With standalone own damage car insurance, you get coverage for own damage of your vehicle. Without this policy, the insurer will only cover expenses related to third party liabilities arising due to the insured person’s vehicle. As per the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, it is mandatory to have a third party cover for every vehicle owner, however, it is wise to have a standalone own damage insurance for your vehicle to avoid loss of expense due to any unforeseen events. Earthquake, flood, cyclone or any man-made disasters like riots, terrorism can damage your car to a great extend, thereby leading to huge repair bills. Hence, to protect your own vehicle and cover the expenses incurred in repair and cost of replacement of parts or procurement of spare parts, you need to purchase a own damage insurance policy.
While buying or renewing a car insurance policy, it is necessary to know how its premium is calculated. Here’s a step-by-step guide for calculating your car insurance premium
A standalone own damage car insurance is an optional cover which you can buy with third party insurance. The third party car insurance will provide you coverage for any damage to third party due to your insured vehicle, however, it will not provide cover for own damage. Somewhere down the line, you will need to protect your car from damages due to unforeseen events and, therefore, you need to have a standalone own damage policy.
The OD insurance for can protect your car from a variety of damages - something that third-party car insurance cannot cover - and you can also opt for add-ons to extend the coverage of the own damage car insurance policy.
Example - Mr.A wants to buy a car insurance for his vehicle. When he visits the insurer website, he has the option to choose own damage insurance policy along with third party cover. If he opts for it, he will get coverage for own damage and third party liabilities. However, if he wishes to only go with third party cover, then he will not get coverage for damage to vehicle due to flood, earthquake, fire, theft or any unwanted events.
As a buyer, it is important to know what is covered under standalone own damage car insurance policy
Own damage insurance will cover damages due to an accident or collision.
Vehicle damage due to fire or explosion are also covered under OD insurance.
Theft of your car can create lot of financial stress, but if you have standalone own damage insurance policy , you can have peace of mind as your loss will be covered.
Both natural calamities like earthquake, flood, etc., and man-made calamities like riots and vandalism are covered under own damage car insurance policy.
Wondering how your standalone own damage car insurance can help you? Listed below are the top benefits:
Accidental damage: OD insurance protects you and your car from damage occurred due to an accident
Damage due to Unforeseen Events: With standalone own damage policy your car is also covered against unforeseen events like fire, theft, natural disasters, vandalism, riots, etc.
Add-ons: You can customise own damage insurance policy with different add ons. Some add ons like no claim bonus protection and pay as you drive can help you get benefits during car insurance policy renewal.
Third party Liabilities: With standalone own damage car insurance policy you also get coverage for third party liabilities involving the insured person’s vehicle.
HDFC ERGO is a widely renowned and acclaimed insurance provider, resulting in over 1.6 Crore+ Happy Customer@ availing their services. The immense popularity of HDFC ERGO’s vehicle insurance can be attributed to several factors, some of which include:
8000+ cashless Garagesˇ which is always increasing to provide you pan-India services without the need for you having to pay any upfront amount for services availed.
Over Night Vehicle Repairs¯ are available in several cases, which assures repair and return of your vehicle the very next day.
24x7 roadside assistance °° even on holidays is extremely useful when you get stuck or meet with an accident at awkward hours of the day and need assistance.
You can customise your standalone own damage insurance plan with following add on covers
With zero depreciation add on cover along with your od insurance you can save your car’s devaluation cost, which means the entire cost of repair will be covered without you having to pay for the loss due to depreciation.
Under RTI add on cover you will get the coverage amount exactly equivalent to your vehicle’s invoice value when it was purchased. This will happen if your car is declared irreparable or stolen.
With this add on cover, you will not lose NCB benefit, even if you make claim during the policy period. This will help you get discount during policy renewal.
Engine & gearbox cover protects you from the financial losses incurred due to damage to your car engine. Damage to car engine can lead to very high repair cost, hence, it is worthy to buy this add on cover.
With this add on cover, you get coverage for commutation expense if your vehicle is out for servicing.
With pay as you drive add on cover, the premium that you pay is based on the actual usage of your car. Under this cover, you can claim benefits up to 25% of the basic own-damage premium at the end of policy tenure if you drive less than 10,000 km.
Parameters | Third Party Insurance | Standalone Own Damage Insurance | Comprehensive Insurance |
Insurance Coverage | It only covers third party liabilities. | The standalone own damage insurance provides coverage to your insured vehicle for own damage to the vehicle. | Comprehensive insurance provides coverage for both own damage to the vehicle and third party damages. |
Definition | Third party insurance covers damages to a third party vehicle or property and injuries to/death of a third-party person involving the insured person’s vehicle. | OD insurance offers protection to your insured vehicle | This policy covers third-party liabilities and own damage under a single policy premium. |
Advantages | Being a mandatory cover as per the Motor Vehicles Act, third party insurance protects you from legal traffic fines and from third-party liability costs. | Standalone own damage policy will cover cost of repair for vehicle damage due to natural disasters and manmade disasters. You can also customise this policy by purchasing different add on covers. | The comprehensive insurance covers expenses for third party and own damage. It also enables you to enhance the coverage with add-ons like no claim bonus protection, zero depreciation, etc. |
Depreciation Rate | The insurance premium is as per IRDAI norms and it is not affected by depreciation. | The depreciation rate affects the own damage insurance premiums. | Depreciation rate also play an important role at the time of claim under comprehensive insurance. |
Insurance Premium Amount | Insurance premium is lowest, however, coverage offered is also limited. | The own damage insurance for car is high at the start but decreases as the car gets older. | The premium for this insurance cover is highest as it includes third-party and own damage premiums. |
Here are some factors that affect standalone own damage car insurance premium
The IDV (Insured Declared Value) of your vehicle is its current market value. It is a crucial factor for determining the own damage insurance premium. Your standalone own damage insurance will be high if you choose a higher IDV for your car.
The age of the car also determines the premium for standalone own damage insurance premium. Older the car, lesser will be the premium. Older car losses value as it undergoes depreciation.
If you do not raise any claim for your car during the policy year, you will be eligible for a No Claim Bonus discount on your premiums on car insurance policy renewal. Therefore, not filing these claims helps you lower your standalone own damage insurance premiums, however, ensure that you renew your policy within 90 days of its expiry to avoid losing NCB benefits.
If you are owner of a high end or luxury car, the premium will be higher for such car. Any accidental damage of this car would lead to very expensive repair cost, hence the premiums are higher for high end car as compared normal mid-size or hatchback vehicle.
The cubic capacity of your car’s engine plays vital role in determining the OD insurance premiums. Cars with cubic capacity more than 1500cc will have higher own damage insurance premium in comparison to cars with an engine capacity below 1500cc.
You can customise your standalone own damage insurance with add-ons such as Zero Depreciation, Engine Gearbox protection, Roadside Assistance, etc. But since these add-ons come at an extra premium, you should choose these add-ons wisely.
The location of your car will also determine the premium of own damage insurance premium. If you reside in an area which is prone to natural calamities or road accidents, then your premium will be higher.
Petrol cars are easy to maintain. However, in the case of CNG and diesel cars, the maintenance costs are higher and, so the premium for standalone own damage car insurance will be higher for these types of vehicles.
You can simply calculate the premium for standalone own damage insurance through our car insurance premium calculator. To know the premium of your own damage insurance, you will need to know your car’s Insured Declared Value (IDV), which is the current market value of your car. You can simply calculate the IDV of your car with the following formula:
IDV = (vehicle’s showroom price - depreciation cost) + (cost of any car accessories - depreciation cost)
Once you have the IDV of your car, you can use the below formula to calculate the standalone own damage policy premium:
Own Damage premium = IDV X (Premium Rate) + Add-on covers – Discounts and benefits on the policy
IDV has an impact on the standalone own damage insurance premium amount. Therefore, lowering IDV will reduce the premium but increase the payable amount during claim settlement and vice-versa. Hence, it’s essential to choose IDV amount wisely to balance coverage and premium amount.
Voluntary Deductibles impact the own damage insurance premium amount. If you increase the voluntary deductible amount, it will decrease the premium amount. However, it will also increase out-of-pocket expenses during car insurance claim settlement.
Choose add-on covers which are relevant as per your requirement. Choosing unnecessary add on cover will increase the premium amount for standalone own damage car insurance.
Make proper use of No Claim Bonus benefit, if you haven’t raised any claim during the policy period. NCB benefit will help you get discount on policy renewal and thereby reduce premium of OD insurance for car. This discount can go up to 50% in the case of five consecutive claim-free years.
If you’ve recently bought a Third-Party Insurance plan then you should purchase a Standalone own damage car insurance to protect your own vehicle from damages and losses. It is not necessary to purchase both policies from the same insurance provider. In other words, even if you have purchased your third-party insurance from some other insurer, you can still go ahead and buy a standalone OD insurance plan from HDFC ERGO and any other insurer of your choice. Be careful to read all the inclusions, exclusions, features and other terms and conditions before choosing your plan and insurance provider. Apart from this, here are following categories of people who should buy standalone OD car insurance by HDFC ERGO.
If you are an owner of a new car, it is wise to buy standalone own damage insurance. A standalone OD insurance policy will help you save money for repair bills in case of damages to your new car
For new car drivers, it’s advisable to secure yourself with a standalone own damage car insurance to have a peace of mind.
Repairing parts of a luxurious car in case of an accident can turn out to be an expensive affair. Hence, such category of people should have an own damage car insurance plan to avoid paying hefty repair bills.
To buy own damage car insurance policy online you have to follow simple steps as follows:
1. Visit our website fill in the details, including your car registration number, mobile number and email address.
2. You will have an option to choose between comprehensive, standalone own damage and third party cover. Choose standalone own damage car insurance plan if you already have a third party car insurance policy.
2. Enter the policy details and the add-on to the cover you would like to opt for.
3. Complete the process by paying the premium amount via online payment.
A confirmation mail along with the policy will be mailed to you.
To renew existing own damage insurance policy online
1. Visit our website and select renew the policy.
2. Enter the details, include/ exclude the add on covers and complete the journey by paying the premium online.
3. The renewed policy will be mailed to your registered email id.
The claim process is designed in a way to give a simple and seamless experience to the users. Before you start with the claim filing, you need to have your RC book handy, your driving license, and the insurance proof documents. To file a claim for a standalone own damage cover, you may follow the steps given below:
1. After the accident, gather enough proof, like pictures and videos of the incident and the damages, this will help you with FIR filing to put your side’s story, and you can also attach it with the claim filing for easy settlement.
2. Once you have collected enough proof and filed the FIR, register your claim by visiting the official website of HDFC ERGO, you can also take customer support service.
3. After the claim is registered, a claim reference/registration number is generated, and HDFC Ergo’s customer support will help you with the details about the nearest network garage for the repair of your car. In case your car is not in the condition to go to the garage, they will help with towing the car to the network garage.
4. In the network garage, you will receive a receipt stating the expected expense to repair your car, and you can avail of the cashless claim there.
5. If you cannot take the car to a network garage, pay all the repair charges. These can be reimbursed later. Remember to keep all the receipts, bills, and other documents intact.
6. Attach all the documents and submit them on the claim portal against the issued claim registration number
7. The car insurance company will then verify your claim and while settling it, any charges pertaining to depreciation, repairs not related to the accident, and other compulsory deductibles will be deducted from your filed claim.
8. However, you need to sign a feedback letter mentioning your satisfaction with the repair in the network garage.
9. Please note if you lost your car due to theft, the claim settlement may take around 60 days as HDFC ERGO would need an investigator to verify and confirm the documents
Insured Declared Value (IDV) in standalone own damage car insurance policy refers to the current market value of your vehicle. It refers to the sum insured amount of the policy and the approximate value of the vehicle when buying OD insurance. If your car is stolen or suffers irreparable loss, you will get the IDV amount as a claim settlement after the deduction of the depreciation costs. Also, IDV amount affects the premium of your standalone own damage insurance policy. Higher the IDV, more will be the premium.