The Oriental Insurance Company was founded in the year 1947 as a subsidiary of The Oriental Government Security Life Assurance Company Limited. The objective behind forming The Oriental Insurance Company was selling general insurance business. Later on, when the Life Insurance Corporation of India was formed in 1956, Oriental became its subsidiary till the year 1973. In 2003, the ownership was transferred to the Government of India and today the Government owns Oriental Insurance.
Today, Oriental Insurance is one of the four public sector general insurance companies with more than 1800 offices in India. The company also has an international presence in Dubai, Nepal and Kuwait and enjoys the trust of its customers.
Oriental Insurance offers two types of insurance plans for insuring your car. These plans are as follows –
Let’s understand these policies in details –
A liability-only policy is mandatory as per the rules stated in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. This policy covers the legal financial liability which the car-owner faces if the car causes third party injuries or property damage. Third-party is considered to be an individual apart from the insurance company and the owner of the car. Liability only policies cover the following instances –
Coverage for death is unlimited but for damage to property, coverage is limited to INR 7.5 lakhs.
Premiums of liability only policies are fixed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). They depend on the engine capacity of the car and the coverage duration. As per the latest changes made by the IRDAI, for new cars bought on or after 31st September 2018, the liability only policy would have to be taken for three consecutive years. Older cars, however, can opt for a one-year coverage only. The premiums for both these durations have also been specified by the IRDAI.
They are as follows –
The cubic capacity of the car |
The third-party premium for one year term |
The third-party premium for a three-year term |
Up to 1000 cc |
INR 2072 |
INR 5286 |
1001 cc to 1499 cc |
INR 3221 |
INR 9534 |
More than 1500 cc |
INR 7890 |
INR 24,305 |
A comprehensive car insurance policy is a policy which offers a wider scope of coverage. The policy covers the mandatory third-party liability and also the damages that the car itself suffers. Coverage under the plan is, therefore, allowed for the following contingencies –
There is also a personal accident cover which covers the owner/driver of the car against accidental deaths and disablements. The cover is available for INR 15 lakhs and it pays a lump sum benefit if the owner/driver of the car suffers an accidental death, permanent total disability or permanent partial disability.
Moreover, if you buy the policy from the branch of the company located in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, South Indian states, Mumbai or Kolkata, free emergency services would be allowed if your car breaks down. The company would give you free towing facilities to take your car to the nearest garage.
Oriental car insurance plans, whether liability-only policies or comprehensive policies, do not cover the following types of claims –
Comprehensive Oriental car insurance policies allow you optional coverage benefits which are called add-ons. These add-ons are available at an additional premium and you can choose as many add-ons as you want with the basic policy. The add-ons available under Oriental car insurance plans are as follows –
Depreciation of the car and its parts are not covered by the policy. When the car is damaged and is sent for repairs, the parts of the car can undergo replacement or repair. In that case, when paying a claim, the insurance company deducts the applicable depreciation from the parts which have been repaired or replaced. The rate of depreciation which is deducted depends on the parts of the car and is as follows –
Types of parts of the car |
Rate of depreciation applicable |
Rubber, plastic or nylon parts |
50% |
Fibreglass parts |
30% |
Tyres and tubes |
50% |
Metal parts |
As per the depreciation of the Insured Declared Value of the car |
Since the depreciation is deducted, the claim amount becomes low and you have to pay the deducted cost out of your pockets. This is where the Nil Depreciation add-on comes to the rescue. This add-on nullifies the applicable rate of depreciation and the insurance company pays you the full cost of the parts of the car which have been repaired or replaced.
If you lose your personal belongings while they were placed in the car, the add-on would give you compensation for the loss suffered. Items such as cash, laptops, credit cards and mobiles would not be covered. The coverage limit can be INR 5000 or INR 10,000 and the premiums for them would be INR 400 and INR 650 respectively.
If your car is damaged and the extent of damage is such that the repairs would cost more than 20% of the Insured Declared Value, this add-on cover would become applicable. As per the cover, you would get a daily allowance for up to 15 days @ INR 400 or INR 650. This allowance would allow you to arrange for an alternate car for the time that it takes for your vehicle to be repaired.
To buy an Oriental car insurance policy, you should own a car in your name. Other eligibility conditions are as follows –
The policy is available for a period of one year. However, if you have bought the car on or after 1st September 2018, the coverage tenure would be three years for third party cover and one year for comprehensive cover.
The sum insured under the comprehensive car insurance policy would depend on the IDV of the car. IDV stands for Insured Declared Value. It is calculated as the market value of the car (without registration costs and cost of insurance) less depreciation based on the car’s age. The applicable rate of depreciation used to calculate the IDV is as follows –
Age of the car |
Depreciation rate |
Up to 6 months |
5% |
More than 6 months but less than 1 year |
15% |
More than a year but less than 2 years |
20% |
More than 2 years but less than 3 years |
30% |
More than 3 years but less than 4 years |
40% |
More than 4 years but less than 5 years |
50% |
If your car is more than 5 years old, the IDV would be decided mutually by you and the insurance company.
A premium of Oriental car insurance policy depends on a lot of factors. These factors are as follows –
Here are some terms and conditions which you should remember about Oriental car insurance policies –
You can buy Oriental car insurance policies through the following ways –
Oriental Insurance Company has a widespread network of branches all over India. To buy a car insurance policy from the company, you can visit any nearest branch of the company and buy the policy from there.
You can get in touch with an insurance agent of Oriental Insurance and buy a car insurance policy from him/her.
Another alternative is to buy the policy online. Turtlemint is an online platform which allows you to easily buy Oriental car insurance online. To buy from Turtlemint’s website you can take the following steps –
Renewal of Oriental car insurance plans can be done by paying the renewal premium. This premium can be paid directly at the office of the company or online on the company’s website. You can also renew the policy through Turtlemint if you are an existing customer. Just pay the renewal premium and the policy would be renewed instantly.
You would have to submit the following documents to buy or renew Oriental car insurance plans –
There are three types of claims which can incur in an Oriental car insurance policy. These claims and their process are listed below –
If any third party is physically hurt or killed by the car or if you damage someone’s property, a third-party claim would occur. In the case of this claim, the claim process is as follows –
If the car is stolen, it would be a case of theft. The claim process would be as follows –
If the car suffers any damage which is covered under the policy, it is called an own damage claim. The claim process for this claim is as follows –
There is another way to get the claims of your car insurance plans settled. This is through Turtlemint. If you are an existing Turtlemint customer, you can simply call the company at 1800 266 0101 and inform it of the claim. You can also send an email at claims@turtlemint.com to intimate the company of your car insurance claim. Once informed, Turtlemint’s claim department would work on your claims on your behalf. They would follow all the necessary steps and ensure that you get the settlement of your claims at the earliest.
The following documents would have to be submitted for car insurance claims –
Oriental car insurance policies allow premium discounts for the following –
The no-claim bonus which is available under Oriental car insurance policies depends on the number of successive claim-free years. The rates are as follows –
Number of successive claim-free years |
No claim bonus available |
1 |
20% |
2 |
25% |
3 |
35% |
4 |
45% |
5 |
50% |
If the car is severely damaged such that the repair costs would exceed 75% or 80% of the Insured Declared Value of the car insurance policy, the damage is considered to be a Total Constructive Loss. In this case, the IDV is paid after deducting the scrap value of the car.
If the car insurance policy is not renewed within the due date, the policy would lapse. As the policy lapses, coverage stops. Moreover, when you renew a lapsed policy, renewal would be allowed only after an inspection is done by the insurance company. If the policy is not renewed for more than 90 days, the accumulated no claim bonus would also be lost.