Vehicle insurance: Your policy just a few clicks away

Amitabh Jain

An increase in smartphone usage, aided by the declining Internet subscription charges, has led to a boom in the e-commerce industry. From movie tickets to groceries, and medicines to gadgets, consumers are using the online platform to buy almost everything. It should come as no surprise that they will buy insurance policies online too.

The insurance industry has come a long way from door-to-door selling to insurance in a few clicks. Securing your motor vehicle is a matter of a few seconds now. All you need is to fill a simple form, calculate the premium and make the payment online, and voila! You get an instant coverage without any paperwork.

The first thought that crosses our mind, before we make any online purchase, is cost. And online insurance is always cheaper than the offline counterparts. The simple reason – you are making a purchase directly from the insurer’s online portal which eliminates the administration and intermediate charges passed on to you.

One of the most common complaints that many policy buyers have is that of mis-selling. There may be policies that don’t suit your vehicle or driving habits, but suit the agent. Online insurance eliminates this risk and empowers you to take an informed decision.

Online insurance allows you to compare premium, claim settlement ratio, tenure and additional features. When it comes to motor insurance, the “Insured Declared Value” (IDV) of your vehicle is something you must always look out for. With online insurance, you can easily compare the IDV of your motor vehicle and opt for a plan that gives you the best value for your vehicle.

Indian roads have garnered criticism for an increasing number of accidents time and again. To curb the increasing incidences of rash driving, an amendment was introduced to the Motor Vehicle Bill recently. As per the Bill, in addition to the mandatory third-party insurance, failure to abide traffic rules will attract hefty revised fines.

Online policy renewal is another great step towards empowering the customers. Many customers drive an uninsured vehicle due to lack of awareness. But with online renewal, it’s a matter of a few seconds. All you need is to login to the online portal and choose the type of policy, whether it is an existing policy or transferred from a different insurer.

Next, you need to fill your details, either registered mobile number or policy details. Generate a renewal notice and proceed to pay. Upon successful payment, your coverage gets renewed instantly.

In order to optimise policy processing costs and increase productivity, insurance companies are extensively using information technology. Technological advancements, especially in cloud computing, mobile applications and big data space, are driving organisations to deliver services to their customers faster and anywhere on any device.

Some of the insurance companies also partner with petrol pumps to enable customers to buy or renew a motor insurance policy while refuelling their vehicle. Mobile printers are used to give customers a printed copy of their policy on the spot. Such unconventional distribution methods have received an encouraging response from customers so far due to the unmatched convenience offered.

Online insurance, however, does not have any advisory involved, although you can ask your queries through online chat support. As a customer, you are required to research a product diligently that meets your requirements before making an online purchase.

The author is Head – Health and Motor Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard. The views expressed in this article are his own