With festival season and the new year celebrations being around, many wish to fulfil their cherished dreams, and most of them go for buying their dream car. When you have fulfilled your wish to buy your dream car, it becomes one of your most prized possessions, and taking good care of that possession is a significant part of keeping the dream safe. Since even the tiniest speck of scratch or grain of dirt may give you anxiety, choosing a complete protection plan for your car only seems like the most crucial investment you can make.

Looking for the best and comprehensive protection plan for your car is only the natural first step you can take in your journey of insuring your vehicle. Although, the process may seem a little daunting at times since there are myriad options available in the market.

When you are looking for complete protection for your vehicle, you must go for a comprehensive package that protects your car not only from damage in case of accidents but also in other unexpected circumstances like natural disasters, fire, thefts, etc. A comprehensive plan also covers the third-party liabilities caused by your vehicle.

Here are some of the most crucial features that you should be looking for in a car insurance plan for the complete protection of your vehicle:

• Comprehensive cover:

Buying a car is not an easy investment. It is always followed by an enormous responsibility to keep the vehicle safe from any kind of damage. Comprehensive car insurance is a type of insurance that provides a wide range of benefits and coverage compared to a Third-party policy, which provides limited coverage. Comprehensive car insurance covers the damages/injuries caused to a third party, as well as your own vehicle. It also covers the damages to your car in case of an accident, theft, fire, natural and man-made calamities.

• Add on covers:

Car insurance add-on covers are optional covers that can be purchased along with a car insurance policy to enhance its coverage and enjoy exclusive benefits associated with them. There are several add-on covers offered by insurance companies nowadays. A car insurance policyholder can purchase the required add-ons by paying an extra amount. These add-on covers are mostly available only with comprehensive insurance covers. The add-ons such as Zero Depreciation cover, Engine protection cover, Roadside assistance, Invoice protection etc, can be a good addition to your standard plan, since the different benefits they can provide may protect your car better than just the standard coverage.

• Claim Settlement Ratio:

If you want to protect your car, then just buying a comprehensive policy that provides wide coverage may not be enough if that policy doesn’t provide a good claim settlement. It is crucial to opt for an insurance company with a high claim settlement ratio. A claim settlement ratio is total number of claims settled by the insurance provider against the total number of claims raised in a given year. When you select the insurer with a high claim settlement ratio, you minimise the chances of your claim getting rejected. Hence, when you go for an insurer with a good claim settlement ratio, there is a high probability of you getting your compensation if your car runs into any trouble.

Buying your dream car, a complete protection plan and securing it against any unforeseen event is one of the most crucial things you can do as a car owner.

This article is authored by Pulak Sarmah, Head of Marketing at Kotak General Insurance, and views expressed in this article are the author’s personal views.