Car insurance renewal has never been easier!

Both buying and renewing car insurance is easy if you take the online route.

In more ways than one, your car is your best friend. It gets you from spot to spot, becomes your silent companion on long drives and comforts you when you are blue. You can sit in your car on a rainy day and have a solitary cup of tea in the hills. Or you can take your family out on a road trip and have a lot of fun. Your car is your trusty steed and an important member of your family.

Since taking car insurance is mandatory in India, you probably already have an insurance policy on your car. Taking a good car insurance plan is the hallmark of a responsible car owner. It is also easy to buy a good insurance plan for your car – you can browse online for the best plans, take recommendations from other users and friends and select the best features basis your requirement. Some people prefer to buy car insurance through a broker, but this entails filling out paperwork and entrusting payments to the broker.

Just as important as taking a good car insurance plan is the timely payment of premiums. It does not do to be lax about premium payments – the policy might lapse entirely and you cannot get any of the benefits on it. The same applies to missing the car insurance renewal date. On the face of it, there is really no excuse to miss the renewal date: every insurance provider sends a reminder about the same well in time for the payment date. There is usually a grace period for paying the premium and renewing the policy. However, if the car insurance renewal is not done even in the grace period, the policy may lapse and the policy holder will have to buy a fresh insurance plan.

Also, driving the car without renewing the insurance plan is hazardous: you are completely unprotected if the car meets with an accident or causes damage to another vehicle or is damaged due to a freak incident or natural catastrophe. Not having a viable insurance plan at such a juncture will result in the policy holder shelling out huge costs of car repair and third party liability from his own pocket.

Thus, there is no excuse to skip getting your car insurance renewal done on time. It is true what experienced and responsible car owners say about driving without insurance: it is like crossing a busy road blindfolded! The chances of your meeting with an accident and becoming embroiled with costly repair and compensation payments become exponentially higher when you take the wheel without adequate protection.

Plus, it is extremely simple to renew your existing plan online. Simply log on to the insurance provider’s website, and check the relevant field marked ‘Insurance renewal’. This button directs you to a form asking for your policy details. After this, you can pay the payment online and your policy is considered renewed after the payment is debited.

With no need for paperwork and a quick turnaround time, why put off car insurance renewal for a second longer? 

You MUST read this if you love your car

If you love your car, you will do everything you can to protect it from harm. Here’s why taking car insurance is the first step in this direction.

A car in a battered condition reveals its owner’s cavalier attitude. We often see dusty cars parked on the roads, with their tyres in urgent need of air and the side mirrors hanging off their moorings. Contrast this with a shiny, freshly-washed car that gleams in the sunlight – you glance at it and think, ‘This owner really loves his car!’

If you belong to the second category of car owners, who shine and buff up their cars and do everything to prevent them from being damaged, you must read on.

Your car is your pride, and you take great pains to keep it in top notch condition. You realise early on that keeping your car in good condition results in the vehicle giving you good service – a well-tuned car has great reflexes, is likely to stall less and is less prone to frequent repairs.

But nothing prolongs your car’s longevity like car insurance. Taking a good car insurance policy helps protect the car in many ways. For one thing, it protects the car against damages arising out of accidents. Damage to the car results in costly repairs, right from replacing vehicle parts to the final painting and denting jobs. Just one car repair job can set the owner back by thousands of rupees. But instead of spending the money from one’s own pocket, one can simply have the motor insurance plan pay for it.

Car insurance providers have tie-ups with reputed service centres so that annual servicing, maintenance and repairs may be done at no cost to the policy holder, and using standard parameters. Also, this ensures less hassle by way of less paperwork and faster processing of claims. Most tie-in centres also conduct free annual maintenance for the car for a specified period of time.

But car insurance is extremely useful in another key area: Third Party Liability (TPL). Say your car is in an accident that is inadvertently caused by you, it can result in damages and injuries to another vehicle. In this case, you must bear the costs of damages to the other car as well as hospitalisation for the car’s driver and its occupants, if required. Hence, if you have taken comprehensive coverage when taking vehicle insurance, the TPL component of the policy safeguards you against the liability and pays for the damages caused.

Taking car insurance is mandatory in India. Instead of viewing it as an added expense, it is important to view it through the prism of safety and financial security. So while most people who drive a car take the bare minimum insurance necessary, a car lover like you must take a plan that factors in every eventuality. 

What do you choose: Safety or Regret?

You might choose to ignore accident insurance, but the costs can be both financial and emotional. The choice is yours.

If only we could accurately predict the highs and lows of our lives! While man wishes to have the ability to have wings and fly, the ability to foretell the occurrence of a disaster must rate higher than this wish. After all, forewarned is forearmed – if we are aware of when a tragedy can befall us, we can take steps to prevent it from happening.

Realistically speaking, it is impossible to predict the sharp turns and glorious successes of our lives. It is true what they say about nothing being constant except change, since life is full of unpredictability. But while we may be unable to do anything about a disaster that befalls us or our loved ones, we can take proactive steps to deal with it when it occurs.

Take, for instance, a personal accident policy. As the owner of a vehicle, you are prone to several small and major accidents every time you take the wheel. A speeding car may ram into yours, a jaywalker might suddenly loom ahead, or a child might chase after a cricket ball right onto the street. Or it may happen that you might lose control of the wheel for a split second and become involved in an accident.

Many people who drive believe that they do not need to take a personal accident policy. They believe that they do not need to take accidental insurance if they drive carefully and take good care of their car. However, taking car insurance is mandatory in India, so most people take just a basic plan.

Choosing a plan with a low sum assured and not enough benefits is akin to choosing uncertainty over safety. A good personal accident policy covers not just your car from costs of expensive repairs, but also provides the costs of hospitalisation and treatment if you are injured. More importantly, it provides coverage for partial or complete disability arising out of an accident, and also looks after your family’s needs in case of your unfortunate demise. In case your income stops temporarily or permanently after an accident, your family is taken care of by the accident insurance plan. Even in case you are hospitalised and need sustained treatment thereafter, the accident insurance can pay for the same, leaving your savings intact.

When you select an accidental insurance plan, make sure to pick one that emphasises on helping your loved ones in case you are absent from their lives. One cannot predict when an accident will take place, but one can certainly implement every safeguard possible to cushion loved ones from the financial repercussions of the event.

Is a term insurance policy for you?

You should consider taking term insurance if you want adequate coverage at an affordable cost.

Taking insurance for oneself and one’s family has become par for the course in the case of every responsible person today. Rightly recognising that it may not be possible to pay for emergency expenses or indeed, future living costs just from one’s savings and investments, people who are sufficiently invested in their families’ welfare are bound to take insurance.

However, the multitude of insurance products that suit a variety of needs and budgets can confuse the novice investor. On the one hand, one wishes to take a plan that offers every possible benefit to the family, but on the other hand, such a plan comes with expensive premiums. Instead, it is always wiser to take a more affordable insurance product: term insurance.

Who should buy term insurance?

1. The fact that it has affordable premiums and a very high sum assured amount make term insurance policies extremely attractive to many. Term insurance in India offers some of the highest sum assured amounts across the insurance spectrum today. Hence, those who require a high sum assured for their family’s future can certainly buy term insurance.
2. Insurance can, and should, be purchased by each and every person with an income today. However, many people do not have the financial wherewithal to pay expensive premiums, especially those who have just recently started working. Thus, those who earn a modest income but would like to get sufficient coverage till they can afford a more expensive life policy must buy term insurance.
3. Insurance is not an investment instrument like other tools available today. It does not appreciate in value like gold or property does, nor can it be liquidated mid-way. This stops many people from buying insurance for their family. Besides, many who do buy insurance prefer to invest in life insurance that has maturity benefits, which term insurance policies do not offer. Thus, term insurance is ideal for those who do not view taking insurance through the prism of investment, and who are more concerned about their families’ future wellbeing.

Normally, term insurance premiums are quite affordable and one can easily set this sum of money aside even a couple of days before the payment date. Term insurance in India is a growing product owing to its simplicity and benefits. When selecting the right insurance policy, one must look up the premium payable by using a term premium calculator, and whether the desired policy has a good rating and recommendations from other policy holders.

You can find the best term life insurance in India by researching them online and comparing their features on insurers’ websites. It is also possible to buy term insurance online within a matter of minutes. Insurers encourage the purchase of term insurance online – in most cases, they do not insist on a medical test to complete the purchase, and the premiums are lower for online term insurance.

Are you looking for a life insurance company? Trust only BSLI

Birla Sun Life Insurance’s plans offer varied and all-encompassing benefits to customers.

The only constant in life is change. We plan a certain path for our lives – we get a good education, get employed, work hard for our families, make a large amount of money and retire in style. But how often does life follow this script? There have been numerous instances of life changing in one instant – one minute a person may be hale and hearty, and the next moment he may stare at untold sadness.

Thus, it is clear that life is highly unpredictable. It can alter the entire course of our existence in the blink of an eye. But while you may bear any and every hardship with fortitude, what about your loved ones? Will they be able to stand up to financial problems in your absence? Will your absence insulate them from the pitfalls arising from a loss of income?

If you fear such a fate for your loved ones, the solution is obvious: taking a good life insurance plan that covers you and your loved ones.

Selecting the best life insurance policy in India

For all intents and purposes, the life plan you choose depends on your future requirements and must be adjusted for future inflation. The sum assured must be more than adequate to meet your needs, while the insurer you choose must have an impeccable reputation and an excellent track record in settling claims quickly.

We recommend zeroing in on Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI) for your life insurance needs. Not only is the company a trusted partner in the insurance space with the reputation of featuring amongst the premier life insurance companies in India, it also offers an array of excellent insurance options that take a gamut of eventualities into account. Besides, BSLI offers customers the chance to create savings, make sound investments and get excellent returns while also receiving life coverage. BSLI’s life insurance plans are covered under:

1. Protection: These comprise a range of excellent term plans to protect your family’s future.
2. Savings with Protection: These offer the component of financial protection as also the opportunity to create a large savings corpus for the future.
3. Children’s Future: These comprise child insurance plans that ensure the fruition of your children’s many dreams.
4. Retirement: Pension and annuity plans are featured in this category, nudging customers towards planning their retirement in a systematic manner.
5. Health and Wellness: BSLI offers exceptional health insurance plans that also provide valuable riders for critical illness and a host of mediclaim benefits.
6. Wealth with Protection: BSLI offers tangible solutions for wealth creation by providing instruments for investment while offering valuable life coverage and steady returns.

Is Buying an Online Term Plan the Right Decision for You?

You can buy anything online today, be it your shoes, your kitchen appliances and much more. So, why should insurance policies stay behind? With the comfort and low prices of premium online term plan does seem like a lucrative option. But is it for everyone? Here are top things you must consider before buying a life insurance policy online!

Are You Ready for an Online Insurance?

·         Lone Ranger: The most obvious difference between buying an insurance plan online and offline is the absence or presence of the agent. In case of the former, there is no agent and you are in direct contact with the company through their online interface. While this will eliminate the commission you had to pay otherwise, it will also give you greater control on decision making on every aspect of the policy.

·         Sound Financial Knowledge: The biggest advantage of online term insurance is that all the information is on your fingertips. You are no longer dependent on the whims of an agent or their personal interest to learn the financial nitty-gritties. You can check out even the minutest details of any plan on the company’s website before choosing a plan. You can read about the features, terms and conditions and make an informed decision without being swayed by an agent who is more interested in his commission than your long term security.

·         In Time of Need: In the event of the death of the policy holder, the claim and settlement must be carried out to secure the sum assured. This task, in offline policies, is undertaken by the agent who is the underwriter. But in case of online policies, the onus comes upon the policy holder's nominee, who will then have to coordinate with the customer support of the insurer. The good news is that the process has become immensely simplified and convenient so that even a novice at the internet can navigate through the claim settlement process.

·         Be Safe from Scams: With online transactions, you are dealing directly with the insurance provider. They usually ensure that their website is secure and all monetary transactions are absolutely safe. You no longer have to worry whether the agent who rang your doorbell is a fraud, who will scam you of a large amount of money.

·         Cheaper Policies: The online mode also offers lower premiums. This is because what the insurer saves in terms of overheads is passed on as discounts to the customer.

If you were convinced by the above points, then you consider an insurer like Bharti AXA, which offers varied online term plans. Not only will it save your money but also be a convenient option.

The biggest reason to take life insurance

Is your salary your family’s sole source of income? If it does, then you need to take life insurance as soon as possible.

It may sound like a cliché, but it is true that the only constant in life is change. Many times, life does not follow the trajectory we set out for it. We imagine a certain kind of future: good job, a house, children attending good schools, a stable retirement. But how many times do things pan out exactly in the same course? Life has a way of suddenly altering the course of our destinies, and there is nothing one can do about it.

A person may be out for dinner with friends, and suddenly suffer cardiac arrest. Another might be walking home and suffer a fatal accident while crossing the road. The point is, life is full of unexpected shocks and surprises. One might be happy and hearty one moment, and the next moment might bring untold grief. One cannot predict what the next minute will bring.

Imagine if this were your life’s story. As the sole earning member of the family, it is your responsibility to ensure that your family’s every need is taken care of. You are aware of the tremendous burden you carry on your shoulders: your family is solely dependent on your income, and you cannot jeopardise them in any way. This means that you must be in the prime of health every day, and be around for your family forever.

Except, nobody is around forever. What happens when you are absent from your family’s life? How will your loved ones manage their household expenses, children’s education costs, medical expenses, etc.? These and other expense heads can be taken care of by the simple expedient of purchasing life insurance.

Life insurance plans make fiscal sense on many levels. They safeguard your family against an uncertain future in your absence. Despite your best efforts, your salary may not allow you to save money diligently every month or make investments. Hence, if there isn’t a lot of money in your savings account, your family is bound to suffer from financial shocks in your absence. However, a life insurance policy provides a large corpus of money to see your family through all its financial needs.

Life insurance companies in India offer you the option to purchase life insurance plans that provide for your family upon your unfortunate demise. Your loved ones receive the sum assured in a lump sum amount – this can be used to pay for children’s education, emergency medical expenses, unpaid liabilities like home loans, etc. Your life insurance policy helps keep your family protected from penury and harassment from creditors. 

Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted to ensure, your family’s safety and protection? Get it with life insurance