REVIVING A LAPSED POLICY
Motor insurance cover lapsed? There’s hope yet
Blame it on busy work schedules or plain ennui, but many people fail to renew their motor insurance policy on time and drive around with a lapsed insurance policy. It may not have mattered in the past, as you could pay a Rs 1,000 fine and get away with it. However, with the new
Motor Vehicle Act 2019, you could find yourself shelling out Rs 2,000 for a first-time offence and double that if you are caught for the same offence a second time.
The stiff penalties have made many vehicle owners turn hastily towards insurance companies. “There has been a 7.5 time increase in two-wheeler insurance sales and three times in car insurance sales in September,” says Sajja Praveen Chowdary, Head, Motor Insurance,
at Policybazaar.com.
However, renewing a lapsed insurance policy is a far tougher task than renewing an active insurance policy online. The options start getting limited as the number of days the renewal has been delayed increases. However, it is still possible to revive a lapsed policy.
➘ INSURANCE RENEWAL OPTIONS FOR VEHICLE OWNERS
As Subramanyam Brahmajosyula, head, underwriting and reinsurance, at SBI General Insurance tells you, “You have several options, including insuring online, approaching an intermediary or walking into the office of any insurance company which offers motor insurance to revive your cover.”
If you are renewing your policy within 90 days of expiry, you can carry forward your previous No Claim Bonus (NCB). A delay beyond that not only results in the loss of NCB, but could also lead to increased premiums. In either event, says C.S. Sudheer, founder & CEO, IndianMoney.com, keep required documents ready. “For online renewal, log on to the insurer website, enter your plan details and make the payment. For offline, carry policy documents to the insurer’s branch.”
➘ CHOOSING BETWEEN THIRD-PARTY AND COMPREHENSIVE POLICY COVER
When it comes to saving yourself from paying a hefty fine, third party insurance alone is enough. Third-party insurance helps pay off the losses resulting from injury or damage to the third party caused by your vehicle in an accident. What it does not cover is the cost of repair to your own vehicle. Premiums for third-party insurance are far lower than for a comprehensive motor insurance policy which also covers damage to your own vehicle.
Opting for a comprehensive insurance cover may be time-consuming as the insurance company will seek details about the vehicle’s condition before assenting to the request for cover. If the request is made within 90 days of the lapse of the previous policy, then both web aggregators and online insurers may allow the cover without inspection, but not otherwise. “The insurer will thoroughly inspect the vehicle before renewing the cover,” says Sudheer. “Minor damage is ignored, but if the vehicle has more than four minor dents or a single crack in the windshield, the policy proposal might be rejected.”
Some insurers and web aggregators also have a digital self-inspection system for physical verification, in which case you have to use their mobile app or link to take pictures or videos of the vehicle. However, others may insist on a physical inspection. ■