New car insurance in Mumbai: 1+3 vs 3+3, on-road quotes and add-ons worth buying

By Arjun Ramanarayanan, IndiCar · Published 16 October 2026 · Tips

On a Skoda Kylaq 1.0 Classic in Mumbai, first-year comprehensive insurance is Rs 51,591 of a Rs 9,06,071 on-road price. Here is what 1+3 means and which add-ons earn their place.

Third-party cover for a new car must run for three years. Since August 2020, buyers can pair it with a one-year own-damage policy, an arrangement known as 1+3. On a Skoda Kylaq 1.0 Classic Petrol Manual, the first-year comprehensive insurance line in IndiCar's Mumbai quote is Rs 51,591, inside an on-road price of Rs 9,06,071. Third-party cover is compulsory. Own damage and add-ons are your choice.

1+3 vs 3+3: what the rules allow

The three-year rule dates from July 2018. That month the Supreme Court directed that third-party cover for new cars must last three years, starting September 2018. An IRDAI circular then told general insurers to offer only three-year motor third-party cover for new cars.

In August 2020 IRDAI dropped the requirement to bundle own damage with that long-term third-party cover. The two structures you will hear about are:

1+3: three years of third-party cover with one year of own-damage cover, renewed every year. Insurers can sell this as a single bundled policy.
3+3: three years of both third-party and own-damage cover in one package. CarDekho reported that insurers stopped offering long-term comprehensive motor insurance from August 1, 2020. A later IRDAI draft proposed allowing a three-year policy for private cars, ending on the same date as the third-party cover.

Our view: plan around 1+3. The draft shows a three-year package was proposed, but nothing here confirms that one is on sale for your car.

What sets your premium

Third-party premium is fixed. IRDAI sets it by engine capacity, and every insurer charges the same amount. Own-damage premium is the part that varies. It depends on:

the car's IDV
make and model
registration location
the add-ons you choose

For this reason, the insurance figure in online calculators is only an estimate. It changes with the insurer and the add-ons. Under 1+3, own damage renews every year, so you choose your add-ons again at each renewal instead of fixing them for three years.

The no-claim bonus (NCB) starts at 20% after the first year. It reaches 50% after five consecutive claim-free years.

What else sits in a Mumbai on-road quote

Road tax is a large item. For petrol cars on Maharashtra quotes, it is:

11% below Rs 10,00,000
12% up to Rs 20,00,000
13% at Rs 20,00,000 and above

PB Partners lists diesel at 13, 14 and 15% and CNG at 8, 9 and 10%. A 2% road safety cess is added on top of the tax. The other lines are smaller:

Registration fee: Rs 600 is the standard fee for private passenger cars.
HSRP number plate: Rs 400, as listed by Cars24.
Hypothecation: Rs 1,500 if the car is on a loan, according to Cars24.
FASTag, temporary number and logistics: a few thousand rupees in total.

Tax collected at source (TCS) applies when the vehicle's value exceeds Rs 10 lakh. Since 1 April 2026 it falls under Section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, with the same 1% rate and Rs 10 lakh threshold as the old Section 206C(1F). The 1% is charged on the full invoice value, not only on the amount above Rs 10 lakh. It is not a cost you lose: you can see it in Form 26AS or AIS and claim it as credit in your ITR. Any amount above your tax liability is refunded.

Worked example: Skoda Kylaq in Mumbai

IndiCar's price list dated 1 October 2026 prices 13 variant and powertrain combinations of the Kylaq for individual registration in Mumbai. All are petrol, with manual and automatic gearboxes. This is the itemised breakup for the cheapest version, the 1.0 Classic Petrol Manual:

Item	Amount
Ex-showroom price	Rs 7,59,000
RTO registration and road tax (Mumbai, individual)	Rs 94,630
Insurance (first-year comprehensive)	Rs 51,591
FASTag	Rs 850
On-road price	Rs 9,06,071

Everything above the ex-showroom price adds up to Rs 1,47,071. In this example, road tax is the largest item after the ex-showroom price, and insurance is the second-largest of those charges.

At the top of the range, the 1.0 Prestige Plus Petrol Automatic is Rs 15,71,084 on-road, against an ex-showroom price of Rs 13,09,000. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive Kylaq is Rs 6,65,013. Own-damage premium follows IDV and model, so each variant has its own insurance line. You can see each one on the Kylaq price page.

Which add-ons are worth paying for

One guide advises that you rarely need every add-on. It suggests picking four or five that suit your city, your car's age and how you use it. For a new car in Mumbai, these are the ones with the strongest case:

Zero depreciation: one guide puts it at Rs 900 to Rs 5,000 a year. It waives the depreciation deduction on replaced parts and is usually worth it for new and near-new cars. It does not mean a claim costs you nothing, because the excess and non-covered items still apply.
Engine protect: standard policies do not cover engine damage from water ingress or oil leakage. This add-on does. One add-on guide claims that urban floods in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru routinely destroy more than 100 cars per weekend of heavy rain. If your car is driven and parked in Mumbai through the monsoon, this is the add-on with the clearest case.
Return to invoice, consumables and roadside assistance: for cars aged up to three years, one guide recommends return to invoice if it is offered, along with consumables cover and roadside assistance.

NCB Protect needs more care. It usually covers one claim, or sometimes two. After that limit, your NCB resets to zero.

Sources

Buying a new car through IndiCar

IndiCar arranges new-car purchases in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. You book a new car on IndiCar at the on-road price shown on its car page, with every line itemised: ex-showroom, registration, insurance, TCS and FASTag. You book online with a refundable reservation, and IndiCar sources the car from partner dealer stock and handles the registration, insurance, paperwork and delivery.

You deal only with IndiCar from quote to delivery. Your phone number is never passed to a dealer, and you do not need to take the quote to a showroom to negotiate. See on-road prices and book or get a WhatsApp quote on +91 85916 41004.

Frequently asked questions

What does 1+3 car insurance mean?

It means three years of third-party cover combined with one year of own-damage cover, with the own-damage part renewed every year. It became possible after IRDAI removed the requirement to bundle own damage with long-term third-party cover in August 2020.

Can I buy a 3+3 policy for a new car?

CarDekho reported that insurers stopped offering long-term comprehensive motor insurance from August 1, 2020. A later IRDAI draft proposed allowing a three-year private car policy that ends on the same date as the third-party cover.

Why does the insurance figure vary between quotes for the same car?

Third-party premium is fixed by IRDAI by engine capacity and is the same with every insurer. Own-damage premium depends on IDV, make, model, registration location and add-ons, so all of the variation comes from own damage and add-ons.

Is zero depreciation cover worth it on a new car?

One guide says it is usually worth it for new and near-new cars, and another puts it at Rs 900 to Rs 5,000 a year. It waives the depreciation deduction on replaced parts, but the excess and non-covered items still apply.

Do I need engine protect in Mumbai?

Standard policies do not cover engine damage from water ingress or oil leakage, and engine protect does. Guides describe it as valuable in cities prone to flooding or waterlogging, and one claims that floods in Mumbai routinely destroy more than 100 cars per weekend of heavy rain.

Do I get the 1% TCS on a car purchase back?

TCS applies when the vehicle's value exceeds Rs 10 lakh and is charged on the full invoice value. You can see it in Form 26AS or AIS and claim it as credit in your ITR, and any amount above your tax liability is refunded.

Tags: car insurance, mumbai, on road price, zero depreciation, skoda kylaq