Manoj is a proud owner of a motorcycle, which he purchased just a year before the COVID pandemic started in India. He wanted to use the motorcycle for his daily commute to and from his office which was a good 15 kilometers away from his home. By the time the offices reopened, his bike had spent a long period just gathering dust and he didn’t even realize that just like that his two wheeler insurance lapsed. He did not bother checking it and went about his business. Then the fateful day came in his life when a jeep hit his bike when it was parked on the side of the road. When he thought of claiming the insurance, he realized that he won’t be able to get any money since his motorcycle’s insurance policy was no longer valid.
The majority of people in India do not find any point in investing in insurance products. And when it is about an insurance policy for a two-wheeler, most of them buy it with the vehicle and as it lapses, they do not renew it at all. This is one of the reasons why the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India directed the insurance companies lately to come up with long-term third-party liability cover.
What does a lapsed policy mean?
When you buy an insurance policy for a two-wheeler, you must keep paying a premium amount. In case you get late in paying the premium, you will get a grace period. If you do not pay the premium even during the grace period, the insurance policy will lapse.
What happens if a two-wheeler insurance policy gets expired?
If you have a bike and the insurance policy of it is expired, and you are still riding it in the city, you might face certain consequences, which are mentioned herein below:
- When you ride a bike on the road in India, you need at least a third-party two-wheeler insurance policy. If you do not have it, this will be considered an illegal and punishable offense. You can be fined INR 2000 or up to 3 months of imprisonment.
- If your two-wheeler meets with an accident, you will not get any benefit without the insurance policy that you could get if you had an insurance policy covering it.
- If your insurance policy has lapsed, it will lead to accumulated NCB benefits that can even go up to 50% of the own-damage premium of the insurance policy. However, it depends upon the claim-free years’ numbers.
What should you do if your two-wheeler insurance has expired?
In most of these cases, the insurance companies remind their customers through texts or calls around the date of expiration. However, if you miss out on this, you can get in touch with your insurance provider. There are fair chances that your insurance provider will renew your policy without charging any penalty, provided the due date has recently been crossed.
How to renew a two-wheeler insurance policy?
You can go ahead and renew your insurance policy either online or offline. If you are wondering about how to renew two-wheeler insurance online, you just have to visit the website of the insurance company first. The next step would be of entering the necessary details. Make sure you keep the documents handy since you will surely need to enter the details every now and then.
If you are planning to renew your insurance policy for a two-wheeler offline, you would be required to physically visit the insurance company. The insurer may even ask for a survey of your vehicle before a new policy is issued to you.
Points you should consider while you renew your two-wheeler insurance policy
While you plan to renew your two-wheeler bike insurance policy, you must take some of the points into consideration. Here are some of them mentioned below:
- The foremost thing that you should do is to compare the various available two-wheeler insurance policies. Well, do not worry as you do not have to run from one office to the other. You can do it online, from the comfort of your home.
- If you buy an insurance policy and then you are not satisfied with the features of the insurance policy or the coverage you are getting, you can switch to a new insurance provider. There will absolutely be no problem while doing so.
- Even if you did not fill out any claims in the preceding years, you will still be eligible for availing of the benefits of NCB from your insurance provider.
How to check two-wheeler insurance?
You can check everything online. You can simply visit the websites of the insurance companies and look for their two-wheeler insurance policies. The ones that you find the best can be shortlisted and then you can take the final call.
In case you face any challenges in renewing the lapsed insurance policy or suspect insurance mis-selling, you can visit Insurance Samadhaan and get a solution to your problem.