Can You Claim for Bike Insurance Twice in a Year?

Getting bike insurance is a mandate in India before beginning to drive the vehicle on the road. This is essentially done in the interest and safety of the bike owner. In case of any unfortunate accident and/or damage caused to the bike and self, a bike insurance policy comes in real handy, covering all costs involved.

So basically, your motorbike insurance is the key to all your bike-related problems likely to occur in future. But the question arises: how often can you use this key? Let’s find out.

Can You Claim Bike Insurance More Than Once in a Year?

According to the motor insurance rules, your two wheeler bike insurance policy does not impose any restrictions on the number of claims that you can raise in a year. However, as a bike owner, it is good to know that each claim that you raise has an impact on your insurance plan purchased.

For instance, if you choose to file more claims for self or third-party bike damage in 1 year, it tends to increase your premium amount payable. Also, filing multiple claims has a direct effect on your No Claim Bonus (NCB). Let’s understand in a little more detail below about each of these impacts on your bike insurance.

How Raising Multiple Claims Affects Your Bike Insurance

Although there is no rule that prevents you from raising more than one bike insurance claim with your insurer, it is good to stick to as few as possible as a general rule of thumb. Raising bike insurance claims repeatedly with your insurance company may result in the following:

1. Increased premium payable:

If you keep raising claims repeatedly with your bike insurer, it means higher financial risk for them. Hence, they are highly likely to hike the amount of premium payable during existing bike insurance policy renewal.

2. Direct Impact on NCB:

NCB stands for No Claim Bonus, a kind of reward received from your insurance company if you have been successful in filing not even a single claim during the entire term of the policy! This reward is generally offered by insurers in the form of discounts on policy renewal for every claim-free year. Moreover, the percentage of discount increases by 20%-50% each year. Filing repeated claims makes you lose the chance to earn NCB discounts.

3. Lesser compensation:

A comprehensive motor insurance plan offers several benefits to the policyholder, more than what is provided by the basic plan. One such benefit is the add-on zero depreciation cover, which means that your insurer now would need to settle all bike claims without considering the market rate of depreciation of the vehicle. However, this add-on benefit does include a capped limit on the number of claims that the insured can raise in a year since repeated claims would reduce the compensation received for damages.

4. Limit on deductibles:

In the case of deductibles too, it is generally advisable not to file a claim with the company if the cost incurred on repairs is lower than that specified for deductibles in the policy. Raising a claim for minor damage costs may result in insufficient compensation received from the insurer. Similarly, if the repair cost incurred is slightly more than what is mentioned for deductibles in the plan, the owner may need to cover the amount from their own pocket.

How to Claim Insurance for Bike Damage?

Now that we understand how raising claims for bike insurance affects the different elements of your insurance policy and that it’s always better to use your insurance claim benefit wisely, let’s learn about the procedure to file a claim with your company:

In case of bike damage, inform your insurer immediately or as soon as possible.
Your insurer would need you to keep all records of the accident or damage handy; hence, take pictures of the damage caused and also of the site of accident for evidence purposes. You can share these pictures with the surveyor who comes from the insurance company to assess the damages.
Cooperate with your insurer by submitting all relevant documents pertaining to the damage caused for the claim-settlement process to initiate. All forms must be duly filled and signed by the insured and all documents attested.
After receiving all the documents, the insurer starts the process of claim settlement. In case of cashless claims, the payment is settled directly with the network garage and in case of reimbursement claim, you would first need to pay the repair cost on your own and then get it reimbursed from your insurer later.

What are the Documents to be Submitted with Claim Filing?

When filing a bike insurance claim, you would need to submit a claim form (duly filled and signed) to your insurer along with a copy of the following documents:

Driving license
Registration Certificate or RC of the bike
Receipt of motor tax payment
Insurance policy papers
In case of accident, a copy of the FIR must also be submitted.

When to File a Claim for Bike Insurance?

Knowing that raising multiple claims in a year can directly impact your bike insurance compensation received and premium rate, when is it exactly ideal to raise a claim? Let’s find out.

If the amount of claim to be raised is higher than what is described in the policy under deductibles, it is best to avoid making a claim.
If the cost incurred on repair damage is lower than the total NCB collected during the policy term, avoid claiming that amount since it would result in loss of accumulated NCB.
Try claiming cost coverage for third-party damage under the third-party insurance policy (especially if the damage was caused on account of the third-party’s fault). Avoid filing a bike accident insurance claim under your own insurance plan.