Car insurance: comprehensive or third-party, and what IDV means
Insurance is where dealers quietly pad the on-road price, and where buyers either over-insure out of fear or under-insure to save a little. Here's what you actually need, in plain terms.
The two covers, and who they protect
Third-party insurance is legally mandatory and pays for damage you cause to others — their car, property or person. It does nothing for your own car. Comprehensive insurance adds 'own damage', covering your car against accidents, theft, fire and natural disasters. For a new or valuable car, comprehensive is the one that matters.
Buyers get this wrong in both directions: some carry only third-party on an expensive new car to save a few thousand rupees, and some pay for the richest comprehensive policy on a banger worth almost nothing.
What IDV actually is
IDV — Insured Declared Value — is the maximum your insurer will pay if the car is stolen or written off. It's roughly the car's current market value, and it falls each year as the car ages. A dealer might quote a low IDV to show a cheaper premium — but that also means a smaller payout when you most need it.
Set the IDV close to the car's real value. A slightly higher premium for an honest IDV is money well spent; a lowball IDV is a false economy you'll only discover at claim time.
Which add-ons are worth it
Zero-depreciation is the add-on worth having on a newer car: without it, the insurer deducts depreciation on replaced parts and you pay the gap. Engine protection makes sense in flood-prone cities. Roadside assistance is cheap peace of mind. Beyond those, most add-ons are optional — don't buy the whole menu just because the dealer switched them all on.
Review the policy line by line, keep the add-ons that fit your car and city, and drop the rest.
What we'd do
On a new car we'd buy comprehensive cover with an honest IDV and zero-depreciation, add engine protection in a flood-prone city, and skip the rest. On an old, low-value car we drove gently, we'd think hard about whether comprehensive was worth it at all.
Send us the policy a dealer has quoted and we'll tell you whether the cover, the IDV and the add-ons are fair — or padded to pretty up their margin.
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