Coronavirus pandemic | Acko General Insurance offers one month free auto insurance amid lockdown

Acko General Insurance on Tuesday said it will offer one month's vehicle insurance free of charge to its customers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. As people are not using their vehicles at this time, their insurance for the month remains unutilised, Acko General Insurance said in a release.

"To support customers during this time where their car/bike will not be in use, Acko General Insurance, a new age online insurance provider, has decided to not charge insurance for one month and has announced an industry-first initiative that gives a one-month insurance extension to car and bike owners," it said.

Customers who renew or are first time buyers of Acko's auto insurance policy will need to pay only for 12 months and will get a one-month extension, at no extra cost, it added.

This initiative will provide relief to customers for the month of the lockdown where their car or bike has not been used, said the insurer.

“Since most vehicles are parked and not in use during this period, we want to support our customers and do the right thing in a transparent manner by extending their insurance policy by a month for no additional cost,” said Animesh Das, Head of Product Strategy, Acko General Insurance.

The government has already announced a grace period for premium payments for third party policies till April 21.

In addition to that, Acko said it is offering a one-month extension on the tenure of third party and own damage policies at no extra cost.

For existing Acko customers, the time frame for availing the one-month lockdown extension is for the full financial year, from April 2, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

New customers can avail the one-month extension on auto insurance till the lockdown period – April 14, 2020, the company said.