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What Our Plans Cover
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Full-value settlement of replaced...
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Full-value settlement of plastic
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Full-value settlement of glass
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The complete comprehensive cover u...
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Cashless repair at network garages
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Applies across the number of claim...
Who Can Consider This Plan?
- Vehicle registered in India with a valid registration certificate
- Valid driving licence for the class of vehicle
- Vehicle fit for use — a failed fitness certificate affects commercial cover
- Accurate declaration of use: private, commercial, or hired out
- Previous insurance details, where no-claim bonus is being carried forward
What May Not Be Covered?
- The compulsory excess, which still applies to every claim
- Consumables such as oil and coolant, unless separately covered
- Claims beyond the permitted number of zero-depreciation claims per year
- Mechanical and electrical breakdown, and normal wear
- Engine damage from water ingress, unless engine protection is added
Always check the policy wording before you commit.
Why Choose Wealth & Covers?
- Expert advice to choose the right plan
- Plans from leading insurance companies
- Hassle-free process and documentation
- End-to-end support, including claim assistance
- Dedicated relationship manager
Our Insurance Partners
- Star Health Insurance
- Care Health Insurance
- Niva Bupa Health Insurance
- HDFC ERGO
- ICICI Lombard
- Bajaj Allianz
We represent multiple providers to help you find the most suitable option at the best price.
- Expert Guidance Personalised advice from experienced insurance professionals.
- End-to-End Support From choosing the right plan to claim assistance, we are with you always.
- Claims Assistance Hassle-free claim support to ensure you get what you deserve.
- Transparent Process Clear information, easy documentation and a hassle-free experience.
Overview
Every standard comprehensive policy settles a claim after deducting depreciation on the parts it replaces. On plastic and rubber components that deduction can reach half the part's value, and on a modern car most of a front-end repair is exactly those materials.
A zero depreciation policy removes the deduction. The insurer pays the full cost of replacement parts, and you pay only the compulsory excess. On a car under five years old the difference on a single moderate claim frequently exceeds the additional annual premium.
What it does not do is remove every deduction. The compulsory excess still applies, consumables are still excluded unless separately covered, and the number of zero-depreciation claims per year is usually capped. Those limits are worth knowing before the claim rather than during it.
Who should consider it
Owners of cars under five years old, almost without exception. Owners of any vehicle with expensive body panels, imported parts or extensive electronics. Drivers in dense city traffic, where minor damage is frequent.
It becomes marginal on older vehicles, where the IDV has fallen far enough that the depreciation saved no longer justifies the premium. Around the seven-year mark is where that calculation usually turns.
Benefits
- Replacement parts settled at full value with no depreciation deducted
- Materially higher settlements on plastic, rubber and fibre components
- Predictable outcomes — you pay the excess and little else
- Particularly valuable on cars with costly or imported body panels
- Frequently recovers its own annual cost in a single moderate claim
- Combines with engine protection and return to invoice for near-complete cover
What is covered, and what is not
Read the right-hand column first. It is the one that decides whether a claim is paid.
Typically covered
- Full-value settlement of replaced metal parts
- Full-value settlement of plastic, rubber and fibreglass parts
- Full-value settlement of glass
- The complete comprehensive cover underneath — accident, fire, theft, calamity
- Cashless repair at network garages
- Applies across the number of claims permitted in the policy year
Typically not covered
- The compulsory excess, which still applies to every claim
- Consumables such as oil and coolant, unless separately covered
- Claims beyond the permitted number of zero-depreciation claims per year
- Mechanical and electrical breakdown, and normal wear
- Engine damage from water ingress, unless engine protection is added
- Tyres and batteries, on most plans, unless a specific cover is taken
- Damage while driving without a valid licence or under the influence
Inclusions and exclusions vary between providers and between plans from the same provider. The wording in your own policy document is what governs — we will walk you through it before you buy.
How it works with us
- 1 Send us the vehicle details Registration number, make and variant, year, and your current policy if you have one. Thirty seconds of typing.
- 2 We check what you are actually insured for IDV, add-ons, voluntary excess and no-claim bonus. Most renewals we see carry an IDV set years ago and never revisited.
- 3 Two or three quotes, compared on cover and not on price With the garage network in your city and each insurer's claim record put next to the premium.
- 4 Inspection where the law requires it A break in cover or a mid-term insurer change means an inspection. We arrange it, usually by video.
- 5 Policy issued, and we handle the claim when it comes You call us at the garage, not a helpline. We deal with the surveyor and the settlement.
Important considerations
The things a brochure tends to leave out. Read these before you decide.
- Check the number of zero-depreciation claims allowed per year. Beyond it, the policy reverts to ordinary depreciation and most owners discover this at the second claim.
- It does not cover consumables. If you want the oil, coolant and fasteners covered too, that is a separate and inexpensive add-on.
- Around seven years old the arithmetic turns. The IDV has fallen far enough that the depreciation avoided no longer justifies the premium — run the numbers rather than renewing out of habit.
- Zero depreciation and engine protection cover different perils. Neither substitutes for the other, and in a flood-prone city you want both.
- The compulsory excess still applies. Zero depreciation makes a claim much better; it does not make it free.
Documents required
- Registration certificate (RC) of the vehicle
- Previous policy copy, for no-claim bonus and continuity
- Driving licence of the owner or the usual driver
- Identity and address proof
- PAN card, where the premium crosses the reporting threshold
- Invoice or delivery note, for a new vehicle
- Vehicle inspection report, where there has been a break in cover
Frequently Asked Questions
How much difference does it actually make?
On a modern car, a front-end repair involving bumper, grille, headlamp and fender is largely plastic — the material carrying the steepest depreciation. Without zero depreciation you can lose a substantial share of that settlement. It commonly recovers its annual cost in one claim.
Is there a limit on how many times I can use it?
Usually one or two claims per policy year, after which ordinary depreciation resumes. Check the number before buying; it is the term owners most often discover too late.
Does it cover engine damage from flooding?
No. That is a separate exclusion answered by engine protection cover. The two add-ons address different perils and, in a city that floods, you want both.
At what age does it stop being worth it?
Generally around seven years, when the IDV has fallen far enough that the depreciation avoided no longer justifies the extra premium. It is worth re-running that comparison each year rather than renewing automatically.
Do I still pay anything on a claim?
Yes — the compulsory excess applies to every own-damage claim regardless of add-ons, and consumables are excluded unless separately covered. Zero depreciation improves the settlement substantially; it does not eliminate your share.
Want a shortlist instead of a catalogue?
Tell us the situation and an advisor comes back with two or three options that actually fit — and names what each one gives up.