Motor insurance is among the first few things you need to do after purchasing a vehicle other than registering it with a regional transport office (RTO). The Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 makes it mandatory to have an insurance cover.
You have two options, a third-party or comprehensive cover, among which a selection is to be made. For new vehicles, a comprehensive plan is mandatory for the first year after which you can continue with a comprehensive policy or switch to third-party insurance.
Internet penetration across India has made it possible to now purchase motor insurance online. You can buy motor insurance for cars, bikes, or even commercial vehicles at the convenience of your couch. But once you purchase a policy, make sure to check its status. Let us look at how to check the status of your policy.
Via the Insurance Company
Once you make the payment and you do not receive any update from the insurance company, you can contact your insurance agent or visit the branch office and enquire about the policy status. You shall be required to furnish details including your policy number. In case the insurer does not satisfactorily address your concern, you can approach the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). On the other hand, for policies purchased online, you can login to your account on the insurer’s portal and check for its status.
Via the Insurance Information Bureau
Insurance Information Bureau or IIB is a repository of all insurance data under the governance of IRDAI. It compiles and stores data about the insurance sector in India.
- For checking your policy’s status online via the IIB portal, visit IIB’s website.
- Furnish necessary details as required.
- Once you submit the above information, your current policy details shall be visible.
- If no information on current policy is displayed, you might be able to view information about the previous insurance policy.
- If no information is available, you can try searching using the chassis number or your vehicle’s engine number.
Using e-Services on the VAHAN portal.
VAHAN is an alternative to using the IIB portal. If no information can be traced on the IIB website, you can use this method.
- On visiting the VAHAN portal, click on ‘Know your vehicle details’.
- Enter the registration number of the vehicle and the verification code and initiate the search.
- The VAHAN portal also displays the insurance expiry along with other details of the vehicle including the PUC and validity of your registration certificate.
Using QR code facility
All insurance plans have a QR code on the face of the document. It was made mandatory by the regulatory body. Simply scanning the QR code using your smartphone is the easiest way to check the status of your policy.
Approaching the RTO
The last to check the details of your policy is approaching the regional transport office with the details of the insured vehicle and its registration number.
These are different ways of how you can find out the status of your insurance plan. Checking well in advance after making the payment will help avoid bad surprises at the time of insurance claim. Further, carefully select the policy features depending on your requirement. For comparing the different policies, a motor insurance calculator is a nifty tool that can help to collate the features offered by insurance companies and make a prudent choice.
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