All About Electrical & Non-Electrical Accessories in Car Insurance
So you have bought your new car after saving up for probably years. And to make it look prettier, to add comfort and safety features you have fitted many expensive accessories – both electrical and non-electrical – and now you don’t want to risk damaging either the car or its accessories in case you have an unexpected mishap. You will obviously buy a vehicle insurance policy with the appropriate add-ons which cover all your accessories too.
Insuring car accessories is important
When you buy your vehicle insurance, the first thing that you would probably do is to buy an insurance policy to cover the damages that you may incur in case of an accident or if the vehicle is stolen. You could buy a third-party insurance, which will cover only those damages related to the third party and not own damages, which if you want to cover you will have to buy a comprehensive car insurance policy. Either ways you will have to purchase extra coverage for your accessories as they are unlikely to be covered under your main vehicle insurance policy. Electrical accessories would include your car’s music system, AC, fog lights, GPS LCD screen, etc., while non-electrical accessories would include your car’s interior fitting, such as upholstery, alloy wheels and any other accessories you have bought to enhance the looks of your car. It is to be noted that if the AC in your car is a standard fitment, then it gets covered in the main car incurrence policy, but if it is not a standard fitment, and you have it fitted separately, then you will have to purchase an accessory add-on to have it covered in your insurance package. You may have also fitted an LPG cylinder to save on fuel costs, and this will also be considered as a non-electrical accessory which has to be covered separately.
The main accessories that people usually fit in their vehicles either to improve comfort or safety are as follows:
- Fire Extinguisher
- Anti-theft-devices
- Dash camera and rear-view camera
- Tire-pressure monitor
- Vacuum cleaner
- Phone mount
- Battery charger
So, while you can rest easy in the knowledge that you can easily insure your car’s accessories, whether they be electrical or non-electrical, you will have to declare them and their value honestly to your insurance provider, or it may result in the rejection on your claim when you raise it.
What is IDV in car insurance?
When you select your type of policy, it is important to bear in main that at the time of claim settlement the first thing that would come into play is the insured declared value (IDV) of your car. So, what is IDV in car insurance? IDV is the maximum sum that your insurance provider will pay you in case of an accident or a theft, which is calculated by deducting depreciation from the current market value of your vehicle.
