Engine Protection Cover in motor insurance will protect both engine and transmission (gearbox) assembly in case of any consequential loss because of leakage of lubricating oil or water ingression (leakage of coolant is usually not covered in motor insurance)

What is consequential loss?

Consequential loss is an aggravation of loss because of an existing loss. To give you an example, if your vehicle has met with an accident and you continue to drive the vehicle which results in increase in the damages. This is called as consequential loss as the aggravation of loss is a consequence of the existing loss.

Consequential loss is not covered under motor insurance however with an add on of Engine Protection you can cover the consequential loss to both engine and gearbox.

Usually insurance company will cover the consequential loss to both engine and gear box in 2 scenarios

1. Damage due to leakage of lubricating oil
2. Damage due to water ingression

Leakage of lubricating oil –

To run an engine efficiently it is important that the engine assembly is lubricated properly and if lubrication stops it may lead to overheating which in turn causes engine seizure and the loss can be anywhere between 50k to 5 lacs depending on the vehicle.

Let us understand with an example. Imagine you are driving the vehicle on a rough road and the vehicle hits to a big stone. Since the oil sump is in the bottom part of the vehicle it is very likely that the impact of stone may have caused leakage of oil. Currently no vehicle on Indian road gives message to the driver that there is an impact on oil sump and the vehicle should not be driven. Being a layman you continue to drive the vehicle which result into overheating of the engine and this eventually causes engine seizure i.e. internal parts of engine gets damaged because of overheating. Insurance company will deny the claim citing consequential loss but this loss can be covered under insurance in case you have opted for engine protection.

Water ingression

Let us understand what is water ingression and how this can damage the engine/gearbox of the vehicle.

Engine can run smoothly only if air/fuel ratio is optimum in the engine cylinder at the time of combustion however if water enters in the engine cylinder it may have a greater damage to the engine as water being incompressible fluid the engine will break while trying to compress water. This typically happens if the vehicle is running in a water logged area or the vehicle was submerged in water logged area and now being driven.

Under both the above scenarios the insurance company will pay the claim for damages to the engine and/or gearbox if engine protection is opted in the policy

There is one more common reason for consequential damages to the engine however most of the insurance company will not pay the claim even if engine protection is opted and the reason is damage due to leakage of coolant.

Leakage of coolant:

If the engine is damaged because of leakage of coolant, most of the insurer will not pay the claim as the product filed by insurance company doesn’t mention loss to engine because of leakage of coolant. You should ask your advisor about this cover while taking the cover.

Let us understand what happens in case there is coolant leakage. Let us understand this with an example. Imagine you are driving a car and hit a dog. You may stop the vehicle and look for damages but there is a high chance that you didn’t find any damage and continue to drive the vehicle. However the impact of the animal may have damaged the radiator assembly which in turn would have caused leakage of coolant (usually a green fluid). This leakage of coolant can cause overheating of engine and may lead to engine seizure and the insurance company will continue to deny the claim in spite of having this cover.

There are few insurers who are giving protection to engine even in case of leakage of coolant and it is advisable to check with your insurer/broker/advisor directly before paying the premium.