Car Insurance and What to do or not to do

One big issue with major car insurance companies are that when it comes to selling a policy you have customer agents/ insurance agents/ garage mechanic all doing in their bit to sell you the policy with great fervour you giving good customer service and a discounted insurance premium.

In the unfortunate incident that you have to come across for amy claims or settlement of claims it becomes very hard to find these guys. They will ask or I should say command to do this and do that , why did you do this, you should have done this and on and on but they will toss the issue to the guy at the insurance company desk, they in turn will ask who was the agent, and then the garage owner/dealer will say you need to bring the vehicle to the workshop as they are full with compalins and cannot come. So in the end you have to tow in case major case to the workshop, then the surveyor will come according to his will if told by the insurance company at his own given time.

Then begins the grueling task of asking of questions FIR, witness , and so on and so forth. All this while if you depend on this vehicle for travel you had it . Going by the process it depends how much the insurance company will give you the final amount. If it does not satisfy you then the entire proccess of appealing and put your case forward all this when you have to sacrifice your precious time from work/business .

Since couple of days I have been trying to get the best possible insurance policy for friend of mine, and the process of digging into the various companies,, their method of calculating the IDV or the insured declared value of the car, which in lay term is the cost of the car at present value.

This is a standard format that they have with the car companies data of various models they have or ahd and their price at the time of purchase, deducting depreciation they come to a figure on which the premium starts. There are many websites which give good comparision to variuos policy, then the insurance comapny have their own websites to give a good idea as to how much you need to pay.But what really matters is the time of an incident how fast one is able to reach to you or help you with the formalities as at that moment it is all about the incident and many a good composed people tend to lose what is to be done. So one should have a agent who can or insurance company having good all india network with garages/towing facility, call centres to help out the insured party.

Customer service in India is only limited to the call centre executive who in the most mildest of voices will help but the reall work that needs to be handle in a very professional manner is the back end / bacl office the field guy which still far cry from what is expected.

So please ensure that you get quotes from diffrent companies ask in writing what is the process , standard operating procedure, what is the each item or amount on the policy for or calleld the break up, negotiate, negotiate and see that you get premium to a very affordable amount as i have learnt by having time beofre the policy expires, most important evrything in writing from the company read the fine prints as these will come very very handy when you put your claim form.

Ok the last bit of information from a qoute I recieved from Tata Aig -

• "Important Note: please do not accept any responsibility in respect of the accident nor promise any compensation to any third party who is involved in the accident."

Well I don't know if this is to be done as what matters is a life a helping hand and the above is something which is very unfortunate just because its an insurance company - remember in case you are the victim then what happens.

Indian Car Insurance Company Comprehensive Auto Insurance Tata Aig Reliance General Future Generali New India Assurance United India Insurance Oriental Insurance Royal Sundaram ICICI Lombard

Slumdog Millionaire Wins Golden Globe Award

Slumdog Millionaire

Winner 2008 Golden Globe - Best Picture (Drama), Best Director - Danny Boyle, Best Orignal Music Score (Drama) A R Rahman, Best Screenplay (Drama) -

Well well here we go again and this time we have actually won an award. Still it took a Britisher to direct at what we see everyday - Slums and Dogs. The reasoning of the the film doing good at the awards is just as the Americans love their Heros - War, or some Super Natural Power possesor those films do get an award, and just like the Heros our slums and dirt and meyham of cows in the city roads is what the west always highlighted and enjoyed.

So at the awards A R Ruhman / nee Rahaman/ or Rehman they couldn't get it right and the guy who was the presenter who ever actor he is was more stunned when he read the winner, just as any Caucasian might have been when Obama won the Presidential race. A R Rahman as he is always media shy was really more amused and shocked when he received the award, that he was flushed knowing better that he was chosen ahead of Clint Eastwood who was also one of the contendor.




Knowing fully well that the speech would have to be short and not knowing all the people to thank on the tips of the tongue, he did the simple way by taking a small note, he could have done more that by just being his natural self which he is most of the time we have seen of him on TV.

The other surprise was seeing jumping jack Anil Kapoor just like the character of the Movie "Mashal" when Danny boy mentioned his name and to make sure that everybody saw in India that we too was there he was all jumpin', this I feel could have been more gracefully done by standing up and clapping hands but what the heck he knew that this was the moment and not many many Indian or for the fact Asians have been on a Golden globe award wiining team.

Shah Rukh was really out of sorts standing besides the elegantly dressed Ms.Frida Pinto, the tie was not there or it was like nasty school kids after a collar fight the collar and tie gone haywire and gestucalating with hands to someone from the stage as though he was on the sets of some movie. Sorry SRK you need to be more polished.

As for the the Director it was a great moment he made a movie and knew if it clicked he was on top and that he was, the Americans being jabbed in the belly, a glimpse of a lady below the stage after the Best movie as annouched lip synched "oh that is so wonderful" yes it was .

The stars was shinning and both the kids of the film were humble and quite excited being the main characters of the film and being in the limelight is what it will be for next few months, new contracts both Hollywood, Bollywood, maybe more woods and TV shows, mega bucks but remember kids it doesnt take long for this to disappear remember " Salaam Bombay" how a trust was made for the kids for their future and then what happened to them nobody knows where they are, so enjoy your fame and fortune roll baby roll.

As for the like of Tare Zammen Pe (TZP) not sure if can make the list for the Oscars, but of does than it will be double whammy if both the films win.

So India we can do it more than this, offcourse but this is not the end of movie making , some of the films and movie makers in India are so so talented and fantatic, movies that we have seen makes us really wonder who needs the west to acknowledge that we are good.

Golden Globe Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle A R Rahman

The curious case of Benjamin Button The Reader Revolutionary Road

Burn After Reading Happy Go Lucky In Bruges Mamma Mia Vicky Cristina Barcelona

www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/index.html

Auto Rickshawala by the stand

Well another weekend and so much has go by you feel as you get up this New year 2nd weekend. Looking out of the window jsut like any other day i see the Auto rickshaw and their drivers standing in this cold winter morning in Mumbai much milder than the one we had last year in 2008 for the first time goingbelow 15 degrees Celcius.

As these autowala stand they have their own rythm that i see them follow the stand as it is now not assigned by the BMC or the RTO but over the years maybe close to 25 now since I have seen them standing and taking the passenger (pax I will call ) to their destination.

I wonder how do they manage to squeeze in the money to survie in this city. Over the years sitting in these guys auto and understanding their life keeps me intrigued as to how people manage to. The day for them starts by 7 am at the stand , the inital early morning trickle to the garden or temple pax jump in and out, then by 8 to 10 am the ever hurrying office goers the school / college kids and all. Most of them have now learned that its not feasiable to travel long distance as they say the make more money by doing the local station to stand -local area nore affordable and profitable. so doing 59 trips in an day of Rs 9/- is better than making 3 trips of 100 where one is stuck in the traffic and the pollution and bad roads and at times often late pax leaving mid way and walking.

So better to stay within the area and do short trips is their funda now. Then comes the luxury for some to go home for lunch and have a nap for and hour and back as mostly they do or take lunch in the parking and dozing off in the back seat.

The cycle of one gone the next pushes to the first and the rest follows and on and on iot goes. How does one save well the guys below have among them who does a BC collection and Rs 30 is they give by evennign or next day and in times of need they take the loan minus the intrest.

Some who dare to go our always have some more with them butit all depends in the traffic and demand and at times when time up to hand over to the night shift or the owner they do have to come empty which makes and dent.

Now all this on a daily basis no vacations no weekends no Causal Leave / PL / SL just palin everyday work . So how do they manage , they do take time off on sundays after 4 pm when business is a little slack and do manage to spend some time with family or some outing.

So life goes on a days off due sickeness or strike like the fuel pumps going dry then life a big problem staring at them with no earnign and nothing fall back on most of the times.

Some have already left to beback in the villages where its more easy now than to struggle with the city with nothing to save . Some have taken up other options of selling wares. Young boys from up north have taken their palce and have made more earnigns by tampering meters and taking for a ride the pax who don't know the routes. This is why we the commonhers end fighting ervery time its time to pay the fare.

Well now ith Metro Rail and other options these guys have not much left they say and the Governemnt is also not doing anythiong to help the locals to earn a decent earning.

So time is not far off that the Nano on its way and the autos will be off the road.