Ankit had his bumper scraped in a parking lot in March and paid for it himself. In August, a lane-change accident left a far bigger repair bill. Now he is wondering whether the March decision was right and whether he can claim twice in the same year.
There is no cap on the number of claims allowed in car insurance under a comprehensive policy, provided each loss is covered by the policy. Your right to claim stays intact. What moves with each claim is your No Claim Bonus, your renewal premium and the deductible you pay every single time.
How many times can you claim car insurance in a year?
A comprehensive car insurance policy does not limit how many claims you can make in a policy year, as long as each claim falls within the policy coverage.
Two separate things get confused here and separating them answers the question properly.
The base policy carries no claim cap. Nothing in a standard private car policy wording restricts the count. If your car is damaged in March, June and November and each loss is a covered event, each one can be claimed.
Add-on covers are different. Optional covers and zero depreciation in particular, commonly carry a limit on how many times they can be used in a policy year. Many Indian insurers set this at two and the number varies from insurer to insurer. That limit applies to the add-on benefit, not to your ability to claim at all. Once the add-on cap is used up, a further claim is still payable, with depreciation deducted in the normal way.
Note for review: confirm Zurich Kotak's own depreciation cover claim limit before publishing and insert it here. The same figure is needed for the Zero Depreciation page.
Third-party claims is outside all of this. Claims for injury, death or property damage you cause to someone else carry no count limit and do not touch your No Claim Bonus.
One caution is worth reading your renewal notice for. Insurers can revise terms at renewal and a policyholder with a heavy claims record may be offered a higher deductible, reduced add-ons or in some cases no renewal at all.
That is a commercial decision taken at renewal and it is separate from any cap during the policy year.
What happens when you make multiple claims
Every own-damage claim you make costs you something beyond the repair and the largest cost is usually the No Claim Bonus rather than the premium increase. Four things move.
Your No Claim Bonus resets
The No Claim Bonus is a discount on the own-damage portion of your premium, earned for each claim-free year. It is worth up to half your own-damage premium once it matures.
Table: No Claim Bonus slabs on the own-damage premium
Consecutive claim-free years | Discount on own-damage premium |
|---|---|
1 | 20% |
2 | 25% |
3 | 35% |
4 | 45% |
5 | 50% |
A single claim is enough to trigger the reset. The policy condition awards the bonus only where no claim has been made or is pending during the preceding year, so one claim takes the discount to zero and you rebuild from 20%.
It works as a switch rather than a sliding scale that erodes claim by claim.
To see what that means in money, take an own-damage premium of Rs 10,000. At 20% NCB you pay Rs 8,000. At 50% you pay Rs 5,000.
Losing a mature bonus therefore costs Rs 5,000 at the first renewal alone, before counting four further years of rebuilding. Run the same sum on your own premium figure.
There is also a renewal condition attached. The bonus is allowed only if you renew within 90 days of the previous policy expiring.
Your renewal premium can rise
Insurers price on claims history. A record of frequent claims marks a higher-risk profile and renewal terms can reflect that through a higher premium, a higher deductible or reduced add-on availability.
You pay the deductible every time
The deductible is the amount you bear on each claim before the insurer pays. The policy applies it to each and every own-damage claim, not once a year. Three claims means three deductibles, which is why small claims rarely repay the effort.
Depreciation is deducted on each claim
Unless you hold depreciation cover, the insurer deducts depreciation on parts being replaced. The rates are fixed in the policy wording and they are steep on exactly the parts that get damaged most.
Table: Depreciation deducted on replaced parts in an own-damage claim
Part or vehicle age | Depreciation applied |
|---|---|
Rubber, nylon and plastic parts, tyres, tubes, batteries, airbags | 50% |
Fibreglass components | 30% |
All glass parts | Nil |
All other parts, vehicle up to 6 months old | Nil |
Vehicle 6 months to 1 year | 5% |
Vehicle 1 to 2 years | 10% |
Vehicle 2 to 3 years | 15% |
Vehicle 3 to 4 years | 25% |
Vehicle 4 to 5 years | 35% |
Vehicle 5 to 10 years | 40% |
Vehicle over 10 years | 50% |
Read those two tables together and the arithmetic on a small claim becomes obvious. A Rs 8,000 bumper repair on a four-year-old car, with plastic parts at 50% depreciation and a deductible on top, may return very little while costing you a mature No Claim Bonus.
When to claim and when to avoid claiming
Claim when the amount you recover is larger than the No Claim Bonus you give up and pay from your pocket when it is not. The calculation takes five minutes.
Table: Working out whether a claim is worth making
Step | What to check | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
1 | Repair estimate | Written quote from the garage |
2 | Compulsory and voluntary deductible | Your policy schedule |
3 | Depreciation on the parts being replaced | Depreciation table above, unless you hold depreciation cover |
4 | Your current No Claim Bonus percentage | Policy schedule or renewal notice |
5 | Your own-damage premium | Policy schedule |
Claim if the repair estimate, minus the deductible and minus depreciation, comes to more than the No Claim Bonus you would forfeit at the next renewal.
Situations where paying yourself is usually the better decision:
The repair cost is at or below your deductible. Nothing is payable, so the claim achieves nothing while still resetting your bonus.
Small dents, scratches and a broken mirror. A local garage will handle these for less than your bonus is worth.
Your No Claim Bonus has reached 45% or 50% and the damage is modest. This is the most expensive bonus to give up and the slowest to rebuild.
Situations where you should claim without hesitating:
Anyone is injured, whether in your car or outside it.
Structural or major mechanical damage or anything that makes the car unsafe to drive.
Theft, fire or a total loss, where a formal claim is the only route to your Insured Declared Value.
Any incident involving a third party's vehicle, person or property. These do not affect your No Claim Bonus, so there is nothing to protect by staying quiet.
Ankit's March decision was sound. His August one should go the other way.
How to claim car insurance with Zurich Kotak
Report the claim as soon as the incident happens, because the policy requires immediate written notice rather than a fixed grace window. Guidance across the industry commonly cites 24 to 48 hours. The policy itself also allows for a delay to be condoned where you give the insurer your reasons. Neither is a reason to wait.
The cashless process runs in six steps:
Call 1800-2120 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and intimate the claim with your policy details.
A claim reference number is issued once the claim is registered.
Submit the documents required under the policy, which may include your driving licence, registration certificate, policy copy and an FIR copy where applicable.
An inspection is arranged within 24 hours for claims reported on a working day or the next working day for Sundays and public holidays.
On cashless confirmation, the car is repaired at a network garage and the approved amount is paid directly to the garage.
You pay only the deductible and any depreciation, as advised by the surveyor.
Reimbursement works the same way up to the repair stage, with you settling the bill and claiming it back. Zurich Kotak settles claims within 7 days of receiving all required documents and cashless claims at its 6,500+ network garages typically resolve in 2 to 3 days.
For theft or any criminal act, the policy requires immediate notice to the police as well.
Conclusion
The number of claims allowed in car insurance is not the constraint most people assume it is. A comprehensive policy does not count them, third-party claims are unlimited and consequence-free for your bonus and only add-on covers carry a per-year cap.
The discipline is one step earlier, in deciding which incidents are worth claiming at all.
Work out the deductible, the depreciation and the bonus you would surrender, then decide. For Ankit, that means paying for parking-lot scrapes and claiming the accident.
Check your policy schedule for your deductible and add-on limits before your next renewal and keep your No Claim Bonus in view when a small repair tempts you.
Frequently asked questions
How many claims are allowed in car insurance?
A comprehensive policy sets no limit on the number of claims, provided each loss is covered. Add-on covers such as depreciation cover usually carry a separate per-year cap, which varies by insurer.
How many times can we claim car insurance in a year?
As many times as you have covered losses. Each own-damage claim resets your No Claim Bonus and attracts a deductible, so the practical limit is financial rather than contractual.
How to claim car insurance with Zurich Kotak?
Call 1800-2120 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. to intimate the claim, collect your claim reference number, submit the required documents and allow the inspection that follows within 24 hours on a working day.
Does making one claim reset my No Claim Bonus?
Yes. The bonus is awarded only for a year in which no claim was made or pending, so a single own-damage claim returns it to zero and you restart at 20%.
Is there a claim limit on depreciation cover?
Add-on covers commonly limit how many times the benefit can be used in a policy year and the figure differs between insurers. Check the add-on wording in your policy schedule for the limit that applies to you.
How soon after an accident must I report a claim?
The policy requires notice immediately after the loss. Industry guidance commonly cites 24 to 48 hours and a delay may be condoned if you give the insurer your reasons.
Can I claim for multiple damages from the same incident?
Yes. Damage arising from one incident is assessed and settled as a single claim, however many parts are affected, with one deductible applied.
Do third-party claims affect my No Claim Bonus?
No. The bonus applies to the own-damage portion of the premium, so third-party claims leave it untouched and carry no count limit.
When should I not claim car insurance?
When the repair cost is close to or below your deductible, when the damage is cosmetic or when the No Claim Bonus you would forfeit is worth more than the amount you would recover.
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