Never will you find a person that will tell you that a car insurance policy is valid for life. There will always be an expiration date. In the case of most policies, the expiration date is one year from the date of purchase of the plan. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Corporation of India (IRDAI) continues to introduce new regulations for policies with a policy term of one year or more. You can visit the official website of IRDAI for further details. However, regardless of the policy term, it has a fixed expiration date. Expired policy means termination of coverage. So, if you want to continue to enjoy insurance coverage, you need to renew the policy at the end of each term. Here’s why it is important to renew your motor insurance policy in a timely manner:
Interruption in coverage
The immediate nature of motor insurance policy has been emphasized in many cases. First time car buyers often hear that buying an insurance policy is a good thing from a legal standpoint. But, just as important as buying a policy is the renewal of car insurance. You cannot buy a policy only once and do nothing for lifetime coverage. If you want uninterrupted coverage, you must renew the policy at the end of each term. *
Legal issues
When a traffic police officer stops you, they will not only check if you have a policy, but also check if the policy is valid. If you want to avoid legal issues, the policy must be valid. If found without a valid insurance policy, you will have to pay a hefty penalty. You could also face jail time for repeating a crime.
It is advisable to go for motor insurance renewal a few weeks before the due date. Unfortunately, if your car insurance expires and you only find out about it when a police officer catches you, there is no way to protect yourself from penalties. *
Financial liability
If your car is involved in an accident and causes damage to a third party, it is problematic not to renew the third-party liability component in your car insurance plan. In such a case, if the policy is not renewed, the insurance company will not be liable to cover you for your financial and legal liabilities. That means you have to handle the third-party liability yourself. Depending on the physical damage or property damage to the third party, the amount you may have to pay as compensation may be very high. So, you need to make sure that you buy and renew third party car insurance online as soon as possible. *
Loss of own damage coverage
Failure to reinstall the own damage component of a motor insurance policy can lead to car problems. As the policy expires, you will have to settle the garage bill yourself without the involvement of the insurance company. This means you may have to allocate large sums of money to repair your vehicle or wait before saving money for your car repairs. Therefore, it is better to take the right time to renew the policy than to spend more on repairs. A vehicle insurance calculator can help you understand the difference. *
* Standard T&C Apply
Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms and conditions, please read sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.