Having a trustworthy bike can make your life easy in many ways. Be it an errand at the grocer’s or a day-long trip with your friends; you can just hop on and get going! Even travelling to work is more convenient with a bike - a two-wheeler is your best companion.
Thus, it is important to safeguard your beloved two-wheeler, and one of the best ways to do this is to buy bike insurance for your vehicle. A good two-wheeler insurance policy covers you against monetary losses caused by the damages and theft of the bike or third-party damages.
As per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, having third-party bike insurance in India is compulsory to drive on Indian roads. And when it comes to comprehensive bike insurance, you can choose from various options, some of which also provide complimentary perks such as one-time free servicing and other discounts.
Additionally, with comprehensive bike insurance, you can further improve your coverage with various add-ons provided by the insurer. These add-ons offer additional coverage that is not provided by the base policy.
One such popular add-on is the Roadside Assistance Cover!
What is the Roadside Assistance cover?
Sometimes, even comprehensive bike insurance is not enough to cover all damages to your bike. You could be protected from accidental damage and theft but could be an instance where your bike breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and you cannot get immediate help.
At such times, having a roadside assistance cover is helpful since it helps you out of such situations. This is an add-on cover that you can include with your comprehensive two-wheeler insurance. With this add-on, you only need to contact your insurance provider when you’re stuck somewhere, and a towing service carries you and bike away to safety.
Benefits of having Roadside Assistance with two-wheeler insurance
With a roadside assistance cover, you can rest assured that the insurance provider will offer the following services when you need them. All it takes is one call where you provide your location and bike insurance details, and you will be assisted accordingly.
- Flat tyre assistance: If your bike is unable to go any further due to a punctured tyre, the insurance company will send a mechanic to replace your bad tyre with a new one.
- Towing services: If your bike breaks down completely due to an accident and your destination or even the nearest garage is more than a mile away, the insurer’s towing service will come to your aid.
- Battery jumpstart service: Your bike’s battery is most likely to die out when it is raining heavily. In this case, since you can go no further, you can call your insurance provider, and they will send a team to jumpstart the bike’s battery.
- Fuel support: It is possible that your bike may run out of fuel when you’re off to take a short vacation. If this happens on a deserted road, your chances of finding a gas station may be bleak. However, with the roadside assistance cover, you can call your insurer who will send a team to refill your bike’s fuel tank.
- Spare key retrieval: You can be very careful with your bike keys as far as possible, but sometimes, we end up losing them. And trying to find them on the road will be futile. Instead, someone from your insurer’s mechanic team can deliver a spare key to you if you give them a call.
- On-spot repairs: If the bike breaks down in the middle of the road and you require emergency repair services, then the mechanic/vehicle technician will be made available to you on the spot for quick repairs.
- Telephonic support: You can also get telephonic support from a technician or service expert who will guide you over call to resolve the problem then and there.
- Finding the closest service centre: The insurance company will also assist you in finding the closest network garage or any other service centre if need be.
- Replacement vehicle/taxi support: In case the bike breaks down and cannot be repaired in a day, you will get a replacement vehicle as per the predetermined standards, to take you to your destination.
- Accommodation support: If the bike cannot be repaired the same day and replacement transportation is not possible, then hotel accommodation will be arranged for you by the company.
These are a few of the benefits that you can avail if you add a roadside assistance add-on to your bike insurance cover.
What are the limitations of this add-on?
While the roadside assistance cover can be very helpful most of the times, there are certain limitations to the cover:
- The Roadside Assistance cover cannot be used every time you are stranded somewhere. Since it is not a financial cover, you cannot file a claim for it. For this purpose, the insurance provider usually allows a policyholder to use the add-on cover for a maximum of four times a year.
- Within the add-on itself, some features like the fuel support cannot be used whenever you need to have your fuel tank refilled. Therefore, the insurance provider limits this benefit to a maximum of two times during the policy term period.
- You cannot use roadside cover assistance if you and your bike are somewhere close to a garage or a workshop. The need for help has to be genuine for you to avail of this benefit.
- Lastly, your insurance provider is not obliged to provide this benefit to you if you cause intentional damage to your bike by racing or being involved in a rally. In such cases, the damage cannot be considered accidental, and therefore, the add-on cannot be used.
- Also, when alternate transportation, accommodation, on-spot repairs, etc. are provided for you, you have to bear the costs of availing the service, including the taxi fare, the hotel accommodation charges and the cost of material used for repairs.
What does Roadside Assistance cost?
The cost of a roadside assistance cover is quite affordable, and it will hardly add an amount to your insurance premium. The cost can differ depending upon how your insurance provider prices the add-ons.
You can add a roadside assistance cover only to your comprehensive bike insurance policy and not your third-party cover. Therefore, when you purchase your bike insurance online, this is the best time to also include the add-on along with it. This will also help you calculate your premium online along with the cost of the add on.
Conclusion
With a useful add-on like this, you can be sure that your bike will be protected from damage. This is one of the main reasons why it is advisable to always understand the basics of a bike insurance policy and purchase a good policy by fortifying it with a useful add-on. While it keeps your precious bike safe, it also lessens your financial burden of paying for damages to your vehicle.
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