Car Insurance 101: Know What Is The Break-In Period

Cars are now an inseparable part of our daily lives. More than that, they have become a means of making life easier. Once you buy a car, all our transportation woes simply fade away. No longer do you have to worry about catching the bus on time or regularly spend on cabs. However, as beneficial cars are, they also come with responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is having four-wheeler insurance. Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere. And if any damage is done to your car due to such accidents, it will be financially burdensome for you. Hence, car insurance is an extremely important thing to have.

In addition to buying car insurance, it is also important to keep your policy active. This means ensuring the timely renewal of your car insurance policy. Being said that, managing car insurance is tedious. Sometimes even if you have the best car insurance available, you can often forget about the timely renewal of insurance due to unavoidable circumstances. This would result in the expiration of your policy. In such cases, you can still pay the premium and renew the existing policy until a specified period, known as the break-in period.

What is break-in period?

The break-in period in car insurance is the gap of time between the date your policy expired and the final date you must renew your policy after expiry. During this time, the car insurance policy will be inactive. So naturally, if any damage is done to your vehicle during this period, the insurance policy will not cover the repairs.

For example, if your car insurance plan expires on December 31st and the final date to renew the policy is March 31st, the total number of days between these two dates is the break-in period. During this period, your insurance policy will be inactive. If you have an additional policy for situations where your main policy expires, this is the time it would be most useful. However, you should remember to renew the policy during the break-in period. * Standard T&C Apply

What happens if you do not renew your car insurance plan during the break-in period?

In the case of most policyholders, their insurance providers offer them a grace period of 90 days. You must ensure that you make the car insurance renewal during this time. Generally, this is the maximum time to renew a car insurance policy. During this 90-day break-in period, you are still entitled to a No Claim Bonus (NCB) benefit, which can reduce the policy premium by up to 50%.

However, upon completion of 90 days, you will lose all the policy benefits you have accumulated. Also, your car insurance policy will be terminated. And of course, you will need to buy car insurance again, where the insurance company will fix your vehicle’s IDV after re-inspection. Therefore, an insurance policy purchased after a 90-day break-in period will be considered a new policy and all NCBs and concessions you have accumulated will be forfeited. * Standard T&C Apply

Car insurance is an extremely important financial tool. As per traffic regulations, it is mandatory for every car owner to buy at least third party car insurance online in India. So, if you have recently bought a car, you should buy car insurance to drive your car with ease and safety on the road. However, always calculate the car insurance premium online and compare the available options to find the best option for you. Ultimately, making an informed decision will save you money and help you during renewal. Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms and conditions, please read sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.