How cashless garage facility benefits you

Two neighbours’ daily routine of watering plants leads to an interesting conversation.

Bindu: I see you have a lot of new pots.

Sindu: Yes. I wanted to grow some vegetables at home.

Bindu: Quite an investment, I would say. How did you get all the seeds and pots on the same day?

Sindu: Yes. But the pot sellers had a tie-up with the seed vendors. So, I got seeds with all the pots I purchased. I also got a few seeds for free.

Bindu: Good for you. This is similar to the cashless benefit in insurance.

Sindu: How so?

Bindu: Well, take motor insurance for instance. You get cashless garage service for the premium you pay. You can get the insured vehicle repaired at the issuer’s network garages without having to pay for it. Network garages are those that the insurance companies have tied up with to provide cashless services to their policyholders. You can check the list of garages with their name, address and contact number in your policy document or on the insurer’s website.

Sindu: How does this help? We get garage services anyway from the car company or the authorised dealer.

Bindu: Yes. But when your vehicle is damaged due to an accident, you can approach any of the network garages for cashless service. That is, once the repair work is done, the garage service provider will issue an invoice to the insurer directly who will bear the expense. The authorised dealer, you mentioned, could very well be part of your insurer’s network or not.

Sindu: That’s a great service. So, how do I go about it if my vehicle is damaged?

Bindu: The first step is to inform the insurer about the damage. Post the intimation, the insurer inspects the vehicle. Then a request for cashless service is initiated. Once the request is approved, the insurer takes care of all the expenses on repairing your vehicle. Some insurers also offer to tow your vehicle to the network garages!

Sindu: This is a huge relief!

Bindu: But remember, the insurance company will pay only for those damages that are covered under the policy. If parts of the car, such as the interiors including speakers and radio which are usually beyond the policy coverage, suffer damage, then you will have to bear the expense.

Sindu: Any downsides?

Bindu: Cashless garage is a huge advantage, especially when repair work has to be done and you are short of funds. However, this service may not be available across all cities or regions. Also, if you go to a garage which has no tie-up with your insurer, then you will have to pay for the repair work and get reimbursed from your insurer.