There are many consumables when you leave your car in a garage for servicing. Important among these are engine oil, air filter, oil filter, fan belt, AC refrigerant, ball bearings, grease, brake oil and a long list of such apparently small things. But each one of these small things significantly impacts the proper functioning of your vehicle. While all these consumables are equally important for the smooth running of your vehicle, lubricants, filters and fan belt can occupy the top of the list.
Lubricants are essential for your internal combustion engine and a good quality engine oil reduces the wear and tear on various moving parts while also keeping them clean from sludge and preventing corrosion. The circulating engine oil also helps in keeping the engine of your car cool. Similarly, there is the oil filter that should always be kept clean so that the different types of lubricants are thoroughly filtered before reaching their respective destinations. This way, you will help avoid contaminants getting into the engine itself and causing major problems. Next comes the air filter which guards against contaminants from the air passing into the engine.
In simpler terms, consumables in your car represent items that need regular replacement due to wear and tear over a period of time. In other words, this can also be understood as components that your machine consumes through several thousand miles. Another feature of consumables is that they cannot be recycled once they are removed from the respective areas of your car.
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Insurance and consumables in your car
While buying insurance cover for our vehicles, many of us tend to forget about consumables. But, if you expect your insurance carrier to pay you close to 100% of your claim, you must pay attention to covering consumables even when you are buying a comprehensive cover. A comprehensive cover will only cover personal insurance, third party cover and repairs in the event of an unfortunate accident. You will need to buy an independent cover for consumables or as an add-on.
Consumables cover
When consumables are not covered by your insurance, obviously all costs related to consumables will be paid by you. Thus, having an add-on cover for consumables along with your comprehensive cover is a great idea. Naturally, there is an additional premium for this add-on and would vary depending on the vehicle and its age.
What is covered by the consumables cover?
When you have an add on consumables cover, it covers the cost of various consumable items in your vehicle like:
- Cost of replacing oils and lubricants like brake oil, engine oil, AC gas, radiator coolant, power steering oil etc.
- Vital items such as screws, nuts, bolts, grease and washers
- Various filters
A consumables cover will in fact cover every consumable in your vehicle except fuel.
What conditions should be satisfied
Similar to other automotive insurance add on policies, you should satisfy certain conditions to benefit from the additional premium paid for the purpose. Knowledge about these conditions will be immensely helpful when you need to prefer a claim as a consequence of accident or theft.
- Check with the insurance carrier on the admissibility of claims for consumables and understand exclusions if any. You should also know that potential claim can cover only your car and not damages caused to third party vehicles under the add on.
- Cars under a certain age, generally up to 5 years, only are eligible for this add-on cover. Therefore, ensure that your vehicle is indeed eligible for the cover.
What items are generally excluded?
Most insurance policies will have what is known as ‘the fine print’. It is for you to use a magnifier and understand every word that appears there. In this case, major exclusions will include:-
- Driving without a valid driving licence
- Not having valid policy documents on the date and time of the accident
- DUI
- Using a private vehicle for commercial purpose
- Mechanical or electrical breakdowns
- Normal top-up of engine oil /other consumables
Apart from the above, you should also ensure that no delay is caused in informing the insurance carrier whenever a situation warranting a claim arises.
What supporting documents would be needed?
All the required information about your car and your insurance policy are available with your insurance carrier. However, to expedite the processing of your claim, you can focus on the following:-
- Obtain all bills/receipts for repairs
- To the extent possible contact a garage within the network identified by the insurance company for estimating and carrying out the repairs
Accidents away from your hometown
If an accident occurs away from your normal place of residence, your insurance itself and the consumables add-on are still valid for preferring a claim. Most insurance carriers provide us with a convenient mobile app and you can use this to inform the insurance company irrespective of your physical location. You can even upload pictures from the accident site using these apps.
Conclusion
Every car owner is required to carry mandatory insurance. Other then that one must send the vehicle for regular car service as during the service the car is properly checked including the oils. However, consumables are not covered under this policy. If an accident occurs, replacing consumables can be pricey and therefore, the consumables add-on to your policy can be beneficial when your car is eligible.