Should you claim car insurance for minor damage?

How does the calculator decide?

It compares two amounts:

1. What the insurer would pay you now: the repair estimate minus depreciation on parts minus the compulsory and voluntary deductibles.
2. What the claim would cost you later: the extra premium you'd pay over the next few renewals because your No Claim Bonus resets to 0% and then climbs back up one step a year. GST is included, because you pay GST on that extra premium too.

If the payout is bigger than the NCB loss, claiming leaves you better off, and the result says so in green. If the NCB loss is bigger, paying the garage yourself is cheaper, and the result says so in orange. If deductibles and depreciation eat the whole repair bill, it tells you the insurer would pay nothing.

What do I need to enter?

• The garage's repair estimate, the full amount including parts, labour and paint.
• The depreciation the insurer would deduct. If you don't know it, work it out first in the claim depreciation calculator using the estimate's parts list. If you have zero depreciation cover, tick the box instead.
• Engine cc, which decides the compulsory deductible.
• Your voluntary deductible, if any.
• NCB on your current policy.
• Own-damage premium before NCB, from your schedule. If you only see the after-NCB figure, divide it by (1 minus NCB). For example, ₹9,750 at 35% NCB is ₹15,000 before NCB.
• How many renewals to compare. Three is a sensible default. NCB takes five claim-free years to climb back to 50%, so the loss continues beyond three years if you were already high.

How do I read the NCB table?

It shows, for each future renewal, the NCB you'd have without the claim, the NCB you'd have after the claim, and the extra premium you'd pay that year. Add the extra premiums together and you get the total NCB loss, which is the true cost of the claim.

The loss is biggest in the first year and shrinks as your NCB recovers. That's why a claim hurts most when you're on a high NCB like 45% or 50%, and hardly at all when you're on 0% or 20%.

What does NCB protection change?

With an NCB protection add-on, your NCB doesn't reset after a claim. It stays at its current slab and then keeps climbing normally. Tick the box, and you'll see the NCB loss shrink to the small difference between staying put and moving up a step. Insurers usually limit protected claims to one or two a year, so check you have one left.

Are there situations where I should claim regardless?

Yes. Never decide these on numbers alone:

• Anyone was injured.
• You damaged someone else's vehicle or property.
• The car was stolen or broken into.
• It was a hit-and-run, flood, fire or riot.

These need the insurer, and often the police, involved. Even when you pay your own repairs, inform your insurer about any accident involving a third party.

What if the other driver was at fault?

If the other driver's insurer pays for your damage, your NCB isn't affected, and this calculator doesn't apply. If you claim from your own policy because it's quicker, it counts as your claim and costs your NCB.

Why do you assume my premium stays the same?

To keep the comparison honest and simple. In reality, your IDV falls a little each year, so your own-damage premium before NCB drifts down, and the NCB loss is slightly smaller than shown. Insurers may also price you a little higher after a claim, which pushes the other way. The two effects roughly offset each other over a few years.

Can I claim and then withdraw?

Yes, as long as no money has been paid. If you've already informed the insurer and the surveyor is coming, you can still withdraw in writing and pay the garage yourself. Ask the insurer to confirm that no claim was paid, so your NCB isn't affected when you renew or switch.

A worked example

Priya's hatchback has 35% NCB and an own-damage premium of ₹15,000 before NCB. A side panel scrape will cost ₹9,000 to fix, with about ₹1,500 of depreciation.

Claiming would leave her ₹11,200 worse off over three years. She should pay the garage herself.

Now change the repair to ₹1,20,000 with zero dep. The insurer pays ₹1,19,000, the NCB loss is the same, and claiming wins by over ₹1 lakh. The size of the damage changes everything, which is why it's worth running your own numbers.

What if the estimate goes up after the garage opens the car?

It happens often. A dented bumper can hide a broken bracket, sensor or radiator behind it. If the garage finds more damage once it dismantles the car, run the calculator again with the new estimate. A repair that wasn't worth claiming at ₹8,000 may well be worth it at ₹30,000. Ask the garage to inspect properly before you decide, rather than deciding on a quick look.

How do I get a fair estimate before deciding?

Ask for a written estimate split into parts, labour and paint, and say clearly that you haven't decided whether to claim. Garages often quote higher for insurance jobs. For small dents and scratches, also get a quote from a good local body shop. Paintless dent repair or spot painting can cost a fraction of panel replacement, and it often makes the decision easy.

Does a claim affect anything besides NCB?

It can. Some insurers price renewals a little higher for customers with recent claims, beyond the lost NCB. A claim also uses up one of your limited zero-dep or NCB-protect claims for the year, if you have those add-ons. Both are reasons to save your claims for damage that's worth it.

What if I've already made a claim this year?

Then your NCB is already going to reset at renewal, so a second genuine claim doesn't cost you any more NCB. The calculator's NCB loss doesn't apply in that case. What still matters is the deductible on the second claim, and whether it uses up a limited zero-dep claim you might need later in the year.

Is there a quick rule of thumb?

On 25% NCB or more, damage under about ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 is usually cheaper to pay yourself. Above that, or on 0% to 20% NCB, claiming usually wins. But the calculator takes two minutes, and rules of thumb can be wrong for your car.

Read should you claim for minor damage for windscreen claims, claim timing and what happens when someone else was driving.

Rates last checked: 8 November 2026. Content updated 8 November 2026.