Passenger Cover in Car Insurance

Irrespective of whether you operate a private vehicle or a commercial car, you mostly have passengers in the car with you. They are just as liable to accidental injury during the ride as you are. Therefore, they need proper financial protection against liabilities arising from accidents. 

Car insurance policies do not cover passengers in your vehicle under normal circumstances. However, most insurers offer passenger cover in car insurance as a rider or add-on. Opting for this additional protection increases your premium payments for a policy by an insignificant margin but is vital for complete safety of everyone inside the vehicle, nonetheless.

How Does this Add-On Cover Work?

Typically, a car insurance plan offers complete financial assistance to the driver of the insured private car in case of accidents. This means that if you are driving the car in question, then in case of permanent disability or death because of the mishap, your family is eligible to receive the insured amount from the insurer.

Usually, the same facility is not extended to passengers in your vehicle during the accident. They would need to spend money out of their pocket to treat injuries resulting from accidents involving your vehicle.

This does not sound fair, does it?

As a driver, it is your responsibility to offer the same protection to your passengers, who are in no way or form responsible for accidents. That is why, while buying the car insurance policy, opting for a passenger cover is the only way to ensure complete protection for people who ride in your vehicle.

With such cover included in your car insurance plan, your passengers should be able to claim the cost of any treatment in the event of such accidents.

For instance, Digit insurance offer a sum insured ranging between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 2 Lacs under the passenger cover add-on. With such high sum insured amount you will be able to maximise the financial protection for the passengers in your car.

In an ideal world, every car owner should opt for passenger cover to ensure the safety of people riding in their vehicles. However, it becomes very important under the following circumstances:

Private Vehicle Owners

This rider is essential if your family members and/or friends often accompany you on drives. Purchasing the cover will ensure that the financial liability for their treatment would shift to the insurer and not on you.

Commercial Vehicle Owners

Commercial vehicle owners also need to opt for this protection, especially those operating cabs, pool cars, school buses and more. These vehicles ply passengers around each day, endangering their safety on Indian roads frequently. Proper insurance cover is, therefore, vital in these cases.  

Do you feel that purchasing protection for passengers is a waste of your money? Think again.

Would you feel the same if you were driving around with your wife and child when you experience a road accident?

During such a troubling time, the presence of a proper insurance policy to cover both you and your passengers can prevent additional stress. Therefore, the primary reasons for availing passenger cover include:

• Reduction of stress after an accidental injury involving your passenger-carrying car.
• Limits financial liability caused as a result of such road mishaps. Apart from the driver, the passenger cover add-on allows you to claim the expense for treatment of car occupants as well.
• Avoiding legal liabilities if you drive commercial vehicles plying passengers regularly.

How to File the Passenger Cover Add-On Claim?

For filing passenger cover claims, you need to follow the same procedure as that of a standard car insurance plan.

• Step 1 -  Inform the insurance provider regarding the accident and the number of passengers involved.
• Step 2 - File an FIR at the nearest police station from where the accident occurred.
• Step 3 - Record the witness details, the details of the other party’s insurance and car.
• Step 4 - File an official claim with the insurance provider, so that they assign a surveyor to verify the details of the case.
• Step 5 - If your insurer offers an online claim filing facility, make sure you choose this option for a hassle-free claim application and approval process.