Motor Insurance: A Helping Hand Against Floods

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), India is ‘highly vulnerable’ to the calamity of floods. The NDMA also notes that on average, flooding affects 75 lakh hectares of land per year, while also claiming 1600 lives countrywide. Flooding is now also occurring in areas that weren’t previously prone to floods. Even in the past couple of years, several rural as well as urban areas have been impacted by severe floods. While flooding affects crops and livestock in rural areas, it can also wreak havoc and cause financially significant damage in urban regions. One of the things that many people face during flooding, is damage to their cars. Whether the cars are parked or being driven, they can be damaged by floods. Such damages may result directly from flooding, or accidents and other such possibilities during a flooding situation. One can always try to do their best to protect their vehicles from floods by parking at a safer spot, or not driving during heavy rains or floods. However, given the unexpected natural calamities being faced all over the country, it is possible that you may still suffer damages due to floods. What would you do in such situations? If the damage is unavoidable, the next step ought to be about dealing with it. How do you do that? One of the ways to ensure a layer of financial protection against your troubles is getting vehicle insurance beforehand.

How can insurance help you?

Anyone can face an emergency when dealing with a natural calamity. Your situation can be unprecedented and precarious then. If you don’t want to add worries about your car in such a situation, you can opt for car insurance. Now, motor insurance cannot directly save you from the troubles brought by flooding. However, if you were to face any such situation, having a comprehensive insurance policy could help. What is a comprehensive car policy? It is a type of plan that is a bundle of multiple policy covers that you may find useful. Usually, any vehicle owner is expected to have third-party liability motor insurance. This is a requirement defined by the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988. But third party insurance only offers financial protection to you to deal with any damage caused to a third party in a situation where you were involved. Hence, if you were to experience damages due to floods, a third-party liability motor insurance would not be enough for you. Therefore, you ought to buy a comprehensive car policy. This may include personal accident cover, zero depreciation cover, own damage cover, and more. The type of policies included may depend on the type of comprehensive cover chosen by you, as well as what the policy provider has to offer. Depending on the combination of policies added to your comprehensive insurance package, you may be able to get protection against flood damage. Here, once your car undergoes any damage during floods, you can make a claim with your insurance company, provided such a situation is covered by your policy. To ensure that it is, read your policy document carefully to understand its inclusions and exclusions. The company may then offer pay-outs to you, which will be directed towards repairs and restoration of the car. Car repairs can cost you a significant amount. Having insurance may help reduce such a burden on your finances. * Standard T&C Apply

Car care tips during floods

Here are a few tips to remember for ensuring the safety of your vehicle during floods.

• First and foremost, get motor insurance. To ensure maximum protection, get comprehensive insurance and stay prepared to face any unavoidable emergencies.
• Know what your policy does and does not cover. It will help you when you apply for claims.
• During heavy rains or floods, avoid driving your car through water-logged areas, or areas that are prone to flooding.
• If you live in a flood-prone region, try to keep your vehicle parked in elevated areas.
• Avoid starting your car if it is submerged in water. Allow the water to recede completely before trying to operate your car.
• If your car experiences flood damage, ensure that you intimate the insurer of the same as soon as possible.

* Standard T&C Apply Floods, and other natural disasters, can affect anyone at any time without much warning. One may not be able to completely avoid these situations. However, with motor insurance, you can ensure that you are financially protected against the same. Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms, and conditions, please read the sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.