Does insurance cover airbag replacement? Airbags are sophisticated tech that are saving lives all over the world. New laws are being implemented to ensure that even the smallest and most economical vehicles have a minimum number of airbags to ensure passenger safety.

It is important to note that once deployed, airbags have to be replaced; depending on how many airbags your vehicle has, that can end up being an expensive affair. You may assume that a standard insurance policy will cover the costs, but it is not so simple. If you are involved in an accident, you may wish to know whether the airbags that inflate have any coverage.

What Are Airbags, And How Do They Work?

An airbag is essentially an air cushion designed to inflate the instant a collision is detected; and deflate just as quickly. The idea is to provide soft cushioning and restraint to the occupants of a vehicle during a crash, so that they don’t end up hitting hard surfaces such as the windshield, the steering wheels or other body panels.

Thus reducing the chances of serious injuries. An airbag consists of a fabric bag which is flexible, an inflation module, and a sensor to detect impact. The airbag is designed to inflate in less than 30 milliseconds from when the sensor detects an impact.

Does Insurance Cover Airbag Replacement?

In most cases, your vehicle insurance should include your airbag replacement. However, because this repair is so expensive, it’s common for insurance companies to settle on ‘totaling’ the vehicle instead.

If you’ve got a less expensive auto insurance plan, then you’re less likely to have airbag replacement cover.

What Does It Mean When a Vehicle is Totaled?

Many people think a car is totaled if the cost of repairs is more than what the vehicle is worth. In general, this is true. To be more exact, the typical guideline is that a vehicle is totaled if the cost of repairs is more than 70% of its value. For example, if your vehicle has a cash value of $5,000, it would be considered totaled once the repair threshold reached $3,500 or more.

We consider several factors when determining whether your car is repairable or a total loss. Likewise, insurance companies and claims adjusters have their own procedures and requirements to take into account. To determine the cost of repairs, everything (including parts, materials, paint, and labor) needs to be factored in, including the cost of airbag replacement.

Even though the cost of the replacement airbag likely won’t make your car a total loss, it can significantly increase the total repair cost—which could push your vehicle closer to being considered totaled, especially if you have an older vehicle.

Typically, insurance will cover airbag replacement if:

• Your car isn’t totaled
• You’re not at fault for the accident
• You have collision insurance, which pays for collision damage regardless of who’s at fault

Does Your Insurance Policy Cover Airbags?

Modern vehicles can have up to 10 airbags, even more if you own a safer car. These can get quite expensive to replace. Standard third-party insurance does not cover airbags. A comprehensive cover will cover up to 50 per cent of the value of the airbags.

You can get 100% coverage on airbags to replacement costs, but to do so, you need to understand the intricacies of Insurance policies which are explained below.

Types of Motor Vehicle Insurance Plans Available in India

There are two types of motor vehicle insurance plans available in India.

Third-Party Insurance

As the name suggests, it is a type of insurance that provides financial coverage for damages caused by the insured person to another person or their property.

Third-party insurance is India’s most common type of insurance coverage, and is the minimum legal requirement required to drive your vehicle in the country. Third-party insurance policies attract smaller premiums when compared to comprehensive insurance policies.

Comprehensive Insurance

Comprehensive car insurance is a type of insurance policy that offers more protection than a third-party insurance policy. Comprehensive coverage provides more protection for your car than just liability coverage, and can be used to reimburse you for damages to your vehicle in the event of an accident.

Comprehensive coverage includes collision, comprehensive and medical coverage, but it also has other types of damage, such as fire or theft. Comprehensive insurance policies attract higher premiums when compared to standard third-party insurance.

That being said, the benefits you get far exceed the extra you pay in premiums for this type of insurance.

Understanding The Benefits of Add-on Covers

A comprehensive insurance policy offers you much more financial protection than third-party insurance, but it still does not provide you with complete coverage. An excellent example of this is damage caused due to the wear and tear of the vehicle.

These gaps in coverage can be plugged in by opting for add-on covers. There are several add-ons available such as the Zero Depreciation Add-on, the Consumables Add-on, the Roadside Assistance Add-on and the Engine Protection Add-on, to name a few.

Each of these will cater to a different aspect and are worth looking at, if you own an expensive vehicle and want to cover all your bases financially.

How Does Depreciation Affect Your Claim?

If you own a new or expensive vehicle, opting for the additional add-on coverage is worth the extra money you pay in premiums. Airbags are covered under comprehensive insurance but not entirely due to their depreciation rates.

In the context of airbags, we first need to understand the concept of depreciation. Depreciation is essentially the loss of value of a vehicle as its components wear out over time.

Whenever you make a claim, the amount paid is always less than the vehicle’s market value. This is because the final amount is calculated after deducting the depreciation. So, the older the car, the higher the deduction due to depreciation.

There are two types of deductions applicable when it comes to calculating the depreciation of a vehicle. One is based on the car’s age, and the second is on the vehicle’s various parts.

What Affects The Value Of An Airbag Replacement?

As an airbag replacement can cost between $1,000 and $6,000, including parts and labor, what accounts for this massive variation?

The price depends on the make and model of your car. It also depends on the airbag or airbags that are being replaced, as driver-side bags cost but passenger-side ones. The design of the airbag and its size can also impact costs.

Where Can You Purchase Replacement Airbags?

Where you purchase an airbag also will affect its value. You’ll often find replacements online for lower prices, but you won’t have the knowledge to install them. And your mechanic may not be willing to fit an airbag you have bought elsewhere as they will ave their own suppliers.

You can run into quality issues when buying airbags online and, if you don’t buy from a trusted source, you could find yourself with a faulty airbag. This might result in a number of issues, from not deploying to not deploying in time, and even releasing metal shrapnel.

And then there’s the issue of warranty. Airbags bought online are unlikely to come with the equivalent warranty that you would get from one supplied by mechanic, and could end up costing you more in the long run.

Even if your mechanic agrees to fit an airbag you supply, you’ll still need to pay labour costs. And if you are in a collision, it’s likely that more than one airbag deploys, so you need to multiply any costs by the total number that need to be replaced.

Is It Worth Replacing Your Airbag?

Now that you know how much it costs to replace an airbag, you’ll may be wondering whether it’s worth the cost. We already established that you shouldn’t drive your car without an airbag, but what if replacing it’s still not an option?

Every situation is different, but here are some scenarios where it doesn’t make financial sense to replace your airbag:

• You no longer feel safe in your car and wish to replace it.
• You’ve decided to use an alternative form of transport.
• I’s cheaper to replace your car than replace the airbags.
• Your car needs too much work doing to it to make it worthwhile.
• You were planning to replace your car anyway.

If you do decide not to replace a deployed airbag, that’s your choice. But you need to accept that you won’t be able to drive this particular car again without airbag repair or replacement for safely reasons.

FAQs

How much does it cost to replace airbags?

On average, it can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 to replace an airbag. But oftentimes it’s much more expensive. If the accident is quite bad, the average cost goes up to about $3,000 to $5,000.

Does car insurance cover air bags?

In most cases, your vehicle insurance should include your airbag replacement. However, because this repair is so expensive, it’s common for insurance companies to settle on ‘totaling’ the vehicle instead. If you’ve got a less expensive auto insurance plan, then you’re less likely to have airbag replacement cover.

Do you have to replace airbags after accident?

According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), you should replace airbags that have been inflated or deployed following a collision without delay.

Above is information about Does insurance cover airbag replacement? that we have compiled. Hopefully, through the above content, you have a more detailed understanding of Where can you purchase replacement airbags? Thank you for reading our post.