General insurance companies offer a range of optional add-ons that give additional cover to your car along with the base motor insurance policy. While add-ons like zero depreciation, engine protection and return to invoice are some of the very common and prominent add-ons that most car owners chose, there are some lesser-known add-ons as well that are as important and beneficial as others. It is significant to look under the hood of each of these additional covers to understand what they offer and how they work.

Some of these covers are really useful and do not cost too much.

Tyre Protector Cover

Usually, damages to your car tyres are only covered if your vehicle meets with an accident which results in damage to the tyres. Normal wear and tear of the car tyres is not covered in the comprehensive car insurance policy. However, in case you wish to protect your car tyres against regular wear and tears and get covered for scenarios like car tyre(s)/tube(s) burst without the car getting involved in an accident, you can buy tyre protector add-on. The cover pays you for the cost of repair/ replacement of tyre/ tube for reasons like impact cuts and bursts, impact bulging of the sidewall, flattening of the tyre due to hard braking.

Daily Allowance Cover

With daily allowance add-on of your vehicle, you get adequate compensation for the cost of hiring an alternative vehicle if your car is stolen or is under repairs at the garage. For those residing in remote areas where there is heavy dependency on own vehicle due to lack of proper public transport facility, this add-on comes as a handy solution. Generally, the insurers provide up to Rs. 500 per day for a maximum of 14 days under this add-on, if the car is at an authorised workshop for more than two days. However, the compensation amount and the number of days can vary across different insurers and the benefit is only payable if the car is repaired at an authorised garage. Some insurers even compensate the vehicle for hotel and travel charges if the car breaks down in another city and the owner needs to make a stay due to odd timings.

Key And Lock Replacement Cover

Losing your car’s key is a common yet frustrating situation! Moreover, these days, all mid to high-end cars use computer coded, encrypted car keys that local vendors usually fail to copy. In such a scenario, one has to approach an authorised service centre of the car manufacturer which may charge anywhere between Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 5,000 for a duplicate car key. And in the case of remote-controlled cars, the cost can go even higher. To help you during such a situation, insurers offer Key and Lock Replacement add-on. Under this add-on cover, few insurers cover the expenses pertaining to replacement of keys and even locks if required. However, there is a limit to the number of key replacement claims that a person can make during the tenure of the policy.

Loss Of Baggage Cover

Yet another lesser-known add-on to make your car cover much more comprehensive is Loss of Baggage add-on also called loss of personal belonging add-on. Under this add-on, the vehicle owner is provided reimbursement in the case of loss of baggage or belongings or damages to the baggage placed in the car. However, it is important to know that coverage is restricted to electronic items that include mobile and laptop. The biggest advantage of taking this add-on is that the no-claim bonus will not get affected even if a claim is made for loss of baggage provided the claim is made without making an own-damage claim against an accidental damage to the car. The maximum amount that one can claim for mobile and laptop under this add-on is Rs. 25,000 for mobile phones and Rs. 50,000 for a laptop respectively.

Availing motor insurance add-ons can turn out to be one of the best for vehicle owners. However, do remember to do your research before zeroing in on the policy that fits you best.

The author is the Head Of Motor Insurance, Policybazaar