Types of Add-on Covers in Commercial Vehicle Insurance

When a business customer buys commercial vehicle insurance online, he can also buy various add-on covers. Here is a low-down:

NCB Protector

The NCB protector is an add-on cover that protects an insured’s accrued no claim bonus. Imagine a situation when an insured has maintained claim-free years during the policy tenure. He will have accrued no claim benefits. Yet, his commercial vehicle gets involved in some accident even though he does not fault. Should he lose all the benefits that were accrued to him?

An NCB protector makes sure that if you are not at fault and it was another party who caused the accident, maybe someone else was driving your car, your discount should remain in place. For this, you have to pay an additional amount over and above your insurance coverage to protect your no claim bonus.

How Does the NCB Protector Work?

• The NCB Protector add-on cover’s the insured’s accrued no claim bonus

• The NCB Protector add-on will ensure that the insured’s no claim bonus stays intact for the first two claims made during the year. This will be in addition to the claim amount reimbursed

• In case, the insured is at fault he has to forgo his no claim bonus

The NCB protector is recommended for those who live in accident-prone areas. It should also be bought by people who tend to lend their cars to others to drive.

Roadside Assistance Cover

This is an add-on cover for situations where the insured is stranded in the middle of a highway with no help in hand. If a customer buys road assistance cover, all he needs to do is make a phone call. The cover will ensure that he gets emergency services like medical help, towing, battery jumpstart, arrangement for fuel, minor repairing, alternative transport/ accommodation, etc.

Invoice Protection

The invoice protection cover will ensure that the insured’s claim is settled in a way that he recovers the entire amount of loss (the on-road price of the car at the time of purchase) that he incurred from losing his vehicle.

The invoice protection add-on bridges the gap between the invoice value of the vehicle and its Insured Declared Value. The IDV represents the cost of the car after depreciation has been deducted from the original sale price of the vehicle.

However, it is important to note that invoice protection cover is not available for cars older than three years. There may also be variation in the clause from company to company.

Zero Depreciation

The zero depreciation add-on helps the insured recover the costs for the repair/replacement of the depreciated parts of the vehicle. This is a very popular add-on cover especially for vehicles that ply within the city and face a lot of bumper to bumper traffic. The cover will ensure that the insured recovers the full costs of the parts without factoring in depreciation.

With Zero depreciation, the insured recovers the costs for the repair/replacement of the depreciated parts of the vehicle.

This add-on is best to buy if the vehicle is very expensive and the replacement of its parts comes at a very high price. This cover is also only available to vehicles that are not more than five years old.

Consumables Cover

There are certain parts of a vehicle that are known as consumables. These parts are:

• Bolts.

• Screws.

• Washers.

• Brake fluid.

Regular bus insurance or taxi insurance or any other commercial vehicle insurance cover might not cover consumable parts. This type of cover is only used by high-end luxury vehicles. Moreover, the cover is not available for older vehicles.

Accessories Cover

This is a common add-on for vehicles. The costly vehicle accessories must be covered against theft and damage due to untoward events.

Accessories are classified as electrical and non-electrical. Here are a list of few vehicle accessories:

• Curtains.

• GPS Station Announcer.

• Door grab handle for cargo trailer.

• Laminated windscreen.

• Bus Flooring.

• Waterproof front view camera for the bus.

It is interesting to note that, IFFCO Tokio’s roadside assistance program is part of its comprehensive policy and one of its key benefits. It is not an add-on cover.

The features of IFFCO Tokio roadside assistance cover includes:

• The insured gets ‘on-site’ minor repairs.

• The insured gets critical services like fuel delivery, emptying of the fuel tank and jumpstarting the battery.

• Assistance to transport the insured vehicle and relay urgent messages.

• Flat tire support and assistance if the key is jammed.

• A dedicated team of customer care executives to answer all car insurance-related queries.

Coming to other add-on coverage provided by top commercial vehicle insurance company, IFFCO Tokio, it offers three kinds of add-on covers:

• Depreciation Cover.

• Third-Party Cover.

• Personal Accident Cover.

Let us briefly look at their features:

Depreciation cover: If an insured buy this cover, depreciation will be waived off on plastic or metal parts in case of partial loss or claim.

Third-Party Cover:

• The policy provides protection against Third Party Liability in case of injury or death of a third party.

• The policy covers the expenses towards any medical and legal accountability the insured might have.

• The policy covers the cost of damage towards third party property.

• The policy allows the insured a cover-up to INR 7.5 lacs.

• The policy is applicable while mounting and dismounting the car.

Personal Accident Cover

• The Personal accident cover offers coverage up to Rs 2 lacs for individual owner-cum driver.

• The policy is applicable for any damage or loss that may occur while mounting and dismounting the car.