Natural disasters can cause damage of unimaginable levels. They are a matter of huge concern to your life and property. Some areas are prone to natural disasters. No matter whether your place is prone to natural disaster or not, a smart thing to do is buying insurance cover for your movable and immovable properties.

As far as your car is concerned, you can buy natural disaster car insurance coverage. Note that disasters do not announce their arrival in advance and spare none when they strike.

A car is an expensive property to buy and maintain. You would take all the care in the world to ensure there is no damage to your prized possession. Some situations, however, are beyond your control and natural disasters such as cyclone, earthquake, tornado etc. can cause considerable damage to your car. In case of damage, the cost of repair can be significant. A comprehensive car insurance policy can, however, take care of such expenses.

Broadly, there are two types of car insurance policies available in the market. The Government of India mandates buying a third-party car insurance policy to drive a car, but you must remember that this minimal coverage would not provide for in cases of a natural disaster. For monetary compensation for the damages to your car due to natural disaster, it is necessary that you hold a comprehensive car insurance policy. A natural disaster provision comes inbuilt within your comprehensive car insurance policy. The overall premiums in a comprehensive policy would be higher than a third-party liability plan, but in the long run it would prove beneficial.

• No-claim Bonus Protection: A no-claim bonus is an advantage given by way of a discounted premium to your car insurance policy for every claim-free year. Essentially, it means that if you were to raise a claim for the damages to your car due to a natural disaster, you will lose out on your no-claim bonus advantage in subsequent years. However, if you purchase the no-claim protection rider, it will ensure that even if you were to claim for natural disaster damages within a year, your bonus amount remains unaffected and you could get the premium discount during renewal of your policy.

• Daily Allowance: Natural disasters can cause significant damages to your car. You would need to travel while your car is in the garage for repairs. A robust car insurance policy will provide a daily allowance to you, which would compensate for the costs incurred by you to travel from one point to the other, while your car gets repaired.

• Zero Depreciation Cover: Depreciation is a natural process, which involves decline in the value of your car due to normal wear and tear with passage of time. In the insurance terminology, your car’s Insured Declared Value (IDV) is the maximum amount that your car insurance provider will pay in case of total loss of your car. With Zero Depreciation cover, the IDV your car will not reduce with time and you can get the advantage of claiming a higher benefit.

Natural disaster coverage is an excellent provision to include in your car insurance policy. When you make a choice between different car insurance products, give preference to the one which holds the natural disaster coverage.