GENERAL INSURANCE BLOG

Car driving is a skill we want to ace throughout our lives. It is a constant learning process, and with practice comes perfection. There is no definition of the best car driving skills, but the more we do it, the better we will be at it.

Let us take you through a practical guide to ace your skills in city driving.

1. Know your car inside out:
You need to know your car inside out to master it. Every car's clutch, brake, and accelerator have a different feel. Familiarise yourself with it so that you can adjust yourself accordingly. Nowadays, gear position varies in cars from different companies.
The position of the reverse gear often changes with models, and some cars have six or even seven gears instead of the usual five gears. Know how your car's gears work, so you are fluent in changing them, especially while driving through heavy traffic.

2. Get used to your automatic car:
Automatic cars don't have a clutch. New drivers of automatic cars tend to push the brake, thinking it to be the clutch, especially while driving through traffic. This will bring your car to a sudden halt and put you at the risk of being banged by the vehicle right behind you.
If you have an automatic car, practice driving it on empty roads in the surroundings of your house. You will soon get used to the missing clutch and learn how to drive it skillfully through the busy roads.

3. Get your seating position right:
An appropriate seating position is necessary if you want to ace your city driving skills. Present-day cars come with power seats that can be brought forward or backward at the click of a button. If you are short in height, worry not.
These seats come with seat cushion tilt and height adjustment features as well. Recline the seat as per your comfort, and you are ready to go! Moreover, you can also adjust your car's steering wheel. Proper seating posture can make you feel comfortable and do wonders for your driving.

4. Understand your car features:
Nowadays, cars have many features that can leave us puzzled. Go through your car's various buttons and consoles thoroughly to know how to take advantage of the respective features. For example, cars nowadays come with a "parking assist" feature, making parking much easier on busy streets. Use the features effectively, which will improve your driving experience.

5. Maintain adequate distance:
Ensure that you maintain adequate distance between yourself and the car in front of you while driving through busy city roads. In case the car in the front stops suddenly, you should have a sufficient gap to apply your brakes and stop in time without crashing into the vehicle in front.

6. Use your rear-view and side mirrors:
Rear-view and side mirrors will show you exactly what vehicles are behind you, and you can adjust your direction and speed accordingly in the city traffic. Moreover, these mirrors are very helpful while backing your car and changing lanes.

7. Follow traffic rules:
Last but not least, follow traffic rules! Simple rules like giving an indicator while turning and not using your phone while driving can make you a much better driver in the city traffic.

The above tips will help you ace your city driving skills effectively and make you a better driver. City driving is a challenge, but with the right mindset and following the traffic rules strictly will help you effortlessly glide through the traffic.

Similarly, master the skill of safety, and buy the best car insurance online India. Take one step ahead of others in choosing a policy that will give you the best mix of proper insurance coverage and the lowest premium amount. Be the best, as always!

Click HERE to buy car insurance online 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.

We all yearn for a trip with family and friends to rejuvenate ourselves from our routine life. This break is needed to remove all the stress and troubles, restore positivity and boost motivation. Planning such trips at least once a year and even more can help us cherish some rejoicing memories.

When we talk about memories, mentioning souvenirs is mandatory. They provide a glimpse of our journey, remind us of the fun-filled moments, and help us relive them long after travelling.

We all would love to keep these souvenirs right in front of our eyes at home, close to our hearts. Let us go through some of the best tips to decorate your home with travel souvenirs.

1. Pin it up:
Why stack up the beautiful postcards you purchased from your holiday destinations inside a cupboard? You can easily buy a soft board, hang it in your living room and pin up all the vibrant and mesmerising postcards you have on it. They will be a treat for your eyes every day you see them, and make sure you do not forget the lovely time you had.
Moreover, they will be a topic of interest and conversation whenever guests and friends visit your place. A well-arranged display of your vibrant postcards can act as a fantastic décor idea.

2. Use them on your bookshelf:
Small and vibrant coloured souvenirs can be a fantastic decoration for your bookshelf. You might read a book during your leisure time. Hence, these souvenirs will remind you of your vacation and be a treat to your eyes when you pick up a book to read in your leisure time.

3. Decorate your fridge:
Small magnetic souvenirs can be used as decorative pieces on your refrigerator. They will make your dull refrigerator door vibrant and buzzing with colours. Also, the souvenirs will remind you of the glimpses of the trip every time you open the fridge and help to lighten your mood.

4. Fabric as a travel souvenir:
Try buying small items made of unique fabric from your travel destination and use them in your house. They can be in the form of pillow covers, a scarf, a handkerchief, or even a dress or a t-shirt. They will act as lovely decorative pieces with purpose and use. Such works can make your home look colourful, bright, and welcoming. Also, such small pieces are usually inexpensive and convenient to carry.

5. Stones and rocks:
The next time you travel to any beach destination, remember to bring back local stones and rocks that are small in size but lovely to hold. You can also get sea shells from there. These pieces can work as beautiful decorative tools in your house.
You can keep a bowl full of beautiful rocks and stones on your centre table or dining table. You can decorate your home's main entrance with lovely sea shells. They will add a fresh variety to your home décor and make it look sporty and adventurous.

6. Wind chimes:
Buy good-quality wind chimes whenever you travel. They act as fantastic decorative pieces in your gallery and balconies. You can keep bringing new ones every time you travel and change your home décor frequently. Moreover, the mesmerising sound they produce can do wonders for your mood and senses.

Your home is about staying together and creating beautiful memories with every passing day. Travel souvenirs help you strengthen the bond of love and unity among family members by reminding the lovely moments you had together.

But your home will not be complete and secure just by decorating it. You should go for the best possible home insurance India and provide a secure environment for yourselves and your family members. Home insurance is like a security blanket that will protect it from any damage. Buy one today!

Click HERE to buy reliable home insurance India policy.

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.

Planning a road trip in itself can be a hassle. From deciding the location and handling the logistics to buying all the essentials and packing them, you must have a lot on your to-do list. In addition, the excitement of travelling makes us pack things that might not be necessary, and we carry them due to the slight probability of them coming into use.

But, is this important? Overpacking can lead to an overstuffed car which can ruin the comfort and convenience of your road trip. To save you from one more additional hassle in the morning when you realise that you have overpacked and absolutely nothing fits into the trunk of your car, here are some tips and tricks to help you best utilise the boot space in your vehicle.

1. Planning before packing is the key:
Before stuffing all the suitcases in at once, taking a breather and planning accordingly is advisable. Have a rough idea of the dimensions of your trunk and gauge the amount of stuff you can take. After this, advise all the passengers on the maximum limit of bags and suitcases they can take.

2. Vacuum packing for the win:
Try the effective vacuum packing method to fit the maximum amount of clothes and other travel essentials in a bag. This method allows you to suck the air out of bags, reducing the space taken by clothes up to 50 per cent. You may also use it as an excuse to pack several beach dresses instead of the one you really need! Also, another trick that you can use to save space in suitcases is to roll the clothes instead of folding them.

3. Replacing your suitcases with soft bags:
Squeezing and squashing suitcases are impossible. They are suitable for air travel, where luggage might be thrown around, but for road travel, it is handier to use soft bags like duffles.

4. Heavy things first:
Assemble all your items into their smallest possible state so they can be stored easily in all nooks and crannies of your vehicle. Ensure to store the heaviest luggage first in the boot of your car to prevent them from rolling around and causing harm to the car, the passengers, or other delicate items.

5. Be careful:
It's advisable to be innovative while piling the suitcases on top of each other. Tie it in with bungee cords or ropes if it feels like a suitcase might fly off. Especially in open vehicles, you must be careful and keep the safety of other drivers around you.

6. Get creative with spaces:
The boot of your car isn't the only place to store luggage. Use all available space in the vehicle, including the glovebox, the footrest, and the space beneath the seats. If all these spaces are insufficient, try using a roof box for bulkier suitcases.

7. A carry-on:
The most frustrating thing during a trip is when essential items are deep in the heaviest luggage, which has been kept at the very bottom of the trunk, and you have to unload every single suitcase before you get to it. To avoid this, think about the essential things required for the trip and put it all in the carry bag you'll hold. These can include sunscreen, tissues, and your toothbrush, among other things.

8. Don't overload:
Cramming too much in your car can drastically reduce fuel economy and risk your vehicle's suspension. You should also be mindful of the luggage in your backseat, which might obscure your rear-view mirror. Be mindful of the tyres as they can only take a certain pressure. Check the driver's manual and determine the tyre's pressure for a heavy load.

Successful packing is the key to a hassle-free vacation. Be mindful of the things that you take along with you. Take precautions in advance to avoid facing damage to your car due to an overloaded trunk. But, having comprehensive car insurance handy can be your saviour if you face any damage. However, research new car insurance rates before making the final decision and look for the plan that promises the best coverage and benefits.

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.