School Bus Insurance

School bus insurance is typically required by law, and is designed to protect the school district, bus drivers, and students in the event of an accident or other unexpected event.

School bus insurance is an important tool for school districts to protect against financial losses and other risks associated with using buses to transport students. It is important to work with a reputable insurance company and to carefully review the terms and coverage of your policy to make sure that your school district is adequately protected.

Key features of school bus insurance

Key Features	Benefits
Damages to third party	TPPD cover up to 7.5 lac & Unlimited for liabilities.
Accidental Coverage	Up to sum insured.
Theft Cover	Included in comprehensive policy.
Price	24050 For a 12 Seater School Bus

School Bus Insurance Price

School bus insurance price is 24050 for a 12 seater bus for a third party policy with 1 year period of coverage. It includes damages to third party properties up to 750000 Rupees and provide liability coverage by an unlimited amount which arises out of third party deaths or injuries.

Types of school bus Insurance

1. Third Party Insurance – In case of any accident third party insurance provide coverage against the losses occurred to insured due to third party property damage or any injury or death to third party person. Third party insurance does not covers the damages to bus and one can not claim for the loss of the vehicle with third party policy.

2. Comprehensive Insurance – Apart from covering all things as mentioned above in third party policy, comprehensive coverage for school bus will also cover the damages to own vehicle in case of any accident, theft or fire or damage to the vehicle by any external means.

Since third party policy coverage is limited to property damage & liabilities to third parties and does not cover your own vehicle it is always best to buy comprehensive school bus insurance.

How To Calculate School Bus Insurance Cost

School bus insurance costs 24050 Rupees for a 12 seater bus for a third party liability only policy for 1 year.

To compare/calculate the cost by yourself you can use below formula –

[Premium = 13729+(839*Sitting Capacity)]

SCHOOL BUS SITTING CAPACITY	INSURANCE COST
12	24050
15	26594
17	28290
20	30834
24	34226
27	36770
32	41010
37	45250
40	47797

Top 3 Factors Which Decides School Bus Premium

1. Type of coverage – Comprehensive coverage for school bus costs a little more than third party coverage.

2.Sitting capacity of the bus – One of the leading factors to decide school bus premium is sitting capacity of the vehicle. Higher carrying capacity generally cost high premium for school bus.

3. Claim History – Good driving history helps reduce school bus premium as no claim bonus always help reducing own damage premium prices.

How Does Insurance Protects Your School Bus?

What’s Not Covered?

It is important to know what is not covered in your school bus insurance to understand the policy and the entitlement of claim according to it. A few of the similar exclusions are:-

• Unethical Driving- If an accident or disaster occurs while under the influence of alcohol or another intoxication. Furthermore, if the driver is not in possession of a valid commercial vehicle driving license. The claim will be declined.

• Deliberate Loss- In case of any loss as a result of an accident, that was a deliberate act the claim will be rejected.

• Consequential Loss- In the event of a loss or damage caused by the insured’s or a third-actions. party’s Driving in the rain, for example, causes harm to the vehicle’s engine. It will not be covered.

• Normal Wear and Tear- Any harm to the vehicle caused by a recognized cause, such as a damaged engine due to oil leaks over a lengthy period of time will not be covered.

• State of National Emergency- Any damage incurred to the vehicle out of war, civil war, mutiny, any nuclear-related hazard, nuclear weapons, etc. will not be covered.

List Of Add-Ons In A School Bus Policy

• Zero Depreciation Cover
• IMT 23 Cover
• Paid Driver Cover
• Owner Driver Cover
• Cover to other employees such as conductor or coolie
• No Claim Bonus Protection Cover

School Bus Insurance : Policy Limits

All school bus insurance plans comes with some limits which are very important to be aware of before buying it policy online or offline. Below are the limits in school bus policy coverage

1. In a restricted TPPD policy the damages to third party properties are only covered up to 6000 Rs. Any damage claim of more than 6000 Rupees is to be paid by bus owner.
2. In a basic Liability coverage school bus insurance policy limits third party property damages by 750000 Rupees so any third party property damage claim of more than 7.5 lac will be paid from bus owner’s side.
3. School Bus Insurance policy does not provide coverage if at the time of accident vehicle is found being used for other purposes other than mentioned in the policy schedule.
4. In case of bus driver found to be influence of alcohol or any other drug abuse all claims will be rejected by insurer.
5. At all times school bus should only carry children/staff up to registered sitting capacity of vehicle and not more than that as carrying extra passengers leads to rejection in claims because of overloading.

Things You Should Know Before Buying School Bus Insurance Online

1. Know Your Insurance Provider – Learn more about your school bus insurance company’s claim settlement ratio over the years, how quickly they can settle your claim & how much depreciation you need to pay if you make any claim in future.
2. Availability Of Cashless Claims – Before finalizing your school bus policy make sure to check if your insurer has tie ups with local garages in your city for cashless claims benefits. Cashless claims are more effortless and are light on insured’s pocket.
3. Cost – There are many websites in India you can compare school bus insurance cost and save a lot on premiums. Consider giving it a quick google search to check if there are other better quotes available for your school bus insurance.
4. Towing Facility – We all have faced situations when our vehicle breaks down all of a sudden and to get it towed to nearest garage we have to pay a lot of charge to towing companies and when it comes to school buses this charge can be significant. Check if your insurer covers the towing charges at the time of a breakdown as it can help you big time.
5. Liability Coverage Of School Bus Driver, Conductor & Cleaner – School buses comes under passenger carrying vehicle category and required trained paid drivers with valid commercial driving license hence one should always consider including the liability of school bus driver & other operation staff.
6. Personal Accidental Insurance For School Children – School children travelling in a school bus are not eligible for personal accidental claims in a school bus insurance policy and separate insurance is required for the same.

The first step in filing a claim for damage or loss under school bus policy is to notify the insurer or agent from whom you purchased the policy. Furthermore, you can file a claim by phoning the toll-free number or contacting customer service.

In addition, submit an FIR with the local police station to your area. You can also submit a claim online providing all essential details. The policyholder needs to provide the following things to file an insurance claim:-

• Date and time of the loss/incident
• Policy number
• The location where the incident took place
• A brief description of the incident
• Name & contact details of the person who filed the claim
• Inform the insurance company about the incident involving your bus.
• The insurance provider will make a physical inspection of school bus.
• Network garage will make the repair work evaluation.
• The insurer will approve the repair following the repair work at the network garage.
• After repairs, the invoice is submitted to the insurance provider.
• Fill up the claim form and submit all the other required documents.
• The bill will be settled directly with the network garage.

Documents Required To Process A Claim

Following documents are required while processing a claim in school bus insurance policy –

• Copy of Registration Certificate (RC) of school bus.
• Original loss estimate
• Original repair bill or invoice
• Repair bill payment receipt
• Police FIR (in case of third party liabilities)
• Vehicle’s keys (in case of theft)
• Non-traceable certificate (in case of theft) 

School Bus Insurance Companies In India

Following is the list of general insurance companies you can choose to buy third party or comprehensive insurance plan for school buses

• Reliance General Insurance Co.
• SBI General Insurance Company Ltd
• Shriram General Insurance Co.
• Tata AIG General Insurance Company Ltd.
• United India Insurance Company

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