Is Stand-Alone Own Damage Insurance Available?

Amongst Indian car owners, vehicle insurance is mostly understood between two terms – third party and comprehensive cover. In general, the own damage insurance component is included in most of the comprehensive vehicle insurance policies. On the other hand, a policy without own damage component only offers coverage to what you owe to a third party. So, if your car accidentally collides with that of your neighbor’s, third-party insurance will only pay for his car’s repair services, not yours.  However, renowned insurance companies like Tata AIG offer standalone own damage insurance policies. As per IRDAI’s mandate of September 2019, you can buy standalone own damage policies for your vehicles. It is particularly useful if you have third-party insurance and are waiting for it to expire to purchase a comprehensive policy with own damage cover. It also means that you can have two different policies for your vehicle at the same time, one covering the third-party aspect while the other for own damage cover.