If you’ve purchased your first bike recently, it must be special to you. But have you thought of ways to safeguard your newly purchased bike against theft, damage due to natural disasters, or other similar events? Such unpleasant situations can surprise you when you least expect them, and if you aren’t prepared for it, be ready to face the financial loss arising from these situations.
In India, the majority of the population owns a two-wheeler as it is comparatively cost-effective and a better means of transportation. If you’re a proud two-wheeler owner, too, you should look for viable options to protect your new bike. To make it easier, we’ve listed down the best and most effective tips that can keep you financially protected if your bike gets stolen or significantly damaged due to floods, earthquakes, or any other natural calamity.
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Install Bike Alarm System
When you spend your hard-earned money buying your dream bike, the least you can do to keep it protected is to purchase top-notch bike safety products. A quick search on giant eCommerce platforms or well-known auto websites will show you various bike safety items that can be used to keep it protected.
One of the options is to install a bike alarm system that will instantly turn on a loud siren if someone tries to break your bike’s locks. It will work great if you already have steering locks installed.
Relying on your bike’s built-in lock system alone can be dangerous, as thieves know how to break it. Adding additional layers of top-notch security in the form of an alarm system or industry-grade locks can prove to be helpful. You can also visit a good auto retailer and ask for other bike safety product recommendations.
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Park Safely
A simple, effective, and easy way to reduce the chances of bike theft is by parking your bike in a well-lit parking area. Some people end up parking their bikes wherever they find space. It not only increases the chance of their bike being towed by the authorities, but it can also give thieves a good chance to steal your two-wheeler sneakily.
If you’re going to the office or any other place, try to find a proper parking space where other vehicles are parked. If the parking slot has CCTV installed nearby, the better.
Get a Comprehensive Bike Insurance Policy
If you follow the basic safety tips but still don’t want to take any risk, taking bike insurance will be the best decision ever. Bike or two-wheeler insurance covers the vehicle owner against losses arising from bike theft, damage caused to a third party, accident, or damage due to natural disasters. But to get maximum coverage, you’ll have to buy comprehensive bike insurance with the right add-ons. Taking bike insurance can be helpful for the following reasons:
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Natural Disaster Protection Under Comprehensive Two-wheeler Insurance
As the name suggests, comprehensive two-wheeler insurance provides better coverage compared to third party two-wheeler insurance or standard two-wheeler insurance plan. While third party two-wheeler insurance saves you against financial losses arising due to damage caused to a third party because of an accident, it doesn’t cover damages caused to you or your bike. To cover monetary losses caused to your bike due to theft or any natural calamity, you have to buy insurance that covers you and your two-wheeler under the said scenarios.
Get Own Damage Insurance for Bike
As mentioned earlier, to cover your bike and you against damages/losses arising out of accident, theft, flood, earthquake, or any other natural calamities, you need comprehensive insurance offering coverage to the rider and the bike. You should get an own damage insurance for bike as it provides the necessary coverage.
Luckily, most comprehensive insurance plans will cover the damages/losses caused to your two-wheeler due to accident, fire, or any natural calamity. But you can also look for additional riders to ensure complete safety and security. Earlier, insurance providers issued bundled third-party insurance policies with a one-year own damage policy. The bike owners who took the bundled policy were supposed to renew their own damage policy separately every year, starting from the 2nd year.
So if you have taken the bundled third-party and own damage policy, where the third-party is multi-year but the own damage policy is for one year, you’ll have to keep renewing the own damage insurance for bike to be eligible for claims of losses due to theft or natural calamity.
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Add-Ons Helping in Protecting Bikes
While comprehensive two-wheeler insurance covers most of the things a bike owner would want, it is wise to take extra precautions from the beginning. Accidents, thefts, natural calamities, or any other unfortunate event can happen at any time, and if you’re prepared in advance, you’ll always be on the winning side.
You should look for add-ons like a return to invoice cover, engine protection cover, consumables cover, and zero depreciation cover. With every add-on you include in your insurance, the premium amount will keep increasing. But consider insurance premiums as an investment that will help you when you need it the most.
Besides the top tips shared above, you can also start being more alert and cautious about your two-wheeler. For example, if you regularly park your bike in front of your house, assuming the built-in lock will protect it, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise.
Try anchoring your bike to something heavy, so thieves attempting to steal your bike don’t succeed or end up activating the alert system or alarm in the process of detaching the bike from the anchor point. Using more than one high-quality lock and installing a CCTV near your bike parking space can also be a good idea. Now that you have a ready list of actionable tips, get them implemented at the earliest.
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