants
If you are using two wheeler for any kind of commercial activities

Example:

Anuj and Aryan bought two wheeler at same time. Both had bought the same Honda CV bike. While Aryan bought a third party liability cover for the bike, Anuj bought comprehensive two wheeler insurance for it. The premium Aryan paid was Rs 780 while the premium Anuj paid was Rs 1200. In month of June both of them met with an accident. The repair cost is estimated be around Rs 8,000. Since Aryan had bought third party liability the insurer paid only for third party damages and not for any damage of his own vehicle whereas since Anuj had bought comprehensive cover, the insurer had paid both third party damages and also for any damage to his own vehicle. Therefore even though Anuj paid higher insurance premium but in the end his insurance plan (comprehensive insurance) worked out to be more effective than the third party insurance plan.

Difference between Third Party and Comprehensive Policy

Coverage	Third Party	Comprehensive Insurance
Third party liability	Covered	Covered
Third party property damage	Covered	Covered
Personal Accident Cover	Covered	Covered
Own Damage	Not Covered	Covered
Vehicle Theft	Not Covered	Covered

Personal Accident Coverage Table -

Accidental Event	% of Sum Insured
Death	100%
Dismemberment of both limbs and losing sight in both the eyes. Or losing one limb and one eye	100%
Dismemberment of one limb or loss of sight of one eye	50%
Permanent and Total Disability	100%

Standalone Own Damage Cover

A Standalone Own Damage insurance plan offers coverage for any damage to the vehicle from any damage from natural calamities or from manmade events. From September1, 2019, two wheeler insurance companies have been allowed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to offer own damage insurance plan as a separate plan for both the old and newly bought two -wheeler.

Apart from the above discussed types of two-wheeler insurance plans, we also have riders that could help in expanding the insurance coverage for your bike. This could result in premium getting increased by a nominal amount but this would increase the risk coverage for the bike.

Conclusion

We take all the care that our bike looks good and can travel on it to different places, for it we are ready to spend large amount of money but when it comes to either buying bike insurance or for renewal of insurance, we are not very enthused and delay on taking the step. Bike Insurance covers your bike against risks which can cause damage to the bike and impact your finances. Also by insuring your bike, you are following the law which makes it mandatory for all riders to have motor insurance.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales. This blog has been written by

S. Gopala Krishnan | Motor Insurance Expert | 40+ years of experience in insurance industry

A veteran in insurance industry. S. Gopala Krishnan is a name to reckon with in the field of reinsurance, he has headed the Reinsurance department and has rich experience in other fields of motor insurance. He loves to share his opinion on latest topics in the insurance industry and how he can help people in safeguarding their assets using insurance products.

S. Gopala Krishnan recommends "HDFC ERGO for your vehicle insurance needs, it has always put customer’s interest at the forefront, with round the clock assistance to deal with emergency breakdown issues and hassle free claims process. You can be assured of complete and reliable guidance through the whole process".

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