ICICI Lombard is proud to present the latest, updated version of our Insure app. This version has been improved keeping in mind the feedback that we have received from our esteemed customers. All the reviews and comments that are left on our various communication platforms have been taken into consideration while revamping the app.

Most of the negative feedback that we received was around storage space, accessibility, interface and the ease of use. All of these aspects have been addressed in the latest variant. For example, the previous version was considered as putting a heavy burden on user’s precious storage space. We have gone ahead and made the app lighter than ever before, now requiring just 6 MB of space on your phone.

Accessibility and navigation, which were considered as pain points before are bettered, now offering an enhanced interface that is lucid, streamlined and simple with more information packed on a single page. Talking about information, we have made the app even more comprehensive by adding offline policy details, in addition to the online policy details already present. Simplicity is taken up a notch as well. Buying and renewing policies are far easier, thanks to the reduced number of steps required to complete the process.

Be it car, bike, travel, or health insurance – everything can be taken care of from your smartphone. Need to buy or renew a policy? Want to raise a claim? Track status of claim or locate cashless garages or hospitals? All of this, and more, can be done on the go. There are many features in our new and improved Insure app that make it a must-have on your phone. Here are a few of them.

Packed to the Brim

The Insure app not only provides a wealth of information about your policy, but also allows you to perform tasks that would otherwise prove time-consuming and laborious. We have taken great care to ensure that all your online insurance requirements are catered to, in the most engaging and lucid way possible.

There are some truly outstanding features that we have incorporated in the app, and we’ll talk about them later in detail; but for now, let us talk about what else is possible. For most of you, buying or even renewing the policy is a hassle. It’s something that you would not want to spend more time on than required. The app lets you buy and renew a policy online and immediately, without any paperwork!

Before purchasing a policy you would definitely be interested in the quote. There is a facility within the app, which lets you calculate your insurance premium and get instant quotes. Lodge a car insurance or bike insurance claim, purchase add-on covers for your policy and 24x7 roadside assistance are some of the other nifty features.

Rapid Claims Process

Anyone familiar with raising a claim for car or bike insurance knows what a lengthy and time-consuming process it can be. You have to call the insurer’s customer service, fill up the claim form, wait for the surveyor to assess the damage and then take the car to the garage. It all sounds like an ordeal, but, not anymore!

ICICI Lombard’s Insure app comes with the InstaSpect feature, which makes filing a car or bike insurance claim an instantaneous and easy task. The app has live video inspection functionality that is employed for claim assessment. With this, a live video inspection can be scheduled with a claim manager, who will assess the damage and convey the extent of liability. Once the insured agrees to what is offered, the vehicle damage repair process will be initiated. As simple as that.

Mobile Self-Inspection

In line with our vision of enhancing customer satisfaction, we have brought in the mobile self-inspection feature for renewal of your motor insurance policy. Renewal of the insurance cover is critical to availing the benefits of the policy. However, due to hectic schedules, most of our customers simply forget or delay their insurance renewals. What adds to the frustration is the tedious process of renewing the policy.

Insure app provides the user with a smooth and convenient way of renewing their motor insurance policy. All the user has to do is upload a video of the vehicle taken from their phone by following a few simple guidelines through the app. This step takes care of the mandatory inspection required for renewals and also reduces the time taken for the entire process to be completed from 2-3 days to just a few hours. Cool, don’t you think?

Harnessing the Power of Telematics

IL Assist is another unique feature that is present in the Insure app. This feature relies on technology and provides the latest in vehicle tracking and monitoring. It makes use of telematics and provides 24x7 roadside support for your vehicle. Apart from that, it also gives you critical updates on the health of your car, as well as alerts on geo-fence violations and over speeding.

Insurance calculators are available for all types of policies including health, home, motor, student, travel etc.

It is very likely that someone looking for an insurance policy begins his search on the internet. Apart from authentic company websites, there are numerous websites that provide insurance policies to potential customers. The reason for this expansion of the internet in the insurance sector is the fact that it is much easier for a person to acquire an insurance policy online as against the conventional means.

Although the convenience is due to the absence of paperwork, the websites providing insurance policies also try to further simplify a potential buyer’s choice. This is done through various support tools that these websites put forth for their consumers. One of the most popular and very successful tools that almost all insurance websites employ is the insurance calculator. For every type of policy, there is a particular type of calculator. The following are examples of some tools that you could use.

The Health Insurance Calculator:

These calculators are primarily used for situations such as calculating the premium in a family floater health insurance plan that includes medical coverage for your whole family. The calculations for such a situation can be quite complicated and time consuming with numerous possibilities of errors. This is why tools such as this one are provided to help you make confident and informed comparisons between policies.

The Home Insurance Calculator:

These are calculators that are used for home insurance policies. These can be used for policies that cover your whole house as well as for policies that only provide coverage for the items in the house. With a home insurance policy, you are also required to declare the total value of belongings in the house. Apart from this, the premiums of home insurance policies also vary on the basis of the validity period which can range from anything between one year to five years and even more.

The Motor Insurance Calculator:

The Supreme Court of India has made it mandatory for all vehicles sold after March 2020 to be in compliance with Bharat Stage 6 emission norms

Introduced in the year 2000, the Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES) are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. These emission standards for automobiles were made mandatory by the Government of India to keep air pollutants emitted by the internal combustion engine of vehicles under control.

Based on European (EURO) emission standards, Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms were first brought into effect in 2000 under the head “India 2000”. This was followed by BS2 in 2001 and BS3 in 2005. However, the emission norms were made more stringent only with the enforcement of Bharat Stage IV (BS4). Thereafter, the Government of India skipped the implementation of BS5 in 2016 and decided to introduce Bharat Stage VI (BS6) in 2020 instead.

In the light of ever-rising air pollution in India, Bharat Stage VI (BS6) is a welcome upgrade. It is the 6th mandate for vehicular emission norms that is more restrictive and stricter. Once rolled out, it will help in boosting the country’s battle against air pollution. With the implementation of BS6 norms, India’s emission norms will become equivalent to that of the USA and Europe.

How does BS6 emission norms differ from BS4?

The following are the key differences between BS4 and BS6 emission norms:

● Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) are being introduced with the roll-out of Bharat Stage VI norms, which were not a part of Bharat Stage IV.
● Real Driving Emission (RDE) will be introduced in India for the first time with the implementation of Bharat Stage VI emission norms. It will measure a vehicle’s emission in real-time conditions against laboratory conditions.
● Another change that is being introduced with the implementation of Bharat Stage VI emission norms is that Onboard Diagnostics (OD) has been made mandatory for all vehicles.
● Change in the fuel used in vehicles is the major upgrade that is being brought about with the roll-out of Bharat Stage VI emission norms. A vehicle with BS6 compliant engine will require BS6 fuel. If a BS6 vehicle uses BS4-grade fuel, it won’t be able to adhere to the BS6 emission norms. Similarly, if a BS4 vehicle uses BS6-grade fuel, its engine will take a hit and increase emissions.
● The most crucial difference between BS6-grade fuel and BS4-grade fuel will be in terms of Sulphur and Nitrogen Oxide content. The sulphur traces in BS6 fuel is five times lower (10 ppm) as compared to sulphur traces in BS4 fuel (50 ppm). Further, nitrogen oxide level for BS6-grade diesel engines and petrol engines will be brought down by 70% and 25%, respectively.

Will BS4 vehicles be able to run on BS6-grade fuel?

If you own a Bharat Stage IV car that is powered by petrol, you can relax as you do not have to worry about Bharat Stage VI compliance. The reason being, BS6-grade petrol and BS4-grade petrol have very similar chemical composition. However, if you are an owner of a diesel-powered car of Bharat Stage IV generation, you might have to face some problems.

As discussed earlier, BS4-grade diesel has sulphur traces of 50 ppm, whereas BS6-grade diesel has only 10 ppm sulphur traces. Although this low sulphur content is forgiving for the environment, it can be harmful for BS4 engines. A diesel engine depends on its injector to ionise the fuel and make it combustible, and the sulphur in diesel acts as a lubricant for the injector.