Benefits and Drawbacks of Buying Car Insurance Online
India has terrible traffic conditions, which frequently result in auto accidents. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, there were 4,96,000 traffic accidents in 2015. These statistics demonstrate how susceptible we are to mishaps. Accidental claims can be costly to handle on one’s own; the simplest method to prevent paying for automobile and personal damage is to get a car insurance policy. Can submit a claim for medical expenses under insurance coverage. Nowadays, consumers can readily compare insurance policies online; thus, the industry has adopted a customer-centric, digitalization-driven paradigm shift to grow its market share. Online auto insurance purchases have also become more convenient and accessible. Customers with particular demands, however, could have them, and their queries are commonly addressed online.
It would help if you appropriately weighed the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing insurance online before making your decision.
Benefits
No Docs:Nobody likes filling out a ton of paperwork and providing many documents to get insurance offline. Switching to purchasing car insurance products online removes the need to navigate this minefield by just requiring minimum information from prospective customers to receive a quote, according to Animesh Das, Director Of Motor Underwriting at ACKO Insurance.
No more time-wasting:Online insurance purchases also free customers from time restrictions. The entire purchase process takes a few minutes, and you may complete the transaction whenever you choose. On the other hand, the offline method requires time because the customer has to visit an insurance company branch office or meet with an agent in person to buy a policy.
Available to Compare:It used to require a significant amount of effort on the side of the prospective insured to get auto insurance. The first foremost step is to get in touch with the insurance provider or a representative in person or over the phone. Then, purchase the offered coverage or go through step one again with a new insurance company or agent. In this situation, comparing the features, vehicle insurance rates, and insurer services of various plans takes a lot of time. On the other hand, buying vehicle insurance online eliminates the necessity for comparison. Get the most acceptable vehicle insurance coverage instead by going to the website of any insurance broker and using the free comparison tool.
Ability to select the best deal: Different vehicle insurance plans with equivalent features and services are offered for differing car insurance quotes in today’s competitive industry. Before choosing which insurance policy to buy, you may examine the costs of each when you compare car insurance online. The most important point to remember in this situation is that similar types of policies should be intentionally compared.
It is useless, for instance, to compare a Comprehensive policy to Third-party liability coverage. Instead, contrast similar plans offered by several companies to get the lowest price.
Good for your wallet: Because digital insurers do not have to have physical sales offices and have fewer personnel needs than offline insurers, operational costs for online insurance are lower than those for offline insurance. According to Das, lower operating costs equate to less expensive insurance without affecting coverage.
Drawbacks
Questions left unanswered: Giving inaccurate information might lead to a claim being rejected when buying insurance online, according to Vishwajeet Parashar, the chief marketing officer at Bajaj Capital. Consider the scenario when you don’t fully comprehend how the policy operates. In that scenario, many questions will go unanswered when buying insurance online, including the process for getting the claim settled, the add-ons accessible with the process, and whether you ought to buy them or not.
Missing out discounts: Most policyholders don’t understand the benefits of choosing an optional excess in an insurance plan. Most of the time, insurers provide policyholders the option to split part of the risks associated with the insurance. A predetermined claim sum known as the “excess” is paid by the insured when settling claims. An optional excess can be acquired in addition to the mandatory quantity to get a premium discount. However, you should look for the counsel of an insurance expert before purchasing a policy. One crucial element that might help you save money on your vehicle insurance may go unnoticed when you buy coverage online. “Another disadvantage is that some features, like ‘voluntary excess,’ could be disregarded by customers who are unaware of them. On the other hand, according to Parashar, “selecting such characteristics may have decreased the premium.”
Bogus and misguiding websites:You should exercise caution when buying insurance online, notwithstanding the regulator’s warnings to policyholders about several dubious websites that provide unlicensed insurance plans. It could have helped if you were wary of these online scams, as they might take your personal and financial data without your consent.
Lack of complete absence in claim process assistance: Most insurers don’t provide a platform for processing claims online. Therefore, if you purchase an insurance policy online after a loss, it could be challenging to file a lawsuit because you will not be able to get assistance straight away. It would help if you first spoke with customer service representatives, etc. However, if you had purchased the coverage through an insurance representative, they would have quickly helped you with the claim. When you are in need, it may be comforting to hear a familiar voice that can also assist you in resolving your issues.
