In India, people usually buy their two-wheeler insurance from the dealer who sold them the car without doing much research. However, there are several drawbacks to it, some of which are listed below –
- You might be paying a higher premium on the bike insurance.
- You may have a lower Insured Declared Value (IDV) on the bike insurance.
- The two-wheeler insurance company may not have many cashless garage networks.
- The dealer might not provide information regarding add-on covers.
- The claim process is also not explained while purchasing a policy from the dealer.
- The dealer might sell only third-party bike insurance to all, while comprehensive bike insurance might be a better option for few.
Hence, you should first compare different two-wheeler insurance online before buying the best bike insurance.
One of the major factors used in comparison of different bike insurance online is the cashless garage network.
In this article, we will try to understand what are cashless garages, how they work, benefits of this service, claim process and what’s new in the bike insurance market.
What are cashless garage networks?
Cashless garage networks are garages approved by the motor insurance companies for cashless bike repairs. The payment for bike repairs at these garages are paid by the insurance company instead of it coming from your pocket.
Motor insurance companies constantly expand their cashless garage network across the country to make this service more approachable to their clients.
The best bike insurance is one that has a large network of cashless garages.
How does a Cashless Garage system work?
While driving your bike, if you meet with an accident and the car gets damaged. Or if the bike is damaged due to natural or man-made calamities, you can simply call up your bike insurance company’s helpline number and report the damage. The executive working at these insurance companies will guide you through the process and assist you with the nearest cashless garage. In case, you want the damaged bike to be picked up by the mechanic at these cashless garage then as per your policy documents that can be requested too. Your bike will be repaired at the garage and delivered back to you, the payment for bike repairs would be paid by the insurance company as per the policy document. If you purchase a on-road bike assistance rider, then the company can arrange pickup by mechanic for your bike while you are travelling as well.
Benefits of Cashless Garage Network
There are several benefits of the cashless garage facility offered by the bike insurance:
Hassle-free Experience
Since it is a cashless garage, i.e. a garage which is a part of the insurer’s network, you can enjoy a hassle-free claim process as everything will be handled by the insurer itself. Policyholders do not even have to pay for the repair or replacement done at the cashless network garage.
Priority in Service
The partner garages of insurance companies give priority in service to the insurer’s policyholders. Thus, at these network garages, you can expect to get speedy service. As the network garage gets in touch with the insurer directly, the process from payment to repair completes without hassle.
Quick Claim Settlement
At cashless garages, the claim settlement happens quickly as compared to reimbursement claims which may take 7-10 days for settlement. Since, the insurance company refers to the surveyor’s report to approve the claim after which repair work starts, the process is bound to settle quickly.
Guaranteed Quality Service
Every insurance company ensures that good quality service is given to its policyholders. To ensure such quality service, insurers tie-up with the top-notch network garages or workshops which fulfil their quality repair criteria. With this process, the policyholders tend to get better repair service and overwhelming satisfaction.
Transparency
Since the insurance company’s surveyor is directly involved in the claim insurance process by visiting the network garage from beginning, the entire settlement process becomes highly transparent and the insured person as well as insurance company are assured of no fraud and ensures correct billing, as the repair estimates are sent before the commencement of any repair work.
Conclusion
Overall, it can easily be stated that the cashless garage network offered by the two-wheeler insurance can make your claim settlement process quite easy and quick. It is a much more convenient, easier and transparent process than reimbursement process, but it also provides a higher amount of customer satisfaction with better service and repair quality offered by authorised car garages.
