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Can Your Driving Style Affect Your Car Insurance Rates?

Not many car owners know that the way your drive can affect the premium rate of your car insurance plan. Insurance companies keep looking for ways to reward car owners who have a history of driving safely by offering discounts on car insurance rates. With technological tools at their disposal, insurers are now offering comprehensive third-party insurance plans that offer benefits to safe driving behaviour.

Pay As You Drive and Pay How You Drive

After the relaxation by the IRDAI or the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, the insurance companies can now offer two variants in 4-wheeler car insurance policies – Pay As You Drive and Pay How You Drive based on the way the owner drives the car.

Pay As You Drive (PAYD)

The PAYD car insurance policy is a comprehensive policy that offers a standard third-party liability cover and own-damage cover. In this policy, the premium of the own-damage component is based on the distance covered by the insured car. The insurance company considers the kilometres driven by the car owner and offers a discount on the premium if the car has been driven for less than 15,000 km in one year.

Pay How You Drive (PHYD)

The PYHD insurance for car offers discounts on motor insurance rates to car owners with a history of good and safe driving habits. While car insurance companies looked at the driving history of car owners while offering policies, there was no insurance model that was built on this aspect. With Pay How You Drive insurance, safe drivers can get benefits on car insurance charges.

Here are some tips to help you reduce the premium of your PHYD car insurance policy:

  • Focused driving – Distractions are the primary causes of road accidents. In today’s times, mobile phones can work as the primary source of distraction while driving a car. Also, many people tend to eat and drink while driving, which can also distract them, resulting in accidents and mishaps. Make sure that you try to keep all such distractions at bay while behind the wheel to reduce the possibility of an accident.
  • Avoid anger while driving – Traffic jams and new drivers can create frustrating situations on the road. As a result, many drivers tend to lose their patience and drive aggressively to beat the traffic and reach their destination quickly. This can result in mishaps and accidents. Try staying calm when you are behind the wheel.
  • Avoid over-speeding – Many car drivers tend to push the speeds when faced with an empty road. With cars getting better and more performance-driven, they try to take this opportunity to test the speed limits of their vehicles. This can be dangerous because braking at high speeds can result in accidents. Therefore, always drive at speeds that you can control with ease.
  • Do not drive your car if you are sleepy – This is particularly applicable to long drives. When we go on road trips, we try to cover the maximum distance in a day. Hence, many drivers tend to push their sleep aside and drive. This is one of the known causes of road accidents. Hence, avoid driving if you are feeling sleepy. Also, make sure that there are at least two drivers in the car when going on a long road trip.

Summing Up

There are different types of car insurance policies available today. Before you choose one, make sure that you assess your driving style and pattern. This will help you pick the policy that offers the maximum benefits. Once you have decided on the type of policy, compare car insurance providers and plans to find the best option. Also, remember that your driving style will affect the premium of your car insurance policy. Therefore, follow the tips mentioned above and drive safely. Good Luck!

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