Motor insurance riders: All you need to know for a smooth ride

What does one get for being a good driver? Safety, a clear conscience, and peace of mind would top the list. There are car owners out there who follow every good driving practice diligently.

Every once in a while, they crave for a little bit of an extra bonus as responsible car owners. What if we told you that you may finally be getting some big brownie points for driving responsibly or less frequently? The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has announced some very exciting add-ons to car insurance policies.

In the past decade and a half, technology has transformed the way insurance works. The IRDAI has been ensuring that every insurer in the country keeps up with this transformation. Three new motor insurance riders have also been introduced in the same bid. The regulator said, “Introduction of the above options will aid in giving the much-needed fillip to Motor Own Damage cover in the country and increase its penetration.”

Here is everything you need to know about the new riders:




The recent IRDAI announcement has introduced a more nuanced approach to a policyholder’s premium payment requirements. The pay-as-you-drive model is an optional rider based on the number of kilometres or distance driven. So, one pays a premium as per usage instead of having to abide by a flat rate for all. This is especially useful for those who work from home or who have more than one car.




The beauty of this rider is that it not only gives a car owner a fair deal, but it also encourages other drivers to respect rules and regulations.

Floater policies

If you own more than one vehicle, it may be tedious for you to have to manage separate insurance policies for each of them. Moreover, you are bound to pay a higher premium than others as you have to maintain two or more mutually exclusive insurance policies. An ingenious solution to this is a floater policy. This allows one to buy one combined policy for multiple vehicles.

It helps a policyholder in paying a lower premium and also to extend policy benefits to multiple vehicles. This optional add-on can even include two-wheelers. Moreover, the benefits of one’s good driving behaviour can simply be carried forward from one vehicle to another, saving time and effort for the policyholder.

All in all, these latest regulations by the IRDAI pave a very interesting path for motor insurance in India. These show that technology has allowed the insurance industry to embrace finer details of customers’ needs and offer products that give the policyholder a fairer deal.