What happens if you do not renew your car insurance policy on
time? Read on to know the pitfalls.
Makr and Joshi* (33) has learnt his lesson. Never again will
he put off doing a task which he should do at once.
“I was on holiday with my friends and we were in my car. We
crossed over to Goa from Maharashtra, and we were just reaching our hotel when
the car hit a bump. To avoid crashing into a divider, I swerved into a tree,”
he says. On getting out and inspecting the car, I saw that the damages were
severe. The bonnet had crumpled and the fender was crushed. My friends told me
to call my insurance provider and claim insurance.”
Then he got the biggest shock. “The customer care executive
told me that my car insurance had expired a month ago. I had been unaware of
this and I was driving without insurance. Naturally, I had to pay for the
damages myself,” he rues.
Take a cue from Makrand’s example and get your motor
insurance renewal done. Not renewing your car insurance can land you in serious
trouble. Even a day’s delay can prove costly. Take the case of Shyam Dandekar*
(44), who was aware that his vehicle insurance renewal was coming up. “I was
mistaken about the date. When I checked the policy papers, I realised that I
was three days late already. Despite numerous requests, I could not renew the
old policy, and I had to take a fresh one,” he explains.
Most people take car
insurance renewal in India very lightly, but it can have serious
consequences. The car insurance policy is a yearly contract between the vehicle
owner and the insurance provider, and it must be renewed every year. The
insurance provider will initiate a fresh car policy renewal process if the
renewal is delayed by even a day. Driving without a valid car insurance policy
can prove fatal.
“People cannot be casual about vehicle insurance renewal,”
says Rajesh Virmani*, an insurance advisor. “A slight delay is fine in case the
policy only covers third party liability. Many insurance providers are happy to
renew third party liability after a slight break. But comprehensive coverage
policies cannot be renewed after even a single day’s break. This means that any
damage to self or the vehicle during the break period will not be covered by
insurance,” he explains.
Imagine meeting with an accident or worse, causing damage and
injury to another person when one’s motor insurance has expired. “I am very
careful about the renewal dates,” says Brijesh Kapadia (44), who says he has
never missed a renewal date. “Insurance companies have made the renewal process
very easy. I used the online car insurance renewal option for the first time
last year, and it was done within minutes. Besides, the insurance provider
sends a reminder before the last date elapses. It is sheer careless to not
renew the motor insurance on time.”
The risk of not doing the car insurance renewal on time also
extends to the insurance provider charging a higher premium after a break in
the policy tenure. You may also not get the no-claim bonus if you do not renew
on time.
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