Importance of Consumables Add-On Cover in Car Insurance Policy

Consumables Add-On Cover in Car Insurance Policy – Why You Should Buy Them

You would do anything to maintain the dream car that you purchased, right? From cleaning and polishing it regularly to taking care of the minutest parts of the vehicle, ensuring that everything is in good working order at all times. Since your basic car insurance does not cover maintenance cost for all the components of your car, it only makes sense to buy the consumable cover in car insurance.

Buying a car is one thing. But maintaining it to ensure that it runs smoothly for as long as possible is another. Now, for your car to keep running in good working order at all times, there are several components inside the vehicle that are always at play. The nuts and bolts, engine oil, brake oil, lubricants, and the like, which help your car to keep running well. They definitely need regular maintenance, which can sometimes be expensive (depending on the model of the car). Unfortunately, your third-party car insurance fails to cover such costs.

But that does not mean that you need to bear this cost all from your own pocket. You can always rely on an add-on cover to your base car insurance plan and forget about all kinds of maintenance costs for your vehicle. The consumables cover in car insurance is meant to do just that. Let’s understand it in a little more detail.

What Does Consumables in Car Insurance Mean?

As the name suggests, consumables in car insurance refer to the components of the car which are highly used on a regular basis but cannot be repaired. Their overall life is limited and therefore they need to be changed quite regularly for the car to run well.

A few examples of car consumables include lubricants, oil filter, nuts, bolts, coolant, engine oil, brake oil, gearbox oil, screws, A/C gas, grease, and other similar components used in the overall smooth functioning of a car. Since these consumables cannot be re-used and need to be replaced completely, the cost of maintaining them can sometimes be high, particularly when a number of components need to be changed all at once.

A comprehensive car insurance policy does not provide cost coverage for replacement of consumables. Hence, policyholders are advised to buy a separate add-on cover, over and above the comprehensive car insurance, to get consumable replacement reimbursed by the insurance company.

Consumable Cover in Car Insurance

As stated above, your car insurance plan would not be able to provide complete financial protection against all maintenance costs for your car. For such cost coverage, you would need the consumable expenses cover. This add-on benefit can be bought at a very nominal cost from your insurer and added to your comprehensive car insurance policy. The following costs are included under the consumables cover in car insurance:

• Cost involved in the maintenance of components like washers, nuts, screws, bolts, replacement of oil filter, and other internal parts of the vehicle
• Cost incurred in changing the gas of the car’s air conditioning system
• Cost involved in replacing lubricants, grease, coolants, engine oil, brake oil, gearbox oil, and the like
• Cost of maintaining the gearbox

In case of any expenditure incurred on the maintenance of the above, your insurance company would bear the same as part of the consumables cover in your comprehensive car insurance plan.

What is Not Covered Under the Consumables Cover in Car Insurance?

While the consumables add-on cover can be very useful in covering the cost of maintaining car components, there are certain costs that may fall outside the purview of the cover. These include:

• Claim raised for fine levied due to driving without license
• Expenses incurred on fuel refill
• Fine imposed due to driving under alcohol or drug influence
• Cost involved in repair of car due to electrical or mechanical breakdown

In addition, if the policyholder fails to intimate the insurance company in time (within the specified time duration) for claim-settlement of consumables replacement costs, the insurer is not obligated to bear the cost under the consumables cover in motor insurance.

Why Buy a Consumables Cover in Car Insurance?

Now you may naturally think that while you have already purchased a comprehensive car insurance policy for your vehicle, is there really a need to buy a separate add-on consumables cover?

The answer is yes, for the simple reason that your comprehensive car insurance plan does not provide cost coverage for the maintenance of components that come under consumables. As stated earlier, sometimes replacing just one or two car components may not seem like a huge deal cost-wise; however, in case of a major breakdown, you may be required to replace a number of the components at once.

In that event, the cost of replacement of these non-reusables may actually be fairly high. This is why it is always a good idea to be prepared for future uncertainties and purchase a consumables add-on while buying your car insurance online or at the time of your car insurance renewal.

Here are some more benefits of buying the car consumable expenses cover under your car insurance policy:

1. It instantly increases your cost coverage under the comprehensive car insurance plan.
2. The cost of adding this add-on cover is quite nominal.
3. It helps you save a lot of money on regular component replacements.
4. It helps you stay stress-free with regard to the maintenance of your expensive car, since all costs are borne by the insurer.

5 Steps to Follow to Raise a Claim Under the Consumables Cover

Now that we know that it’s actually a good idea to purchase an add-on consumables cover benefit over your comprehensive car insurance plan, let’s look at the simple steps to file a claim under this cover:

Step 1: Make sure to intimate your insurance company as soon as possible about replacement costs involved for consumables to initiate the claim-settlement process. Any delays from your side may even result in rejection of claim application.

Step 2: Make sure to let your insurer know of every little detail in your claim filed. It should include all information regarding the damage to the car, the components that need to be replaced, and the cost involved in replacing each of these components.

Step 3: You can choose to either file for a cashless claim under the consumables cover protection or a reimbursement claim.

Step 4: In case of a cashless claim, your insurer would arrange for the car to be towed away to the nearest network garage (under the network of garages associated with your insurance company). A representative from the company would then arrive at the garage to inspect all damages to the vehicle, following which all repair and maintenance costs would be directly settled between the garage and the insurer.

Step 5: In case you wish to raise a reimbursement claim, you may choose to take the car to any garage of your preference, get all repairs/replacement of consumables made, and then send the bills to the insurance provider. This means that you can pay the cost from your own pocket first and then later get it reimbursed from the insurer. Your insurance company would also require you to submit some other documents along with the bill. In case of any damage due to an accident, you may also need to submit a copy of the FIR to your insurer.