First-Party car insurance, also known as Own Damage cover

Who the three parties are

• First party: you, the owner of the car, the person who buys the policy and makes the claim
• Second party: the insurer that issues your policy, collects your premium, and pays out on valid claims
• Third party: anyone else caught up in an accident you cause, another driver, a pillion rider, a pedestrian, or the owner of a wall you hit

The law covers the third party. Your own car is your choice

The Motor Vehicles Act 1988 makes only one cover compulsory: Third-Party car insurance, which pays the other people affected. It pays nothing at all towards your own car. That gap is what First-Party car insurance fills, the Own Damage or Comprehensive side that pays for your repairs, theft, fire, and natural calamities, up to your car's Insured Declared Value.

The Personal Accident cover that comes with it

Every car policy also carries a compulsory Personal Accident cover of ₹15 lakh for you as the owner-driver. It is money for the person, not the car: it pays you, or your nominees, in the event of accidental loss of life, bodily injury, or permanent or partial disability while driving or travelling in your car. You can hold it as part of your policy, or as a separate personal accident policy if you already have one.

Why you rarely see it sold under this name

“First party insurance” is not how most people search for cover, and it is not how insurers sell it. You will find the same cover on sale as Standalone Own Damage or as part of a Comprehensive plan. Whichever name you come across, it means one thing: Cover that pays for your own car, on top of the Third-Party cover the law already requires.

Set it honestly. A lower IDV shaves a little off the premium, but it lowers what you are paid on a total loss by the same amount. As the car ages the IDV falls, which is why it is worth reviewing at every renewal.

Why the IDV falls: Depreciation

Depreciation is the value your car loses simply by getting older. The IDV starts from the manufacturer's listed selling price of your exact model and variant, then a standard rate of depreciation is deducted for the car's age. The same car therefore carries a lower IDV, and a lower total-loss payout, at every renewal, and your own-damage premium falls a little with it.

Depreciation shows up twice in First-Party cover, so it is worth keeping the two apart. It reduces your IDV, which is the ceiling on a theft or total-loss payout. It is also deducted on the individual parts replaced in an ordinary repair claim, on plastic, rubber, and paint especially, which is exactly what the Zero Depreciation optional cover removes.

Beyond 5 years, the IDV is agreed between you and the insurer based on the car's condition. The IDV is the ceiling on what First-Party cover pays if the car is a total loss.

Kiwi take Third-Party cover is the legal minimum and protects others; First-Party cover protects your own car. A Comprehensive plan gives you both, and it is the tidiest way to carry them.

Advantages

• Your own car is covered: Repairs after an accident, theft, fire, and natural calamities are all paid by the insurer, not you
• You do not need to prove fault: Your own insurer pays regardless of who caused the accident, so there is no waiting on the other driver or their insurer
• No Claim Bonus builds: Every claim-free year earns a discount on the own-damage premium, up to 50% on a standard plan and up to 90% with Kiwi Insurance Super NCB
• Optional covers are available: Zero Depreciation, Engine Secure, Return to Invoice, and more all attach to the First-Party side, which is not possible on a standalone Third-Party policy
• Cashless repairs: At a Kiwi cashless partner garage, the bill is settled directly with the garage so you pay only your deductible
• Total loss is covered: If the car is stolen or too badly damaged to repair, the insurer pays the IDV

Disadvantages

• Adds to your premium: First-Party cover costs more than the compulsory Third-Party minimum, so the total premium is higher
• IDV falls each year: Depreciation lowers the maximum payout annually, so the cover is worth less on an older car even though the premium does not fall as fast
• A deductible applies to every claim: The compulsory ₹1,000 or ₹2,000, plus any voluntary deductible you chose, comes out of your pocket on every claim
• Depreciation on parts: Unless you hold Zero Depreciation cover, the insurer deducts for the age of replaced parts, so the payout is less than the full repair bill
• Not compulsory: Many owners skip it on older cars and find themselves unprotected when a repair bill arrives

Kiwi’s take The disadvantages are mostly manageable with the right optional covers: Zero Depreciation removes the parts deduction, and Kiwi Insurance Super NCB protects the discount even after a claim. The one that is harder to manage is IDV depreciation on a very old car, which is the point where Third-Party cover alone can make more sense.

Every own-damage claim also carries the compulsory deductible, ₹1,000 for cars up to 1500cc and ₹2,000 above, plus any voluntary deductible you chose. Your policy wording is the final word on all of this, which is why it is worth one careful read.

Every insurer sells the same basic First-Party cover. The risks it pays for are the same. What differs is the day you claim. Kiwi was built for that day, with benefits no other insurer in India offers.

Take it on its own or as a Comprehensive plan. Either way the same benefits come with it, and you hold one policy, one app, and one person to call.

As a rough guide, the standalone own-damage base premium works out to about 3% to 3.7% of your car's IDV before any discount, with metro cities at the higher end. On a car with an IDV of ₹5 lakhs, that is roughly ₹5,000 to ₹7,000 before your NCB and other discounts. Your No Claim Bonus and other discounts then bring the final amount down, and 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) applies on top.

An illustration only, to show the order of the steps. It excludes the IRDAI-fixed Third-Party premium and any optional covers, and your own quote will differ with your car, city, and record.

On every own-damage claim you also pay a compulsory deductible, ₹1,000 for cars up to 1500cc and ₹2,000 above 1500cc, plus any voluntary deductible you chose in order to lower the premium. The deductible is not a charge on the premium; it is the share of each claim that stays with you.

Indicative market ranges for a car in its first year of insurance, not a Kiwi quote. Your own price depends on the IDV, your city, your No Claim Bonus, and the covers you take.

• IDV: the biggest lever. A higher declared value means a bigger payout ceiling and a higher premium
• Make, model, and variant: parts prices and repair costs differ by car, and the premium follows them
• City and zone: Zone A, the 8 largest metros, carries slightly higher rates than Zone B, the rest of India
• Car age: depreciation lowers the IDV each year, which pulls the premium down with it
• Engine size: larger engines generally cost more to insure, and the compulsory deductible steps up above 1500cc
• Fuel type: petrol, diesel, CNG, and electric cars are rated differently. Electric cars carry a concession of about 15% on the Third-Party side
• Your claims record: claim-free years earn the No Claim Bonus; a claim takes a standard bonus back to zero at the next renewal
• No Claim Bonus: cuts the own-damage premium by up to 50%, and up to 90% with Kiwi Insurance Super NCB
• Approved anti-theft device: a device fitted from an approved list earns a small discount
• Voluntary deductible: agreeing to pay more of each claim lowers the premium, and raises your share at claim time
• Optional covers: each one you add raises the premium a little in exchange for wider protection
• How you buy: buying or renewing online cuts out the intermediary, and a lapsed policy can also cost you the bonus you had earned

Kiwi’s take Optional covers do raise the premium, but the right ones pay for themselves in a single claim: Zero Depreciation on a newer car, Engine Secure if you park on a flood-prone street, Roadside Assistance if you drive long highway stretches alone. Choose for your situation, not for the longest list. Here is what is on offer.

• Check the IDV shown before you pay, it is the ceiling on any total-loss payout
• Carry your No Claim Bonus across if you have earned one, on a certificate or the details of your previous policy
• Keep your registration certificate and a KYC document ready, either PAN or Aadhaar

Third-Party cover held elsewhere? Keep that policy number handy so the two can be linked, and your Kiwi First-Party plan starts from today. Nothing needs to be cancelled, and the two policies can run to different dates.

• Renew before expiry: a gap can mean a quick self-inspection through the app before cover restarts, and can cost your No Claim Bonus if it stretches past 90 days
• Switching insurers at renewal carries your No Claim Bonus with you, on a certificate from your previous insurer

How a claim usually works

Short on paper, but with most insurers you are the one moving it from one desk to the next while your car sits at the garage.

It is your car, so it should feel handled for you, not handed back to you at every step.

Kiwi · Claims Specialist

With Kiwi, you do not do any of that

Once you raise a claim, one dedicated Claims Specialist takes it from start to finish. They take over from your first report, brief the surveyor, deal with the garage, and keep you posted, so you hand the car over and pick it up, nothing more.

Notes worth keeping in mind

• A deductible applies to every claim: The compulsory ₹1,000 or ₹2,000, plus any voluntary deductible you chose
• Depreciation comes off the payout on replaced parts, unless you hold Zero Depreciation
• Total loss: If a repair would cost more than about 75% of the IDV, the policy pays the IDV instead of repairing, which is why setting the IDV honestly protects you
• Report it before repairs begin: The surveyor has to see the damage as it happened, so tell us first and do not let the garage start work
• Keep these ready: Your policy number, the driver's licence, the registration certificate, and photographs of the damage where you can take them safely
• For theft or calamity claims, report to the police first and keep the First Information Report (FIR); your Kiwi Claims Specialist will tell you exactly what else is needed

That is up to 40% more discount for the same clean record.

One claim usually resets a standard bonus at renewal, which removes a discount worth up to 50%. Kiwi Insurance Super NCB drops you one level instead, so a single claim does not undo years of careful driving.

• For a small repair it can be cheaper to pay yourself and keep the discount, unless you hold Kiwi Insurance Super NCB
• The bonus belongs to you, not the car, so it carries across when you switch insurers or buy your next car
• Renew on time to keep it: The bonus survives a gap of up to 90 days after expiry, and is lost after that. You are not covered during that gap and cannot claim in it

A cashless claim is the simplest route. Every insurer has a network of garages it has an arrangement with, and when you use one the insurer pays the garage directly for the covered amount, so you settle only your deductible and any depreciation on parts. Kiwi cashless partner garages cover the cities and highways most people drive. The catch, everywhere in the industry, is that the trusted mechanic you have used for years may not be on the list. That is the problem Kiwi PayFirst solves: Take the car wherever you like, and we put the settlement in your account before the garage asks you for it.

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