Every time you buy or renew a policy, you're hit with a menu of optional extras. Some of them genuinely protect you. Others exist mainly to pad the insurer's profit margin. The trick is knowing which is which, because the wrong combination of add-ons can cost you hundreds of pounds a year for coverage you'll never use or never need.
Breakdown cover bundled with your car insurance is often cheaper than buying a standalone policy from a dedicated provider. If you don't already have breakdown cover through a motoring organisation, adding it to your insurance policy can make sense. You typically get roadside assistance, home start, and national recovery for somewhere between ₹1000 and ₹2000 a year as an add-on, compared to £50 to £150 for equivalent standalone cover.
That said, check what level of cover you're actually getting. Some car insurance add-ons for breakdown only include roadside assistance, not recovery to a garage or onward travel. Read the small print. If you drive an older or high-mileage vehicle, this one earns its keep.
It pays for solicitors' fees if you need to pursue an uninsured driver or make a personal injury claim after a non-fault accident. Without it, you'd either absorb those costs yourself or hope a no-win, no-fee solicitor takes your case.
For the price, this is one of the most worthwhile add-ons available. It's cheap enough that you won't notice the premium, and if you ever need it, the alternative is genuinely expensive. One caveat: your insurer will usually appoint their own solicitors rather than letting you choose, and the quality of those firms varies.
Losing your car keys is annoying. Replacing them, especially for modern cars with transponder chips, can cost anywhere from ₹19,198 to ₹30,000 depending on the make and model. Key cover add-ons typically cost ₹1900 to ₹2900 a year and will reimburse you for replacement keys if they're lost, stolen, or damaged.
The maths doesn't really work in your favour here. You're paying an annual premium against the fairly small probability that you'll lose your keys. Over five years, you've spent ₹4500 to ₹6700 for coverage you probably haven't used. You'd be better off putting that money aside. If you're the kind of person who loses keys regularly, fair enough. But for most people, this is an add-on that profits the insurer far more than it protects you.
Most standard policies already include a courtesy car while yours is being repaired after a covered claim. The add-on version typically promises a like-for-like replacement rather than a basic runaround. If you drive a large SUV and can't function with a Vauxhall Corsa for two weeks, the upgraded courtesy car add-on might matter to you. Otherwise, you're paying for comfort rather than necessity.
Check your base policy first. You might already have adequate courtesy car provision without paying extra for it.
Windscreen cover is frequently included in comprehensive policies as standard. Before you pay extra for it, check your existing documents. If it is already included, adding a standalone windscreen add-on is literally paying twice for the same thing.
Where windscreen cover genuinely helps is on third-party, fire and theft policies, which don't include it. Electric car insurance policies, worth reviewing carefully because of generally higher repair costs, sometimes include windscreen cover as standard given the expense of recalibrating the sensors and cameras built into modern windscreens. If yours doesn't, and your car has an ADAS-equipped windscreen, this add-on is probably worth the ₹1000 to ₹1500 premium.
This add-on pays a lump sum if you're seriously injured or killed in a car accident. It sounds important, but the payouts are often modest, and you may already have life insurance, income protection, or employer death-in-service benefits that cover the same ground. If you already have those protections, personal accident cover through your car insurer is redundant.
If you have no other life or injury cover at all, it's better than nothing. But dedicated life insurance or income protection will give you far better coverage for a similar or lower cost.
Excess protection reimburses your compulsory and voluntary excess after a claim. If you've chosen a high voluntary excess to bring your premium down, this add-on can soften the blow. Typical policies cost ₹2900 to ₹4900 a year and will cover excess amounts up to £500 or more.
The logic is circular in a way that should give you pause. You raised your excess to save money on your premium, and now you're spending money to insure against paying that excess. For drivers who claim rarely, a high excess without the protection add-on remains the smarter financial play. But if you're a newer driver or you commute on busy roads daily, the probability of a claim goes up, and so does the value of this cover.
Before buying any add-on, ask yourself two questions. First, do I already have this coverage through another policy or product? Second, could I comfortably absorb this cost myself if the worst happened? If the answer to either question is yes, save your money. Insurance add-ons should protect you from costs that would genuinely hurt, not from minor inconveniences you could handle out of pocket.
An Indo-American News website. It covers Gossips, Politics, Movies, Technolgy, and Sports News and Photo Galleries and Live Coverage of Events via Youtube. The website is established in 2015 and is owned by AGK FIRE INC.
This website uses cookies.
