Own Damage car insurance: Protection for your own car

Is Own Damage cover mandatory?

No. The law only requires Third-Party cover, which pays for the injury or damage you cause to others and does nothing for your own car. Own Damage cover is optional, but it is the side of insurance that actually repairs your car, so for any car you could not comfortably fix or replace yourself, it is the cover doing the real work.

You can take it two ways. Buy a standalone Own Damage plan if you already hold Third-Party cover, or bundle the two together in a comprehensive car insurance plan. The standalone route also suits owners whose two covers renew on different dates, which is common after a new car is issued a 3-year Third-Party policy at purchase.

Since September 2019, IRDAI has allowed standalone Own Damage policies to be sold on their own, so you are no longer forced into a bundled plan to protect your own car.

Why the IDV falls: Depreciation

Depreciation is the value a car loses simply by ageing. The IDV is calculated from the manufacturer's listed price minus depreciation at standard rates, so the same car has a lower IDV, and a lower total-loss payout, each year it gets older.

Note: Past 5 years, the IDV is agreed between you and the insurer. The IDV is the ceiling on what Own Damage cover pays if the car is a total loss.

Kiwi's take: Standalone Own Damage suits you when you already hold Third-Party cover separately, or want a different insurer for the side of the policy that repairs your car. Otherwise a Comprehensive plan bundles both into one policy and one renewal date.

Switching is simple either way. Move your standalone OD to Kiwi and leave your Third-Party cover where it is, or take a comprehensive plan and hold both with us on a single renewal date. Your No Claim Bonus comes across with you, on a certificate from your previous insurer.

• IDV: The biggest lever. A higher declared value means a bigger payout ceiling and a slightly higher premium
• Make and model: Repair costs and parts prices 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
• Optional covers: Each cover you add raises the premium a little in exchange for wider protection
• No Claim Bonus: Claim-free years cut the premium by up to 50%, and up to 90% with Kiwi Insurance Super NCB
• Deductible: A higher voluntary deductible lowers the premium, and raises what you pay at claim time

Kiwi 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 on a flood-prone street. Choose for your situation, not the longest list.

• To buy, you need Your car's registration certificate (RC), your previous policy details if you have one, and Know Your Customer (KYC) such as PAN or Aadhaar
• For a brand-new car, The make, model, and variant are enough to start, since the registration number may not be issued yet. A new car is issued a 3-year Third-Party policy at purchase, usually with a 1-year Own Damage plan

• At renewal you usually just confirm Your car number and details; you do not need to submit documents again if your cover has been continuous
• The exception is a coverage gap: If your plan has already expired, the insurer may ask for a quick self-inspection through the app before cover restarts, so renew before the expiry date
• On renewal most owners take a 1-year plan, Though longer Own Damage terms can be available. A longer term locks your price and avoids the risk of forgetting to renew

Third-Party cover held elsewhere? You can still buy standalone Own Damage from Kiwi. Keep your current Third-Party policy number handy so the two can be linked, and line the renewal dates up so there is never a gap.

How a claim usually works

On paper it is a short list. In practice, with most insurers, you are the one keeping it moving from start to finish.

None of it is difficult. It is just all yours to manage, at the exact moment you would rather be getting on with your day.

With Kiwi, you do not do any of that

One Dedicated Claims Specialist, named and reachable, takes your own-damage claim from start to finish. They log it, brief the surveyor, deal with the garage, and keep you posted, so the only thing you do is hand the car over and pick it up.

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
• For theft or calamity claims, Report to the police first and keep the First Information Report (FIR). Your Claims Specialist will tell you exactly what else is needed

A standalone Own Damage policy is made entirely of own-damage premium, so the bonus applies to the whole of what you pay, not just a slice of a bundled price. A clean record is worth more here than on any bundled policy, because a standalone Own Damage policy is made entirely of own-damage premium, so every percentage point of bonus applies to the whole of what you pay.

One claim usually resets a standard bonus at renewal, which removes a discount worth up to 50%. Kiwi Insurance Super NCB protects it either way.

• 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, on a certificate from your previous insurer

Kiwi cashless partner garages are a network of authorised workshops and multi-brand garages across the country, with rates agreed in advance so there is nothing to argue about at billing. If your regular mechanic is not on the network, you are not stuck with a second-best repair: Kiwi PayFirst funds the repair wherever you choose to take the car.