Your bike takes you on journeys that you just dreamt of. Two-wheelers are a craze amongst the young generation but are a necessity for a large part of the population.
If you own a two-wheeler, you know that driving can be fun but without an insurance policy, it is not. The insurance policy is an important document for the bike owner to have. Valid motor insurance will help you recover damages in case there arises any, save taxes, fulfill the legal mandate, etc.
So don’t think that you can do away with it.
Buying a new insurance policy or getting the renewal is not a cumbersome task anymore. There are several options from which you can choose to buy a two-wheeler insurance policy. These include agents, dealers, aggregators, Point of Sales Person(PSP), and direct insurance company websites.
Let us look at the pros and cons of buying the policy through different channels.
- Agents
| Pros | Cons |
| An agent can save your time which you will have to invest in the comparison of the quotations. | They can hide information and push the name of the company which would pay them the maximum return. |
| They can bring you as many quotations as possible. | An agent may lack information about the product. |
| You can approach the agent to resolve the issues when there is a claim. | There is no guarantee of whether he will offer you the claim services. The agent will sell you the policy to earn a commission. |
- Dealers
| Pros | Cons |
| Buying the policy from the dealer in comparison to an agent or POSP can save you some premium. | Dealer may push you to buy the policy from the insurer he might be making a commission. |
| You have no hassle when it comes to just taking the delivery of the car and you can hit the road directly. | You don’t get a chance to compare the quotations. |
| Dealers can’t help you at the time of claim. | |
| You do not have direct access to the insurance company. |
- Aggregators.
| Pros | Cons |
| Buying a two-wheeler insurance policy through an insurance aggregator brings you a multiple of choices to make a quick comparison between the insurers. | Buying bike insurance through a web aggregator is a cumbersome process. |
| You tend to waste less time here in comparison to that of the insurance agents. | The process to purchase the policy is possible only via cash or check. It blocks the cash available at hand. |
| The payment process is online and hence it is easy. | It might be difficult for you to compare the policies. |
| It is quite convenient to purchase the policy online |
- Point of Sales Person
| Pros | Cons |
| POSP is a localized point of contact for the policies. | POSP sells only pre-approved products that do not need further explanation. It may include products such as travel, motor, and personal accident policy. |
| It offers great convenience and is easily available to purchase the policy. | It caters to first-time customers who look for simple insurance policies. |
| Great bond with the local people that can help in fetching new clients. | A POSP may not be able to sell you complex policies making him less preferable than insurance agents who can access or find out information on products like fire, engineering, including motor, personal accident, travel, and others. |
| POSP is equally responsible as an agent or a broker to help the customer at the time of claim. They have the complete authority to represent with the right knowledge to get the claim processed. | POSP is a less trained person and hence chances are that they need extra efforts to sell policies. Agents on the other hand are trained by insurance companies to sell their products. |
- Direct Insurance Company.
| Pros | Cons |
| You get clear information when you buy a policy directly from an insurance company. | You might not be able to make comparisons of the quotes and scope of coverage always when buying it directly from an insurance company. |
| You can negotiate directly and there is less possibility that anyone will tweak the information. | You will have to read the terms and conditions yourself. You can always ask the representative to explain but for the bigger picture, it is supposed to be your call. |
| You save premium when buying a policy directly from the insurance company because there are no middle-men or representatives included like agents, brokers, POSP, or aggregators. | At the time of the claim, you will have to arrange all the documents and do direct correspondence. |
| The process of buying/filing a claim can be explained in a crisp manner. |
Buying two-wheeler insurance directly from an Insurance company is the better option. Know why?
Buying two-wheeler insurance online directly from the company is a better option because:
- It saves you time in choosing the product and paying for it in comparison to that of all the other options. That is because no one tries to influence your decision.
- You receive the policy with comparatively less time because there zero miscommunication of the messages.
- The premium amount is cheaper because the premium does not comprise the charges of the middle man.
- The representative will answer all your queries in a precise manner after listening to your desires. They might recommend the right plan which will be more beneficial for you. Whereas, an agent or an aggregator might consider their earning proportions.
- Insurance companies may authorize you for self-inspection in case there arises a claim. Agents, aggregators, or the POSP do not have the power to authorize the customers like this.
- With insurance companies, you have a direct point of contact to get the changes done quickly if there is a need. With agents and other modes of sales, you might again have the problem addressed after some time.
Read more: 6 insurance policy every individual should buy in 2020
