GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

Taking a shower is quite refreshing, especially after retiring from a hectic day or a high-voltage workout regime. The shower makes you feel better whether you prefer long, steamy stints or quick, frosty ones. While both hot and cold showers have their benefits, the optimal option is somewhere in the middle.

Let's discuss them one by one. First, let's talk about the merits and demerits of cold showers.

Merits:

1. Recover after a workout:
Ice baths and cold showers have gained popularity in the fitness regime for post-workout recovery. Cold water possesses regenerative properties that help your muscles to repair after an intense workout.

2. Reduce itching:
Due to the cooling and anti-inflammatory properties of cold water, a cold shower can help lessen itching if you have sensitive skin.

3. Enhance your body's resistance:
The immune system experiences a mild stress response when exposed to cold water, which helps increase resilience. Therefore, your body may react better when attacked by an infection.

4. Protects your skin and hair:
Your skin and hair do not lose their natural oils when you take a cold-water shower. Pores are sealed shut by cold water, which tightens the skin. Additionally, it inhibits hair fall and is kinder to your hair.

5. It makes you more alert and energetic:
You are startled awake in the morning by the shower's cold-water spray hitting your body. This shock will make you more alert and energised by raising your heart rate and oxygen intake.

Demerits:

Taking a cold shower can make you feel worse when you're sick. You will feel colder and take longer to warm up if you already have a cold, cough, or fever. People with joint pain can face problems like cramps after having a cold shower.

Let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of a hot shower.

Merits:

1. Relax muscles:
After a workout, a hot shower might assist in relaxing the muscles and speed up healing.

2. Relieve respiratory symptoms:
A hot shower might be a helpful approach to relieve stuffy nose symptoms. This is due to the steam produced by hot showers loosening the mucus in your throat, nose, and chest.

3. Improve sleep:
According to research, a hot bath or shower before bed can help you sleep better quickly.

Demerits:

1. Taking hot baths might make your skin dry. When your skin comes into touch with extremely hot water, the keratin cells that make up its top layer are destroyed. Your skin becomes dry because moisture cannot be trapped.

2. Additionally, taking hot showers can make skin disorders like eczema worse. This is because hot water causes the skin to dry out excessively. Even if you don't have a skin issue, it might still make your skin itchy.

3. You should avoid hot showers if you have cardiovascular disease or high blood pressure. These issues might worsen if the water is excessively hot.

Which is best for your health – a hot or cold shower?

Showers, whether hot or cold, offer advantages of their own. If possible, take a warm shower before applying a moisturiser to your body while it's still damp. Cold showers can soothe irritated skin, while hot showers help relax the muscles and clear the nasal channel.

Sometimes, hot showers can cause skin problems as well. You can choose between the two depending on the weather and any health issues you may have. In the winter and when you are sick with a cold or fever, you should avoid taking a cold shower. If you don't enjoy chilly showers, ensure the water is lukewarm.

Keeping everything in mind, a person should prioritise his health, whether by having the right shower, doing daily exercise, eating a healthy diet, or purchasing the best health insurance plans in India for additional safety and medical emergencies. Health insurance will make you feel more prepared financially to deal with such circumstances and manage medical expenditures since treatment costs are rising daily.

Click HERE to buy the best health insurance plans in India and safeguard your finances.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

With changing circumstances and lifestyles, more people are prone to eating junk and unhealthy foods that can affect their behaviour adversely. Binge Eating Disorder, or BED, one of the most common eating disorders in the world, can tremendously affect your body.

The usual symptoms of binge eating disorder refer to excessive food consumption even when you're not hungry. The risk of Binge Eating Disorder in children and young adults is increasing with every passing day. This makes it a critical case of worry for everyone across the globe. The only optimum solution to this problem is regulating your eating habits. It is always beneficial to keep track of the best health insurance in India. This way, you will be covered health-wise wherever you go.

Let's look at the six practical ways to tackle BED.

1. Do not skip meals:
It is essential to adhere to a strict eating schedule throughout the day. The four-square meals a day are essential. None of them should be skipped at any point. If you skip a meal, you are more likely to have hunger pangs throughout the day.
This can stimulate cravings and give rise to binge eating. If you consume only one large meal throughout the day and binge eat in between, your blood sugar levels will also malfunction.

2. Drink water:
Hydration is one of the important characteristics of a healthy body. Water is essential in decreasing cravings. It helps in reducing overeating and maintaining a healthy weight. With an increase in water intake, hunger pangs will decrease as well. You should always pay attention to your body's call to thirst.
Although the level of water you should consume may depend on many factors, drinking water at regular intervals is a healthy habit to practise. Also, drinking water before meals can burn calories.

3. Practice meditation:
Mindfulness is a technique that involves being aware and fully present in the moment. Through mindfulness, you'll be able to listen to your body better. It is a great way to train your mind to avoid overeating.
It helps you understand what you are feeling and experiencing by making you understand your body better. It will also help you in processing your emotions well. When mindfulness is paired with cognitive behavioural therapy, the results are astonishing for BED.

4. Practice yoga:
Yoga is one of the most effective tools in reducing stress and anxiety in the body. With yoga, your body is trained to be emotionally stable. It involves meditation and breathing exercises that add to the overall development of the body.
It is noticed that people who have undertaken yoga in their lives enjoy reduced levels of stress. This can directly correlate to emotional stability and, thus, a reduction in emotional eating. It can significantly reduce the factors responsible for binge eating.

5. Clean the clutter:
The more organised your kitchen looks, the better. Take a day out of your schedule to eliminate all the extra clutter in your kitchen. Throw all the junk food away and replace it with healthy alternatives like fruits, vegetables, and nuts. It will clear your mind and make you more attentive toward healthier food items. Your surroundings will no longer trigger you, and you'll refrain from overeating junk food.

6. Work out for a while:
Physical exercise is highly crucial to your body. It can prevent binge eating to a great extent. Therapy alone cannot help BED patients. When paired with physical exercise, things get significantly different and better. Any physical exercise like swimming, running, biking, jogging, or playing sports can reduce binge eating. It is a step towards a healthier lifestyle.

Keep all the above pointers in mind when tackling Binge Eating Disorder. If you can follow these correctly, you can recover from BED. The battle is long and arduous but not impossible. Regardless, you should also consult with the best health insurance in India beforehand to keep you safe and secure and manage your finances well in any emergency.

Click HERE to buy the best health insurance in India.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

Hit-and-run accidents are frustrating events where a driver causes an accident and flees from the spot to avoid getting into complications. In many such accidents, the driver and the vehicle causing the accident become untraceable even after reasonable efforts have been made to search for them by investigating authorities.

As per the 2020-21 report of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, around 14.3% of cases of the total accidents that occurred in India accounted for hit-and-run. Section 161 of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act outlines the guidelines and proceedings in case of a hit-and-run accident.

The victim of such an unfortunate event can get relief by applying for an insurance claim to compensate the damage done to the vehicle. Let us see what we should do to claim car insurance in case of a hit-and-run accident.

1. Note down all important details:
In a hit-and-run case, the aggrieved party should avoid running after the offending car to catch it. If you face a situation like this, your first immediate response should be noting down the car number and other possible details about the car and the driver that can help the police to track him down.
The same applies to a hit-and-run accident in the case of a parked car. You should try to find the registration number of the vehicle involved in the accident by going through all available CCTV footage of the vicinity.

2. Find witnesses:
In some situations, it is possible that you won't be able to spot the accused vehicle and the driver due to mental shock or other damages post-accident. In this case, try speaking to people present at the site and gathering as much information as possible about the vehicle and the driver that caused the accident and fled. This will help you recreate the scene and gather enough information to file a case.
If your car was hit while parked somewhere, try to find any possible witness of the accident. In either case, take the witnesses' names and phone numbers so they can testify for you and help you to get your car insurance claim.

3. FIR:
You must register a First Information Report or an FIR about the accident at the nearest police station to the accident site. The police will then investigate the case and prepare a report. The car insurance company will require a copy of the FIR to process your claim.

4. Procedure:
The first step after you get engaged in a hit-and-run accident is to inform your car insurance company about the accident. Then you need to file an application to the Claims Enquiry Officer of that Taluka. You can appoint an agent as your legal representative to handle the case. In case of death, your family or a legal representative chosen by them will look after the compensation process.
On being satisfied, the Claims Enquiry Officer will submit his report to the Claim Settlement Commissioner. He will further process the report and prepare a sanction report. The Claims Enquiry Officer will communicate the sanction order to the car insurance company.

5. Compensation:
Once the car insurance company is fully satisfied with the evidence and the report, it will cover the repair and replacement charges of the car as per the terms and conditions of the insurance contract. Other than the above compensation, the Central Government has also set up a hit-and-run insurance fund to compensate the victims of hit-and-run accidents.

The numbers of hit-and-run cases have been constantly on the increase in India. In such cases, the claim settlement process under car insurance is a bit lengthy. However, the police should give a report stating that the offender could not be traced before the insurance company settles the claim. Also, the complainant should prove that the offender was at fault and that the accident occurred due to his negligent driving.

Hit-and-run accidents can be terrifying and challenging to recover from. Hence, an active car insurance policy is essential for comprehensive protection. This will secure you and your family from any monetary losses from the accident and ensure that you safeguard your finances.

Click HERE to buy car insurance

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

Are you someone who is looking to buy a two wheeler soon? If yes, one of the important things you need to do is look for a trustworthy dealer. Purchasing a vehicle is always daunting as you have to pay close attention to the many aspects. A two wheeler is one of the best investments to make your life more comfortable and easier, and you must get the perfect deal from an auto dealer.

*Note
In addition to buying a two wheeler, it is also necessary to purchase two wheeler insurance. The best way to do this is to buy two wheeler insurance online and get exciting benefits that can protect your vehicle from all adversities.

So, as you have decided to purchase a new two wheeler, let's look at a few factors that can help you select the best auto dealer.

1. Type or category of the two wheeler:
While looking for a two wheeler dealer, you first need to focus on the type of vehicle. Since you can purchase either bikes or scooters nowadays, you should figure out whether the dealer sells those models of your choice. Scooters are more convenient to handle since they provide gearless riding experiences, automatic transmission, storage space benefits, etc.
Whereas bikes help you get better control, power, and handling. The bikes are more well-built for long and short distance rides, offering good fuel economy and a smooth riding experience. You should pay close attention to the dealer's collection, test-ride your favourite options, and then make a decision.

2. Budget:
The next important factor you must consider while selecting a two wheeler dealer is the budget. You should think beforehand about how much you are willing to spend on the vehicle. This aspect will also make it convenient for you to narrow down your options.
Two wheelers are available in different price ranges these days, and you should ensure the dealer has one that will fit your preferences. You should also consider your savings, tax costs, monthly expenses, etc., while buying a vehicle. In addition, you should have financial planning to buy two wheeler insurance online to help you in times of need.

3. New or Used:
The third important point you should pay close attention to while selecting a dealer is whether they keep new or used vehicles. If you are looking for a used bike, try your best to look for a dealer with an appropriate range of pre-owned vehicles and good ratings. Not just that, but you should also ensure the two wheelers they have are in good condition so that you may use them without any further hassle.

4. Look for customer reviews:
When looking for a two wheeler dealer, trust and customer service are paramount. You should always check the reviews and feedback of past customers before you make a decision.

Prepare a list of different dealers on the above parameters to make it convenient for you to figure out which one will best fit your requirements. It will also assist you in understanding who will be able to provide you with better facilities and options.

Although selecting one among various dealers may be challenging, you should do it thoroughly. Follow this checklist and look for a dealer that assures good after-sales service and reliable customer support. Do your research, compare different options, and then make a final decision. Don't rush into things, and most importantly, buy two wheeler insurance online to add a safety net to your newly bought vehicle.

Click HERE to buy two wheeler insurance online.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

As a car owner, you already know that a vehicle breaking down can be extremely frustrating. After all, they are machines! As a result, you should always try your best to stay prepared for the worst. And if you are in the middle of a highway, you may do a few things to ensure you are safe and protected.

Breakdowns in the middle of a highway can be challenging and cause nightmares. Let us take a closer look at a few steps to get the best benefits while minimising the trouble caused due to unexpected breakdowns.

1. Park your car on the side of the road:
The first thing you need to do when your car breaks down in the middle of a highway is to park your vehicle as soon as possible. It is necessary because it can cause traffic jams and invite accidents. Try your best not to panic and slowly pull the car aside.
Not just that, but you should also remember to turn on your hazard lights to notify the people behind you. This factor will also assist you in avoiding a traffic jam without any difficulty.

2. Call for help:
The second thing you need to do when your car breaks down in the middle of a busy highway is to call a mechanic or roadside assistance company for help. This will make it convenient for you since they send professionals to fix your vehicle or tow it to the nearest garage or service centre. If the issue is fixable, they will do it within a few minutes on the spot so that you are good to go and reach your destination safely.

3. Keep tools in your car and use them:
If you know how to check a dead battery or change a flat tyre, you will be able to fix minor problems without any external help. Always keep important tools in your car at all times. For example, if you get a flat tyre, having a jack and a spare tyre will help you to change it and get to your destination within a short period.

4. Alert the traffic:
If your car breaks down in the middle of a highway, it is crucial to constantly alert and divert traffic. Since the traffic will always be moving, immediately put a triangle with reflectors behind your car to caution other drivers about the breakdown.
In case you don't have reflectors in your car, you can find objects like bushes and stones to create a barricading around your car and use them as a signal to alert upcoming vehicles about your breakdown. This way, you can avoid the chances of accidents due to collisions.

Your car breaking down in the middle of the road can cause panic, but you should try your best to deal with it confidently and with swift actions. Stay calm and think about things thoroughly to acquire the best outcomes. Always take your car to the service centre and get it thoroughly inspected for any problems before you set on a trip.

Make a checklist of important factors to cross-check them before travelling. Get your car insurance renewal before the next premium is due and avoid the policy from lapsing. Services discontinued due to non-renewal can make you lose vital benefits in case of an emergency.

Click HERE to get your car insurance renewal done.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

Buying your dream car is only half the job done. Maintaining it properly is complex and time-consuming, but it is all worth in the end. Do you know that routine car windshield maintenance is one of car care's most overlooked aspects?

Your windshield gets chipped by a foreign object hitting it, reducing visibility and threatening your safety. You take precious time out of your day to get it fixed for an exorbitant price, only to have it break again at the mildest inconvenience.

This blog tries to understand better why a windshield protection film is a good investment for your car.

What is a windshield protection film, and how does it work?

Windshield protection films are generally made of 3 layers. The topmost layer is a protective layer that safeguards your windshield against scratches and prevents UV rays from entering the car and harming you. The second layer prevents the windshield from cracking, effectively acting as a shock absorber that distributes the force of the debris hitting it. The third layer is mainly for adhesive purposes.

Some of the perks of having a windshield protection film on your car involve the following.

1. Replacing a windshield can be heavy on the pocket:
Despite how easily the glass breaks when something heavy falls on it, the cost of replacing the windshield is not cheap. Also, if you have a luxury car, the windscreen may be connected to other systems in the vehicle, which may need recalibration, adding to the extra expense.
Driving with a cracked windshield is punishable by law. Save yourself additional expenses and avoid being tangled up on the wrong side of the law by installing a windshield at the earliest.

2. Maintaining the car's aesthetic:
Car enthusiasts know how important it is to make your car beautiful inside out. Just like you keep your car's paint job pristine, the tyres filled, and the inside clean, investing in a windshield protector that keeps the front of your car looking smooth is necessary.

3. Keeps you safe:
A cracked windshield can hamper your visibility to a great extent. This might lead to an accident and long-term damage to your car, or worse, you and your family. Also, a windshield protection film will decrease the chances of shattering in lousy weather conditions, such as cyclones or hail. It gives overall protection to your car.

4. Protects against UV damage:
UV rays damage the skin and retinas and cause long-lasting health conditions such as skin cancer and blindness. These films have the added advantage of blocking UV rays so that they can't enter the car and thus, resulting in better health.

Now you know the advantages of having the right windshield protection film on your car. It is vital to make a wise decision that meets your short-term and long-term goals for your car. Select the best windshield protector by discussing it with a trusted mechanic in your area. Just like you plan to upgrade your car's windshield, you need to consider upgrading the car's safety too.

You can achieve this by buying reliable car insurance. Before making the purchase, understand the new car insurance rates of different companies and their policies, and then finalise the one with the best coverage and rate.

Click HERE to know more about new car insurance rates.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

Filling your bike’s tyres with nitrogen will help you to maintain proper tyre pressure, which ensures that it runs smoothly under all riding conditions and terrains. Moreover, you can cover more distance per litre of fuel and considerably save on running costs. Also, correct tyre pressure ensures a better grip on the roads, which minimises the chances of a mishap.

You can also use compressed air to fill your bike tyres. One usually faces a dilemma of which one is better and why. In this blog, let us go through why filling your bike tyres with nitrogen is beneficial.

1. Longevity:
Compressed air seeps out of tyres much faster than nitrogen. While nitrogen usually stays in the tyres for almost a month, compressed air stays only for 10-15 days. Hence, if you fill your bike tyres with nitrogen, you will need to inflate them less frequently. Tyres will stay in shape for more days, saving you money and effort from continuously inflating the tyres.

2. Constant and uniform pressure:
Riding often during hot summer afternoons can increase the risk of a tyre bursting. The compressed air inside the tyre becomes very hot due to the high temperature. There is a higher level of water and oxygen in compressed air, which reacts with an increase in temperature. The air pressure increases due to heat, causing the tyre to burst.
Nitrogen is drier than regular compressed air and helps to retain constant and uniform pressure inside the tyre. It is more stable than compressed air and does not get heated up as quickly as regular air. Hence, the air pressure inside the tyre stays in control and does not shoot up with the heat. There is a much lesser chance of a tyre burst if it is filled with nitrogen.

3. Mix and go:
You don’t have to worry about refilling your bike tyre with nitrogen only every time you go for your tyre inflation. Compressed air and nitrogen can be mixed. Hence, you can always get your bike tyre filled with compressed air if nitrogen is not available around you. Also, nitrogen seeps out very slowly from your tyres in case of a puncture. You get sufficient time to get to a refilling station.

4. Savings:
Using nitrogen to fill your bike tyres helps save substantially on wear and tear costs. As mentioned, nitrogen keeps the tyres in good shape. It causes lesser rubber damage due to fatigue, and tyres last much longer. Also, nitrogen does not rust the metal tyre rim. Oxygen in the regular compressed air starts reacting with the moisture present in it, resulting in oxidation and rusting. So, with the use of nitrogen, the rim also lasts much longer, helping you save a lot of money in the long run.

Refilling our tyres with nitrogen is definitely more expensive than regular compressed air. But the overall benefits of using nitrogen are much more in the long run. We get a stable ride with a better grip and improved efficiency.

Similarly, buying bike insurance online is also more beneficial than buying it through regular offline channels. Bike insurance online provides us with a complete package of choice, comfort, coverage, and security, along with being economical.

Click HERE to buy bike insurance online.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.

Driving is an activity that requires a very high amount of cognitive presence. As the number of accidents happening around the world becomes one of the leading causes of death, driving safely from one location to another should be an individual's primary concern while driving.

When the driver's mind is off the task of driving safely, the phenomenon is called distracted driving. Other signs of distracted driving are when the individual's eyes are not on the road or their hands are off the steering wheel. These activities significantly increase the risk of accidents and threaten the safety of everyone on the road.

Do you know that smoking cigarettes can cause distracted driving? With more and more people mocking drivers who use their phones while simultaneously driving, it should be common knowledge that cigarette smoking causes more distracted driving than using a phone. For instance, to smoke a cigarette, a driver has to;

1. Locate the cigarette pack. This might be difficult as it might be in the glove box, which further requires you to open it, or the back seat, which requires you to completely turn and look for the pack from the opposite direction of where you're supposed to look ahead.

2. Look for a lighter.

3. Light the smoke while still trying to keep your eyes on the road. It's already tricky to light a cigarette while driving, so it's accepted that there will be many unsuccessful attempts. This results in your concentration being broken for even longer.

4. Locating the ashtray to dispose of the ash and then discarding the cigarette will take even more of your time and demand your attention.

As per a study on the risk assessment of smoking habits while driving, it was concluded that the risk posed by distracted driving through the use of mobile phones is lesser than that of the use of cigarettes. It was observed that cigarette smoking resulted in about 12 seconds of distracted driving, while cell phone users averaged about 10.6 seconds.

Insurance claims:
Insurance claims are greatly affected by using cigarettes, even if you were not at fault. There might be a drunken or speeding driver who totaled your car from the rear end, and it might even be evident that you were not at fault, but your insurance claim is sure to suffer. Smoking while driving is seen as distracted driving, which is sure to affect your claim.

Health risks involved with smoking:
It has been known for a long time that smoking is detrimental to an individual's health and the people around them. However, nicotine dependence makes it very hard to quit. Even though the start is an innocent curiosity, it takes as little as 5 packs (100 cigarettes) to get addicted. And the more you smoke, the more receptors for nicotine form in your brain, and the more nicotine you need to get the same high.

Avoid putting your life at risk while in the car and practice healthy driving habits to stay safe in all situations. Invest in trustworthy motor insurance India and get an additional safety net for your vehicle to protect it from unexpected events and safeguard you from financial losses. Also, it is best to stop smoking altogether, or at least reduce your dependence on it to the degree that it doesn't affect your driving.

Click HERE to know more about motor insurance India.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.