Mandatory Bike Insurance in India

Whether it is a rural countryside or a jammed metropolitan city, two-wheelers are undoubtedly the most suitable means of personal transport in India. This is because two-wheelers help you to navigate as easily in the narrow roads of rural areas, as in the congested roads of a busy metropolis like Mumbai, Bangalore, or Delhi. Further, two-wheelers are easily affordable for most people. In fact, even those who can’t afford to buy two-wheelers can now easily get loans to buy them, from banks these days.

These factors, along with the growing capability and aspirations of the Indian middle-class, has to lead to a spike in the popularity of two-wheelers in India, and hence a greater number for two-wheeler vehicles on the Indian roads than ever before.

With such an increased number of two-wheelers on the road, the risk of accidents has also gone up proportionately. In the same proportion, has increased the need for two-wheeler insurance in India. Why and How? Let’s find out in this article.

While selling a brand new two-wheeler, almost all motor companies offer bike insurance. However, most people either cancel the insurance to get some discount or they don’t renew it once it's expired. Maybe people want to save the bucks that are spent on the insurance, or they just don’t have the time to get their insurance renewed! However, the real reason behind this lacklustre attitude towards bike insurance is that they don’t know the answer to the question - why should I even go for bike insurance?

Well, to put it in the right perspective, there can be two main motivations behind opting for some kind of insurance for your two-wheeler: one, it is mandatory ‘by-law’ to get third-party insurance for all two-wheelers that run on the Indian roads. Two, insurance protects you, your vehicle and the third-party involved in an accident or mishap, and also saves a lot of costs.

While at least a third-party insurance is required by law, it is strongly recommended to opt for a comprehensive two-wheeler insurance plan instead. A comprehensive policy additionally provides for your vehicle's own protection against accidents, thefts, natural disasters, etc. Apart from that, third-party injuries or property damages are also covered as part of the comprehensive insurance policy. A detailed comparison between both third-party insurance and comprehensive or standard insurance has been done below for you to choose wisely between the two.

Digit offers one of the most well-articulated, balanced comprehensive two-wheeler insurance policies available in the market today. The comprehensive bike insurance by digit offers super-simple claims, no hidden costs, and a transparent insurance processing mechanism.

You may be a responsible rider, but you can never guarantee that your bike will not encounter an accident on the road. Irrespective of riding cautiously accident can happen anytime without giving any prior warning. Apart from accident incidents like theft or natural disaster can also happen at any time. No matter whether you are responsible for these types of occurrence or not but it is certain that these kinds of occurrences will cause you a huge financial loss. But if you have comprehensive two-wheelers insurance, it will protect you from both the financial loss as well as potential liabilities.

Moreover, according to the Motor Vehicle Act, 1998 bike insurance has become mandatory in India and purchaser of two-wheelers have to go for the bike insurance at the time of buying the bike.

The two-wheelers insurance policy from digit covers the following risks:

Damages or losses caused by natural calamities - Natural disaster such as earthquake, storm, flood, etc. may happen at any time in our lives and cause tremendous damage to our lives and property. Two-wheeler insurance policies protect you from the financial loss against all the damages caused by natural calamities.

Damages or losses caused by man-made calamities - Apart from the natural calamities your bike may also suffer from huge damage caused by man-made natural calamities such as robbery, thievery, riots, or any such misfortunes.

Digit’s two-wheeler insurance policies will also give you full protection from the financial loss against all the damages caused by such man-made calamities.

Total or partial disability caused due to the accident - Accidents are one of the biggest misfortunes of life which can happen at any point of time without any alarming signal. When a rider encounters an accident, he may suffer from a partial or complete disability.

Examples of partial disability are transitory loss of motion, incapability of some part of the body, etc. whereas complete loss of vision, a total failure to walk, etc. are some examples of complete disability. The two-wheeler insurance covers all these misfortunes and provides you for the cost of treatment.

The demise of the policyholder - A major accident may lead to the death of the policyholder or any third person who was riding the bike at the time of the accident. In such a case, the bike insurance company gives substantial compensation to the nominees of the policyholder given that the policyholder opted for PA cover.

These are some vital things that Digit’s two-wheeler insurance policy covers. It’s true that traffic rules are often not strictly followed on the Indian roads, and hence one may face a greater risk while riding a two-wheeler. In fact, riding two-wheelers are considered to be riskier than driving a car on the road. This is because while you ride a bike, you are more exposed to the danger than someone who is driving a car since he is seated inside the car. Comprehensive two-wheelers insurance such as the one offered by digit, offers you a huge range of risk coverage for self-physical injury, total or partial damage of the vehicle, total or partial disability of the rider as well as third-party liability.

The legal compliances, the risk factor involved and the cost-saving - these are enough reasons to sufficiently answer the question - why is bike insurance mandatory in India. Having understood the importance of bike insurance, what are you waiting for? If you have still not got an insurance cover for your two-wheeler, insurance your vehicle now!