Jul 30, 2010 03:11 PM
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August 2009: Last year I got my car(Honda City) insured through Tata AIG. The sales person told me that their premium is slightly higher than others because their service is good, plus they offer some additional freebies. The freebie was discount coupons for servicing. I asked if Honda dealers are covered in this free coupons, and the sales person said- "Definitely Yes!" . Later when I received my renewal notice, and the coupons, they were not for Honda- but for some other unheard of shops.
April 2010: I was travelling out of the country, and I applied for travel insurance online at TATA AIG. Customer service called for the insurance after 18 days - I had already returned from the foreign trip by then. They sent me an email - "Regret the inconvenience, please do not treat this instance as a general way we serve."
July 2010; Time to renew car insurance. Tried online - website doesn't work. Called up Tata AIG- numbers dont work. Managed to reach the number after 4 days of trying. Sales person again offers freebies. I told the sales guy to send me an email confirmation of the free gifts they offer. Sales person told me they cannot send email. Anyway, asked them for the insurance premium, and it was high. I asked them what were the additional features as compared to other insurers. They gave me a long lecture. Called up Bajaj Allianz - they quoted all the features Tata AIG offered, a higher IDV value of the car, and a much lesser premium.(Higher IDV means in case the car is stolen or completely damaged then the company which offers higher IDV is always better because they will reimburse a higher amount). I asked the TATA AIG guy to call me next day, to make an online payment.(Yes, I still chose Tata AIG because I thought it would be less hassle to renew from them rather than to shift to another insurer.)
No calls for 1 week from Tata AIG. later they called and told me that they will offer a better discount. I asked why, and the sales person told me that last year they did not give me a discount for "ARAI approved anti-theft device".(By the way, if your car comes factory-fitted with an anti-theft device, insurance companies are liable to give a Rs 500 discount on the premium). Sales person told me that they will give discount for anti-theft device this time and for last time. The premium they quoted was much less. I asked them the IDV value, and that was abysmally low- they were not giving me discount for anti-theft device, rather what they did was to reduce the IDV value of the car so the premium falls.(If you tell your insurance company to reduce the IDV value of the car, automatically the premium reduces). I realized that TATA AIG is just a thug insurance company. Having learnt my lessons, I shifted to Bajaj Allianz - at least those guys were honest about the deal, and right from the start they offered a better IDV value - 50, 000 higher than Tata AIG.
So friends, my honest advice- stay away from TATA AIG.
