Comprehensive Guide to Passenger Cover in Car Insurance

When you drive your car in a populated country like India, the risk of a road accident is very high. In fact, according to a report, at least 17 people die from road accidents every hour in our country. That’s a troubling number, especially for people driving their cars regularly. While most car insurance policies offer personal accident and life cover to the owner-driver, when an accident occurs, the passengers in the vehicle are affected too. To protect you from any financial liabilities arising from any injury or death of the passengers, most insurers offer a ‘Passenger Cover’ with car insurance.

What is Passenger Cover in Car Insurance?

During the unfortunate event of an accident or a collision, passengers in your car are equally liable to get injured like you. Hence, it is important to ensure that you are protected against any financial liabilities arising from an injury or death of any passenger in your car at the time of the accident.

Regular car insurance policies do not cover these costs. Hence, most car insurance companies offer an add-on called Passenger Cover to help you get comprehensive coverage. While this might result in increasing the premium amount, it ensures the safety of all passengers in your car.

A car insurance policy usually offers financial protection to the owner-driver of the insured car in the event of an accident with the ‘Personal Accident Cover’. In other words, if the owner of the car is driving it and meets with an accident, then the policy covers the costs associated with treating injuries and pays the insured sum in case of permanent disability or death. However, these policies don’t extend the same facility to the passengers in the vehicle. Hence, you end up spending money from your pocket to treat injuries resulting from any accident involving your vehicle.

Since the passengers have no control over the vehicle, ensuring their safety is your responsibility. Therefore, when you purchase a car insurance policy, ensure that you choose the Passenger Cover add-on to manage such disasters effectively. This cover offers reimbursement for the cost of treatment of the passengers in your car for injuries caused due to an accident involving your vehicle.

What does the Passenger Cover include?

The inclusions of the Passenger Cover are:

• Costs associated with the medical treatment of any injuries sustained by the passengers of your car after accidents or mishaps
• A disability liability cover for all passengers in the car
• Financial assistance in the event of the death of a passenger in your car

What does the Passenger Cover exclude?

The exclusions of the Passenger Cover are:

• If the passenger/s has stepped out of the vehicle when the accident occurs and gets injured, the cost of treatment is not covered
• No cover is provided beyond three passengers in the car. You will have to bear the treatment costs of any additional passengers.

Do you need a Passenger Cover for your car?

Ideally, every car owner should opt for a passenger cover as it ensures the safety of the people in the car. Passengers can be family members, friends, or colleagues. If you drive regularly with your loved ones, then buying the add-on will ensure that in the event of an accident, the insurer manages the treatment costs and you can focus on getting them through the accident.

On the other hand, if you use your car for commercial purposes like a cab or pool car or school-bus, then ensuring the protection of the passengers is unavoidable. Hence, buying a Passenger Cover is a must for commercial vehicles.

Car insurance protects you from financial losses in the event of an accident or collision. It is like buying a safety net that you hope never to use. However, if an accident does happen, a comprehensive insurance cover can ensure that you are not worrying about the cost of treatment and can focus on healing and helping your passengers heal.

So, we recommend that you should buy a Passenger Cover to manage stressful accident situations better and limit your financial liability during a road mishap. Also, commercial car owners can avoid legal liabilities by ensuring that their passengers are insured.

Summing Up

An important thing to remember is that you cannot buy a Passenger Cover as a standalone cover. It is available as an add-on with a comprehensive car insurance policy only. In today’s times, with streets getting overcrowded and people rushing to get to their destinations, accidents or collisions are common. Hence, while the authorities have mandated a third-party liability cover for all cars, buying a comprehensive car insurance policy along with the right add-ons can save you a lot of hassle in the future. Before you buy car insurance, look at the list of add-ons made available by the insurer, and assess if you need them. While the premium might increase a bit, the peace of mind and cost-efficiency they offer during an accident is usually worth the extra costs.