No Claim Bonus In Two Wheeler Insurance

The No Claim Bonus (NCB) in bike insurance is nothing but a discount on the Own Damage (OD) cover premium. The insurance provider offers the NCB benefit when you do not make any claims against your bike insurance during the year.

NCB allows you to reduce your bike insurance premium and can lessen your financial burden. For the first claim-free year, the No Claim Bonus in bike insurance is set at 20%.

On top of that, for every consecutive year of not making any claims, you can accumulate NCB, which maxes out at a maximum of 50%. So, if you continue with your claim-free years, you can avail of up to 50% discount on your OD cover premium after the end of the 5th year.

The No Claim Bonus in bike insurance essentially rewards the provider's offer for driving safely, cautiously, and responsibly by providing a discount on bike insurance premiums.

The NCB is a discount on the Own Damage (OD) cover premium. For the first claim-free year, the NCB in bike insurance that you get is 20% of the premium. As a result, for every consecutive year of not making any claims, you accumulate NCB, which tops out at a maximum of 50% of your premium Comprehensive two-wheeler insurance. 

Therefore, if you continue with your claim-free years, you can get up to 50% discount on your OD cover premium after the end of the fifth year. You must file insurance every year after the maximum has been reached to be eligible to accumulate any additional discount. You have to pay half of the applicable premium.

You can still accumulate your no-claim bonus in two-wheeler insurance even if your vehicle meets with an accident. Let’s say the third-party insurance of the other party that caused damage to your vehicle covers your damages. In this scenario, if it is determined that the insurer will not have to pay you out despite you filing a claim, then the NCB will continue.

Simply put, the NCB will lapse only and only if the insurer honours your claim and pays you out. With the claim being honoured, the NCB will accumulate.

Now that you have a fair idea of what NCB in two-wheeler insurance is, it is time to check out how this benefit is calculated. Let’s take the help of an example.

There are two individuals - Adarsh and Ranvir. Both purchase the same two-wheeler - Royal Enfield Classic 350 at around the same time. They’ve also opted for the same comprehensive bike insurance policy from the same insurance provider for the first-year premium of ₹15,000.

While Adarsh completed the first year successfully without making any claims, Ranvir got into an accident and had to make a claim. At the end of the first year, Adarsh became eligible for a 20% NCB in bike insurance, while Ranvir didn’t get the advantage of NCB.

Here’s a table clearly explaining the effect of the no-claim bonus in bike insurance.

As you can see from the above calculation, Adarsh saved around ₹2,400 by driving safely and not claiming in the first year. On the other hand, Ranvir didn’t get the benefit of NCB and had to pay the full premium.

The benefits you get to enjoy by accumulating a no-claim bonus in bike insurance are numerous. Here’s a quick look at a few of them.

• NCB can help lower the premiums of the Own Damage (OD) cover in your bike insurance policy by up to 50%.

• The NCB in bike insurance applies to the policyholder and not the vehicle. This effectively means that you can transfer your accumulated NCB to a new bike or another insurance provider.

• Since NCB is essentially a reward for cautious driving, it encourages policyholders to adopt safe driving measures.

NCB in two-wheeler insurance is important as it helps you to save money on your policy payment. Under NCB, you can earn a discount on your policy premium upon policy renewal after each claim-free policy term. After five consecutive claim-free policy terms, this can reduce the policy premium by up to 50%. As a result, you can save money by drastically reducing your spending on bike insurance.

Just like the benefits, the NCB in bike insurance also has a few limitations you should consider. Let’s look at some of these limitations.

• NCB in bike insurance is only available for Own Damage (OD) covers and not third-party covers.

• Even a single claim during a year can lead to losing all your accumulated No Claim Bonuses.

• The maximum percentage of NCB in two-wheeler insurance that you can avail of is capped at 50%.

This add-on cover protects your no-claim bonus from a claim. Let’s assume that you have had a record for filing no claims for about 2 years. This accumulates to a 25% no-claim bonus. However, there comes an unforeseen accident which forces you to claim your bike insurance coverage. In most cases, the no-claim bonus in your bike insurance would reduce to 0% after filing this claim. However, that will not be the case if you have an NCB Protection add-on cover. 

This NCB cover will uphold your current NCB despite the filing of a claim. However, this protection is applicable to only one instance of claim. Should you make a second claim within the same policy year, you will most likely lose your NCB. 

Here are a few key inclusions and exclusions of the No-claim Bonus Protection cover. 

The NCB in bike insurance is only offered after the completion of the first year of not making any claims. For every claim-free year since, the NCB percentage in bike insurance continues to go up until it reaches 50%,. This is the maximum bonus insurance providers offer. IRDAI determines the rate of NCB discount that is offered annually on your two-wheeler insurance plan.

The table below can help you understand the No Claim Bonus's impact on your premiums.  

Your No Claim Bonus can get cancelled in the following situations. 

• If a claim has been made during the term of the policy

• If the policy has not been renewed within 90 days of its expiry date

• You are eligible for an NCB only when you have a comprehensive insurance policy. You would not get any NCB in third-party liability-only insurance.

There are two scenarios to claim your NCB policy as shown below. 

1. Renewal of Policy from Same Insurance Provider: If you renew your two-wheeler policy from the same insurance provider, mention on your renewal form that you already have an accumulated no-claim bonus in your bike insurance. The NCB will be deducted from the premium owed for the following insurance period.

2. If You Change Your Insurance Provider: You must submit proof or a certificate acquired from your previous insurance provider to retain NCB with your proposed insurance plan if you're changing insurers. If you've bought a new bike and want to use NCB for the same, you need the NCB retention proof here. Please note that you can only request the NCB retention certificate once you have filed a cancellation request. 

Keep the following things in mind when it comes to NCB in insurance in India:

• Only when you opt for comprehensive insurance would you be eligible for NCB in bike insurance and not with third-party liability covers.

• If a claim is made during the policy year, the NCB in bike insurance will be nullified.

• Ensure you renew your policy on time, as all accumulated NCB will be terminated if the policy is not renewed within 90 days of the expiry date.

• The NCB in 2-wheeler insurance acquired cannot be transferred to another policyholder; however, the NCB is transferable when switching insurers or vehicles.

• Terminating an insurance policy in the middle of the term may also cancel the NCB that has been acquired.

We hope you have now understood the meaning of NCB for bike insurance and its significant impact on your bike insurance premiums.

One of the many ways you can retain your NCB in two-wheeler insurance is by refraining from making small claims. Instead, you can pay for the expenses out of your pocket. This way, you can ensure that the NCB in bike insurance policy remains intact.

Alternatively, you can choose to opt for the optional NCB Protect add-on for your bike insurance plan as well, which can allow you to retain your no-claim bonus despite claiming during a year.

If you wish to check out bike insurance plans that offer the optional NCB Protect add-on, head to the Bajaj Markets website. You can browse through the list of plans that offer the add-on, compare them, and choose the one that satisfies your needs.