Car Insurance for Natural Calamities

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Published: Friday, May 13, 2011, 16:20 [IST]

Car Insurance is one sure shot way of protecting your vehicle from any eventualities including natural calamities. Road accidents are not the only reasons for vehicles getting damaged. Mother Nature has also had her part in creating havoc through floods and heavy rains. The urban environment also poses several risks that a car owner must consider before buying car insurance. Having a comprehensive insurance is ideal to prevent any loss if one's car is damaged due to natural calamities.

There are several instances of trees and branches falling on cars and severely damaging them during rains. Cars are also damaged when parking lots in apartments are flooded. If a car owner is faced with such a situation, he/she would immediately try to asses the damage and get to know if the car is covered for damages caused due to such natural calamities. It is always ideal to have proper car insurance protection rather than ruing about heavy damage.

Several motor insurance providers offer a variety of insurance plans. One must be very careful if they are choosing an inexpensive insurance plan as it might not provide cover for all possible issues. Motor Insurance providers sometime remove the clause of providing coverage to damages caused by natural calamities in areas that are not prone to extreme weather. Car owners must read through the policy document to asses if all possible coverage is provided as motor insurance providers can refuse to pay for damages caused by natural calamities. A comprehensive insurance plan might seem expensive but one must be prepared for any kind of eventualities.

Here is brief explanation of certain aspects of car insurance that a car owner must understand

Third Party Insurance: It is mandatory for car owners to have a third party insurance. This will provide coverage to injuries caused to other people, damage to other people's property and to accidents caused by passengers or drivers as named in the policy.

Comprehensive Insurance: A comprehensive insurance plan provides cover to all possible damage to the vehicle as well as its occupants. Along with accident cover, the comprehensive plan also provides coverage to damages caused due to natural disasters.

Car owners can opt for some additional benefits such as courtesy cars and emergency breakdown costs by paying an additional sum.