What Car Insurance Doesn’t Cover: Surprising Exclusions You Need to Know

If you use an online car insurance calculator, you may find that the premium cost of a comprehensive plan, especially with add-ons, is slightly higher than a standalone third-party plan. This is common because the latter tends to have more exclusions. What are these exclusions? Let’s find out.

Third-Party Liability Policy Exclusions

Buying third-party car insurance is one of the necessities when you own a car. According to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, if you are found driving without at least a valid third-party liability insurance policy for your car, you may be required to pay a fine. However, you may find many people advising against being satisfied with only third-party car insurance. They may recommend that you get comprehensive car insurance for your vehicle. Why is this so? One of the reasons that you may want to consider getting comprehensive insurance is that it offers more coverage scope than a third-party policy. To understand this better, let’s take a look at third-party insurance exclusions.

• Man-made disasters

A third-party plan will not offer coverage for any damage caused to your vehicle during events such as riots, terrorism, fire, etc. If your vehicle sustains any damage during such events, you will have to bear the cost of repair or replacement.

• Natural calamities

Earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods are some of the commonly quoted natural disasters. If your vehicle sustains damage during a natural disaster event, and it has only third-party liability coverage and no other insurance cover, you may have to pay for the repairs out of your pocket.

• Theft

If your vehicle, as a whole or in parts, was subject to theft, you may not be able to claim any pay-outs for the same from your third-party liability cover. However, a comprehensive policy offers damage cover.

• Damage to your car in an accident

Damage caused to another vehicle (where you are involved) is what is covered in a third-party policy. However, the repair cost of damage to your vehicle will have to be covered by you.

• Accidental disability or death (Self)

Having a personal accident cover of some form is a requirement if you own a vehicle. Without it, if you were to face disability consequential of a car accident, you may end up having to shoulder the healthcare costs yourself. A third-party cover cannot be claimed for any damages to self, sustained during an accident. From these exclusions, one may be able to derive what third-party liability coverage has to offer. It is a policy that helps you deal with the cost of damage sustained by the other party involved in an accident. It is one of the mandatory things on your checklist when you own a car, but it may not be enough. Hence, you may want to consider comprehensive car insurance, online or offline. Comprehensive plans will offer coverage for damage sustained to self.

Comprehensive Car Insurance Exclusions

Although a comprehensive car insurance plan certainly has a lot more to offer than regular third-party liability coverage, it still comes with a few exclusions. Here is a look at some of the exclusions of comprehensive motor insurance that buyers need to be aware of.

• Damage to tyres

Unless you have added a tyre protect cover as an add-on in your comprehensive insurance plan, it will not offer coverage for damage to the tubes or tyres of your car. Any damage to your tyres will have to be settled by you.

• Cost of consumables

When a vehicle goes for repair after a mishap, some owners tend to miss out on the fact that the cost of consumables is also factored into the final cost. Consumables refer to parts such as nuts & bolts, engine oil, brake fluid, etc. If you want your comprehensive motor insurance to cover this cost, you can add consumables cover to the same.

Common Car Insurance Exclusions

Here is a look at some of the common exclusions you could expect when you buy car insurance online or offline in India. - Damages sustained outside the geographical limits of the policy (outside India) - Driving under influence (drunk driving or substance abuse) - Driving with a lapsed policy - Driving without a valid driver’s licence - xc  Damage due to regular wear and tear - Damage sustained due to a third-party action, or that of the owner (consequential loss) - Electrical or mechanical breakdown of the car These are a few of the exclusions of car insurance policies that all policyholders ought to be aware of. Note that the details may differ across insurance providers, and it is ideal to go through your policy documents to better understand these details. Before you buy a policy, you may use an online car insurance calculator is used to get an idea of the premium costs. 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.