Standard comprehensive insurance deducts depreciation on replaced car parts, leaving you to pay part of every repair. The zero depreciation add-on pays the full cost instead. This guide explains how depreciation works, exactly what zero dep covers, what it costs, who is eligible, and whether it is worth buying for your car.
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When your car is repaired after an accident, a standard comprehensive policy does not pay 100% of every replaced part. IRDAI prescribes depreciation rates by material, and you bear the depreciated portion. Rubber and plastic parts attract 50% depreciation — so on a ₹12,000 plastic bumper, a standard policy pays only about ₹6,000. Metal parts depreciate on a sliding scale from 5% in year one to 50% by year five.
The zero depreciation add-on (also called nil dep or bumper-to-bumper) removes these deductions on replaced parts. Under zero dep, the ₹12,000 bumper is paid in full — you only pay the compulsory deductible. It typically covers:
Most policies allow two zero-dep claims per year; some premium plans offer unlimited claims.
Zero dep is priced as a surcharge of roughly 15–25% of your own-damage premium. For a mid-range car with a ₹6,000 own-damage premium, that is about ₹900–₹1,500 a year. It is most cost-effective in a car's first three to five years, when part costs and depreciation deductions are both high. A single bumper claim can save ₹5,000–₹15,000 in deductions — far more than the annual cost.
Most insurers offer zero dep only for cars up to five years old (some to seven). It works only with a comprehensive or own-damage policy — you cannot add it to a standalone third-party policy, and it must be bought at purchase or renewal, never after an accident. It also does not remove the compulsory deductible of ₹1,000–₹2,000 per claim. To weigh it against other choices, read the car insurance guide, understand your IDV, and see how deductions play out in the claim process.
Yes. 'Bumper-to-bumper' is a marketing term some insurers use for their zero depreciation add-on. The coverage is identical — a waiver of depreciation deductions on parts during claims.
No. Standard zero dep policies exclude tyres, tubes and batteries, which are still subject to 50% depreciation. You need a separate tyre protection add-on to cover tyres fully; a few premium plans bundle it, so read the policy wording.
Zero dep is an add-on to your own-damage policy, not a standalone feature. When you switch insurers at renewal you simply buy a fresh zero dep add-on with the new insurer — the previous one ends with the old policy.
Most standard zero dep policies cover two claims per year under nil-depreciation terms. A third claim in the same year is settled under standard depreciation rules. Some insurers offer unlimited zero dep claims as a premium variant.
It applies at both network (cashless) and non-network (reimbursement) garages. It is easier to enforce at a network garage where the insurer settles directly. For reimbursement, you must present original tax invoices for all replaced parts, and inflated costs may be queried by the surveyor.