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Motor Insurance Renewal
Today, only buying a vehicle does not end your responsibility. You also need to protect it from different types of perils that it is exposed to such as accidents, third-party liability, any damage or loss to your vehicle including man-made hazards, natural calamity, and many more. There comes the motor insurance in your rescue that safeguards you and your precious vehicle from almost all the potential risks. As per the Motor Vehicle Act of India, it is mandatory to obtain a third-party motor insurance plan, if you own any vehicle.
Once you have bought a motor (Car, Two Wheeler, Commercial Vehicle) insurance policy, it is also important to keep your policy active which means paying the premiums regularly and to renew your policy from time to time. In fact, renewing your existing motor plan is as important as paying the premiums on time to keep the policy functioning. Different insurance companies that provide motor insurance plans offer different methods, be it online or offline to renew your motor insurance plan. To know more details about the renewals and their process, have a look at the below mentioned.
Why Should You Renew Your Motor Insurance On Time?
Renewing your insurance policy regularly is one of the primary duties of yours that you need to perform without any delay. To know the reasons for it, so follow the mentions as stated below.
To Avoid Inconvenience
If your vehicle meets an accident and your motor insurance policy has not been renewed, it will be of no use. This accident may pose a huge financial burden to you. To avoid this kind of woeful situation, you need to keep your policy active.
Generally, a motor insurance policy is an annual contract that must be renewed every year to have a financial backup in case of unfortunate incidents involving your vehicle. It is highly advisable to renew the policy before its expiry date to enjoy continued protection while on the road.
Financial Backup
A motor insurance policy acts as a financial backup if anything happens to/by your vehicle. Any loss or damage to/by your vehicle can raise a huge economical load on your shoulders. A lapsed or expired policy cannot offer you the benefits and facilities. So, to keep yourself and your car protected, you always need to renew your motor insurance policy on time.
Saves You From Third-Party Liabilities
In India, it is mandatory to have a third-party liability insurance policy if you are the owner of a vehicle. If you do not renew your policy, it will be expired, and with this, you are not only going against the laws of the country, but also you have to pay out of your own pocket if any damage or loss happens to the third party or its property by your vehicle.
To Keep Away Excess Expenses
If you do not renew your motor insurance policy, it will be void, which means to keep your car protected, you need to buy a fresh, new policy from the insurer and the previous lapsed policy will be of no use and you are not going to get back any amount from that.
To Avoid Higher Charges
If your policy has lapsed due to not renewing it on time, you need to buy a fresh policy. While the insurer may issue a fresh insurance policy, it will never cover the already existing damages for any claims made in the future. Moreover, an insurance company might charge a higher premium rate for a vehicle whose insurance policy is expired or may even reject the application.
To Avoid Loss of No Claim Bonus (NCB)
An insured person can get an NCB of up to 50% depending on the number of claim-free years. But, if you do not renew your policy on time, you may lose the benefit of the No Claim Bonus (NCB). For some insurers, if your vehicle remains uninsured for a period longer than 90 days, you also may not avail of the benefits of NCB.
To Avoid a Complex Renewal Process
If you pay the premiums regularly and renew your motor insurance policy on time, you can avail of a renewal process that is hassle-free. But once you have failed to renew it before the estimated time, and want to renew the vehicle after a gap, the insurance company may conduct an inspection of the vehicle. This entire process may be proved to be hazardous and complex that can bring forth certain unnecessary situations for you such as reduction of Insured Declared Value (IDV) and a higher rate of premium.
How Can You Renew Your Motor Insurance Without Any Hassles?
As it is very important to renew your motor insurance policy on time, you also need to know the easiest way to renew it without any hindrances. To know the hassle-free way of renewal, follow the steps mentioned below.
- Scroll up on this page to find ‘Renew Motor Insurance’.
- Out of all the options, choose your insurance provider.
- On the next page, you need to select the type of your vehicle such as car, bike, etc.
- Then, put the registration number of your car and click on the Renew option. Your job is done.
- Once you have successfully renewed your existing motor insurance policy, you will receive notification regarding this on your registered email ID or/and phone number.
If you are unable to pay the premium on time, even with the grace period, and do not renew your policy on time, your policy will be lapsed or expired. In that case, if you want to renew your policy and make it active again, you need to go through a certain revival or reinstate process that can vary from one insured to another. The general and standard process of revival or reinstatement of a lapsed policy is as mentioned below.
- At first, the insured person has to submit proof of continued insurability. For this, you need certain documents as demanded by the insurer and it may vary from one company to another.
- The policyholder has to pay all the due premiums, along with the penalty charges, including revival charges as prescribed by the insurer at the time of payment.
- For certain insurers, your vehicle might go through inspection. This process may be extensive and complex. If the insurer comes to a positive conclusion, you can revive your lapsed policy. In that case, you may also have to pay a higher premium value.
Why Should Prefer Online Renewal of Motor Insurance?
Keeping pace with the age and the trend of digitization, most of the insurance companies offer the renewal of the motor insurance policies online, either through their mobile app or through the company’s official website, alongside the offline process. Renewing your motor insurance policy online is always more beneficial than the offline procedure for the following reasons.
- Self-reliance – You are self-sufficient here and hence; you do not have to pay any extra charges to your insurance agent.
- Saves Time – As going to the official branch of the company and standing in the queue is time-consuming, you can easily save time by doing the renewal online at your own convenient place and time.
- Inclusion/Exclusion of Add-on Cover – As while doing the renewal, you can also view different add-on covers available under the policy. You can choose/remove any of them according to convenience.
- Secured Payment Option – Carrying cash can be proved fatal sometimes. But renewing your motor insurance plan online means you are availing of protected and secure payment gateway options, which is way safer than the offline process.
- Quick Update – Once you have renewed your policy online, you will get a notification about it instantly in your registered email ID and/or mobile number. In the case of the offline renewal process, this may take a longer time to get updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here’s the list of the frequently asked questions related to the motor insurance policy.
Usually, a motor insurance policy is valid for only one year and is subject to renewal prior to the due date in order to avoid the lapse of the policy. So, you need to pay the premiums on time and renew it on a regular basis as prescribed by your insurer in order to avoid any inconvenience.
You only need to keep handy your car registration number and your policy number in order to renew your motor insurance policy online.
You need to pay a renewal fee, late fee plus interest charges for the premiums due for the last two years. Along with that, if you have taken any add-on cover(s) previously, you have to pay the premiums of that too. Apart from these, your insurer may charge any other fees as per the terms and conditions of the company.
No Claim Bonus is the benefit that a motor insurance policy offers to the insured person if he/she has not filed any claim throughout the policy period. One can avail of up to 50% NCB depending on the number of claim-free years. But for the third-party liability motor insurance policy, this NCB benefit is not applicable.
Yes, if you have cleared all the due premiums and the related charges and undergone the proper procedure, you can regain all the benefits of your policy.