Car insurance is compulsory under federal law in the UAE, and failure to have it will incur penalties and fines. And whether you have only one car, or use one regularly but own several, you’ll need to ensure that all of them are insured.
Having more than one vehicle might be nice when it comes to driving options, but it can be a headache when it comes to insurance. Multiple renewal dates, multiple premiums to pay, and multiple documents to retain can all add up to stress. That’s why many car insurers now offer a single policy that can cover all the vehicles in your household.
How Does Multi Car Insurance in Dubai Work?
The concept of Multi-Car Insurance is simple. One policy covering many vehicles. The proposer (the person taking out the policy) can include cars owned by them and any immediate family members, with their consent. As in single vehicle policies, full details of all the vehicles (make, model, value, specification, registration year, etc) must be provided: along with all the drivers’ details such as age, driving record, accident history, no claims discount proof, etc. Once all the vehicles and drivers have been assessed (this is known as underwriting), an insurance quote is provided with a single overall premium and coverage. Typically, the vehicle with the highest value (be this through age or vehicle type) is to be considered the primary or lead vehicle, and the rest are classified as secondary vehicles.
What Are The Benefits Of Having A Multi Car Insurance in Dubai
If you’ve a number of vehicles in your household, and typically you’re responsible for insuring them, there’s several reasons why a Multi-Car Insurance could be ideal. These include:
- Potential to save money on your premium: insuring several vehicles with the same insurer under the one policy can mean you accumulate discounts and save money on the overall total premium.
- Only one set of documents: the beauty of a multi-car policy is that there is just one policy document covering all the vehicles, so your administration is as if you have a single car policy. Less headache when it comes to registration, vehicle testing, making a claim, etc.
- Single renewal date: no need to remember when each vehicle’s policy starts and expires/renews, as all vehicles have a common renewal date. Simple!
- No Claims Bonus can still apply for each car individually
Policy coverage can be customized to suit your requirements
Are There Any Pitfalls With Having A Multi-Car Insurance Policy
As with most things in life, there are disadvantages as well as advantages with having a multi-car insurance in Dubai. These “cons” include:
- “Risky” drivers can push up your premium: any young, inexperienced, or drivers with a poor accident record included in the policy can push up the premium charged by the policy.
- Large financial outlay: you’ll need to remember that you’ll be paying a combined premium for all the vehicles that you insure at the one time, which may put some financial pressure on you. Just bear in mind that overall you’ll be paying less because of discounting, so hopefully that should soften the blow!
What Are The Typical Terms And Conditions Of Multi-Car Insurance?
In terms of coverage, both Third-Party and Comprehensive coverage is available under a Multi-Car Insurance policy.
Typically, you can insure from 2-9 vehicles under the one policy but this does vary according to the insurer, so you’ll need to check respective terms and conditions of the companies you’re considering.
Each vehicle is underwritten individually and the condition, value and specification of the vehicles to be insured is assessed. Similarly, No Claims Bonus/Discount is calculated and applied for each individual vehicle and therefore in the event of one vehicle making a claim, the others covered under the policy are unaffected.
