Is Multi-Year Insurance Cover For Two-Wheelers Beneficial | Bharti AXA

A multi-year bike insurance cover, also known as long-term two-wheeler insurance, is not just meant to make life simpler for the habitually forgetful or lazy two-wheeler owners who forget to renew their bike insurance policy every year. It could also be that sometimes we are so busy with all our other responsibilities that we simply forget to renew our two-wheeler insurance policy.

In any case, a multi-year insurance cover is a well-thought out offering with features and benefits worth considering.

The apex insurance regulator IRDAI, in its latest directive has made it compulsory for all two-wheeler insurance providers to offer a multi-year or long-term two-wheeler insurance policy to their customers. Since you will be making long-term commitment while buying a multi-year insurance cover, you naturally want to know more and find out how beneficial it is to go in for a multi-year bike insurance policy.  

How Multi-Year Two-Wheeler Insurance Works:

Multi-year bike insurance works slightly differently for a new bike depending on whether you buy a basic third-party liability plan or a comprehensive two-wheeler insurance cover.

For Third-Party Liability (TP) Plan – IRDAI has made it mandatory for all new two-wheelers to have a 5-year third-party insurance cover. So if you have just bought a brand new bike or scooter, and have decided to opt for a basic third-party bike insurance cover, you will necessarily have to buy multi-year insurance for 5 years.

For Comprehensive Insurance Plan – When you purchase a comprehensive two-wheeler insurance plan, you can choose between going in for either a 5+1 or a 5+5 year policy as explained below:

Third-Party plan for 5 years + an Own Damage plan (covers the damages that your bike has incurred in an accident) for 1 year

• Third-Party plan for 5 years + an Own Damage plan for 5 years

Ideally you should first evaluate your requirements and financial position. Then decide which of the above multi-year comprehensive bike insurance policy you would like to opt for.

Benefits of Multi-Year Two-Wheeler Insurance Cover:

From convenience to savings, there are a number of ways in which buying a long-term multi-year two-wheeler insurance cover can be a beneficial decision for you:

1. Hassle-Free – Because of its long-term validity for a period of 5 years, you do not have to bother with remembering to renew your two-wheeler insurance policy every year. It also means a lesser risk of being caught without a valid insurance policy while riding your two-wheeler or having to shell out money from your pocket for repairs or part replacement in case your bike gets damaged in an accident. By making a one-time premium payment you can get peace of mind on all these fronts – renewal, legal responsibility and financial protection, for a full 5 years.

2. Money Saving – For taking up a multi-year two-wheeler insurance policy, you make a one-time premium payment and the policy stays valid for 5 years. Because of this lock-in you are insulated from any price fluctuations in the premium amount. IRDAI revises the base premium for third-party insurance every year. But this annual price revision will not affect you for the validity term of your policy. Therefore you save money.

3. No Claim Bonus (NCB) – No Claim Bonus or NCB is an additional benefit that you the policyholder get in case you do not raise any claim during the tenure of your bike insurance policy. The NCB is like a discount that you earn on the next year’s premium, as a reward for being a good and responsible rider.

Usually in a regular short-term or annual policy, if you make even a single claim during the policy tenure, the No Claim Bonus becomes nil. But in a multi-year two-wheeler insurance policy the NCB does get nullified. It just reduces to the previous percentage slab, so that you still get the benefit of No Claim Bonus.

4. Refund on Cancellation – Buying a multi-year two-wheeler insurance policy does not mean that there is no flexibility left. In fact at no point do you need to feel bound by the long-term nature of this insurance cover. You are free to cancel your multi-year two-wheeler insurance policy anytime you wish. You will be entitled to receive a cancellation refund for the unutilised term of your policy. Note that this cancellation refund benefit is only available in case of a multi-year bike insurance cover.

A few other points:

• You can easily purchase multi-year comprehensive two-wheeler insurance cover online by visiting the two-wheeler insurance company’s website or an online aggregator site and selecting the multi-year option.
• Also, if you already have a short-term policy, you always have the option to upgrade your annual bike insurance policy to a multi-year two-wheeler insurance cover. You can do so when your existing two-wheeler insurance policy comes up for renewal.
•  Note that a multi-year two-wheeler insurance cover is offered even for electric two-wheelers. Check the policy details with your insurance provider.