National Insurance Car Policy : Benefits, Coverages & Renewal

National Insurance is a public sector general insurance company which is wholly owned by the Government of India. The company was first established in the year 1906 in Kolkata was nationalised in the year 1972. Due to its history, the company is trusted and very popular among individuals looking to buy general insurance policies. The company not only offers general insurance solutions in India but in Nepal as well.

National Insurance Private Car Insurance Plans:

National Insurance offers a range of car insurance plans to its customers. These plans include the following –

1. Annual Package Policy which is a one-year comprehensive car insurance plan
2. Annual liability only policy which is a one-year third-party liability car insurance plan
3. 3 years package policy which is a comprehensive policy with a coverage term of 3 years for cars which have been bought on or after 1st September 2018
4. 3 years liability only policy which is a third party liability policy with a coverage term of 3 years for cars which have been bought on or after 1st September 2018
5. A bundled policy which offers 3 years continuous third party liability coverage and one-year comprehensive coverage for cars which have been bought on or after 1st September 2018

You can choose to buy any policy offered by the company if it suits your requirements.

Features and benefits of National Insurance Car Insurance Plans:

Car insurance policies offered by National Insurance come with a lot of features and benefits which include the following –

1. There is a range of policies to choose from. The company, therefore, offers a readymade car insurance plan to all types of customers.
2. The company has a tie-up with a large number of garages across India to facilitate easy cashless claim settlement.
3. The company enjoys the trust of individuals and its car insurance plans are quite popular.
4. The car insurance plans are affordably priced so that individuals can easily pay the premiums.

Types of car insurance policies offered by National Insurance:

National Insurance offers two main types of car insurance policies. These are as follows –

1. Third-party liability plans – these plans are mandatorily required on all cars as per the directives of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. A third-party liability policy covers third-party liability which incurs when you physically hurt an individual or damage someone else’s property. Third-party plans might also have a personal accident cover which covers the owner/driver of the car against accidental deaths and disablements.
2. Comprehensive plans – comprehensive plans are called package car insurance policies. Under these policies, coverage is allowed for third party liability as well as the damages suffered by the car. If the car is damaged and needs repairs or if it is stolen, the comprehensive policy would cover the damages and pay a claim. Personal accident cover is also available under comprehensive policies.

Coverage under National Insurance car insurance policies:

The coverage offered by National Insurance’s car insurance plans depends on the type of policy you choose. Coverage under third party plans includes the following –

1. Liability suffered if an individual is physically injured or wounded by the car
2. Liability suffered if an individual is killed by the car
3. Liability suffered if the car damages any individual’s property
4. Accidental deaths or disablements wherein a lump sum benefit is paid. Sum insured for persona accident cover is INR 15 lakhs

Comprehensive policies, on the other hand, cover the following instances –

1. Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, landslides, subsidence, rockslides, typhoon, storm, lightning, etc.
2. Man-made disasters like riots, malicious acts, terrorist acts, strikes, theft, fire, explosion or implosion, etc.
3. Damages suffered when the car is being transported from one place to another through water, air, road or rail

What is not covered under National Insurance car insurance?

Though car insurance policies offered by National Insurance Company offers a range of coverage benefits, there are some instances which are not covered under the plan. These instances are called exclusions and the common policy exclusions include the following –

1. Depreciation and normal wear and tear of the car
2. Damages suffered when driving under the influence, without a valid license and outside the borders of India
3. If the car is used in violation of its limitations of use, the subsequent losses would not be covered
4. Consequential losses are not covered
5. The loss suffered due to war or war-like situations
6. Claims because of contractual liability

Add-ons available under National Insurance car insurance policy:

The following add-ons are available under National Insurance’s car insurance policy –

1. Nil depreciation which removes the effect of depreciation applicable on the car’s parts in case of a claim
2. Nil depreciation plus which adds an extra advantage to the nil depreciation add-on
3. Invoice protect which promises to pay the invoice value of the car in case of total loss or theft
4. Engine protect which covers the damages suffered by the engine of the car due to water-logging and consequent water seepage
5. NCB protect which protects the accumulated no claim bonus even when a claim is made under the policy

How is the premium for the policy calculated?

The premium for National Insurance’s car insurance plans are calculated considering the following factors –

Calculation of IDV:

The Insured Declared Value (IDV) of your comprehensive car insurance policy is the market value of the car minus the depreciation based on the car’s age. In the case of determining the market value, the cost of registration of the car and buying insurance would be excluded. Thus, the formula for calculating IDV is as follows –

IDV = market value of the car – (registration costs + insurance costs) – depreciation based on age

The rate of depreciation depending on the car’s age is as follows –

When the car is older than 5 years, the IDV is calculated depending on a mutual understanding between the insurance company and the car owner.

Premium discounts available:

As stated earlier, the discounts available in National Insurance’s car insurance policy include the following –

1. If you are a member of a recognized automobiles association you can claim a premium discount
2. If you install safety devices in your car the chances of claims reduce. This earns you a premium discount. Safety devices can be anti-theft devices, airbags, ABS system, etc.
3. If the car is modified to be used by a disabled individual, you earn a premium discount for such modification
4. If you choose a voluntary deductible in the policy, you get a premium discount as they claim the burden of the insurance company is reduced
5. Lastly, there is a no claim bonus discount if you have not made claims in the last policy years and you are renewing your policy. The discount depends on the number of claim-free years. 

The rates are as follows –

How to buy National Insurance car insurance policy?

To buy National Insurance’s car insurance plans, you can approach the company or its agent and buy the plan. Alternatively, there is the online medium of buying the plan which is much easier and convenient. You can buy the car insurance policy online from National Insurance’s website using the following steps –

1. Visit the company website at https://nationalinsurance.nic.co.in/en/
2. Choose ‘Products’ and under that choose ‘Motor’
3. On the motor insurance page, choose ‘Buy Policy Online’
4. You would be taken to a new page wherein you have to select whether you are an existing customer or a new one.
5. If you are a new customer, register yourself with the company online and then you can buy the policy
6. If you are an existing customer you would have to provide your Customer ID and an OTP would be sent to your registered mobile number. You have to enter the OTP to proceed with buying the policy
7. Provide the details of your car, choose the type of policy and check the IDV and premium payable
8. Pay the premium online and the policy would be issued.

You can also buy the policy online from Turtlemint’s website which allows you comparison of leading car insurance policies before you make a purchase. Turtlemint’s platform is an easy way to buy car insurance policies. The process is as follows –

1. Visit Turtlemint at www.turtlemint.com and choose ‘Car’
2. Enter the registration number of your car and you would be taken to a new screen
3. Provide all the relevant details of the car to get the coverage amount and the premium
4. You would then be shown the car insurance policies of different companies along with their IDV, coverage benefits and premium rates
5. You can also choose add-ons and increase the scope of coverage
6. Once you shortlist the policy that you want to buy you can buy the policy by paying the premium online
7. Once the premium is paid, the policy would be issued.

How to renew National Insurance’s car insurance policy?

If you are an existing customer of National Insurance Company and want to renew its car’s insurance policy you can do so online. The process is simple and includes the following steps –

• Visit the company’s website athttps://nationalinsurance.nic.co.in/en/ and choose ‘Motor’ under the tab ‘Products’
• A new page would open where, at the bottom, you have the option to renew the policy online. Click on ‘Renew Existing Policy’ and a new tab would open
• You would have to enter your policy number and a Captcha code shown on the screen and select ‘Renew policy’
• You would be able to check your existing policy details and the terms of renewal
• Pay the renewal premium online and your policy would be renewed

Turtlemint also offers you an easy solution for renewing your National Insurance car insurance policy. Through Turtlemint’s you can, in fact, renew your policy after assessing other available car insurance plans in the market. You can, therefore, get a policy which has the best coverage benefits and comes at a reasonable premium.

To renew your policy through Turtlemint, the following steps would have to be taken –

1. Visit www.turtlemint.com and choose ‘Car’
2. Enter the registration number of your car along with its make, model and variant, registration year and other relevant details
3. You would also have to provide the details of your existing policy and whether or not there have been claims in the last year
4. You can then provide your contact details for personalised assistance in renewing your car insurance policy
5. Thereafter Turtlemint would give you the quotes of different car insurance policies offered by leading insurance companies.
6. Choose the best policy as per your coverage requirements and premium affordability
7. Pay the premium online and the policy would be renewed instantly.

Claims under National Insurance car insurance plans:

There are specific steps to raise a claim under National Insurance’s car insurance plans. These steps depend on the type of claim that you face. Let’s understand them –

1. If there is a third party claim

   If you have harmed a third party or damaged someone’s property, the claim process would be as follows: 

   1. Inform the insurance company immediately after a claim
   2. File an FIR with the local police authority
   3. The claim would be handled by the motor accidents tribunal
   4. The tribunal would rule the liability that you have incurred for the damages caused
   5. The liability would then be paid by the insurance company and the claim would be settled

2. If your own car is damaged

   If your car itself suffers damages, it is called own damage claim. In that case, the steps are as follows –

   1. Inform the insurance company immediately. When you do so the company would mention the nearest tied-up garages where you should take your car. If the car is taken to a non-preferred garage, the claim is settled on reimbursement. You are required to bear the charges and the charges are then reimbursed by the insurer.
   2. Once the car is in a preferred garage, the insurer’s surveyor would visit and assess the damages and prepare a report
   3. The insurance company approves the claim based on the surveyor’s report
   4. The repairs are then done on the car
   5. Once the repairs are complete, the insurance company settles the garage bill. You have to pay any excess cost to take delivery of the car.

3. If the car is stolen

   In case you lose your car to theft, the following steps would have to be taken –

   1. Inform the insurance company immediately
   2. Inform the police and file an FIR
   3. The police would try to trace your car and if they are unsuccessful, they would issue a non-traceable certificate
   4. Present this certificate and the insurance company would settle your claim.

Another alternative for getting your car insurance claim settlements is through Turtlemint. Turtlemint offers you easy assistance in getting your claim settled at the earliest possible time. All you have to do is inform Turtlemint at their toll-free number 1800 266 0101 or at their email id claims@turtlemint.com. Once Turtlemint’s claim team is notified of the claim they would take the necessary steps to get your claim settled and you would be spared the hassles.

Documents required for car insurance claims

When you raise a claim for your car insurance policy, various documents are required. These include the following –

1. Claim form
2. Copy of RC book of the car
3. Copy of PUC certificate
4. Copy of your driving license
5. Your KYC documents
6. Police FIR for third party and theft claims

Once the documents are submitted, the company would process and settle your car insurance claims.