It is said that above 70% of the two-wheelers you see on the street are without insurance. The main reason is that many do not know about the benefits such a policy provides or perhaps, they have forgotten to renew it.
You have to be aware that if you are stopped while driving a two-wheeler in India and it turns out you don’t have insurance you will receive punishment.
Penalties
As the Motor vehicles Act states, a person driving a two-wheeler without insurance will receive a penalty that has now been increased to Rs. 2,000 compared to the previous Rs. 1,000 or will be sent to prison for up to 3 months.
Fines In Case of Traffic Violations
There are penalties not only if a person is driving a bike without insurance, but also for other various traffic violations. Those are:
- Compensation of Rs. 5 lakh in case of death and Rs. 2.5 lakh for causing an injury during an accident.
- Speeding is penalized by Rs. 1,000-Rs. 2,000
- Driving in a dangerous manner would cost you Rs. 5,000
- If one is driving without a helmet, he/she will be fined Rs. 1,000 and the driver’s license will be suspended
Own-Damage or Third-Party Expenses
If there is a collision or a different type of accident and you hurt someone or a person’s property, you will be obliged to pay for all damages caused to the victim, which is called third-party liability. In case the bike has insurance, then the incurred losses incurred by you towards a third party. You could also experience damages on your vehicle in an accident, and you might have to cover them if you are not insured. All this could add up to a large amount.
This is why it is crucial to have at least a third-party bike insurance policy to ride on the streets legally.
Online Purchasing of Bike Insurance?
In order to get a bike insurance policy you can go on InsuranceDekho, and follow those easy steps:
- Go to insurancedekho.com.
- Choose the Make, Model, Fuel Type, and Variant of your bike.
- Choose the Registration City and the Year of Purchase.
- Select Yes or No to whether you made any claims the year before.
- Press ‘Calculate’ and you will get the correct IDV and premium for the insurance.
- Pay securely online for the insurance.
That’s all! Your bike is now insured. Now you won’t be fined for driving on the roads.
Keep in mind that you will get the documents for the policy via email.
What are the Different Types of Insurance for Two-Wheelers?
The best way to get insurance is online. It only takes a couple of clicks, you have a lot of information available, which you could compare – offered rates and cashless garages. Nevertheless, it is crucial to know the most essential things about insuring a bike. The 3 main types of policies are the following:
- Standalone Own-Damage Insurance: it gives compensation for any incurred damages to the two-wheeler of the policyholder in case of an accident. This is not a mandatory policy.
- Third-Party Insurance: this one is required in order not to be fined while riding on the streets. It covers third-party liabilities which consist of death, property damage, and bodily injuries.
- Comprehensive Insurance: it covers own-damage costs and third-party liabilities. Providing those two makes it the easiest option to choose out of the 3.
How to Check the Status of your Bike Insurance Online
Such information is collected by the Insurance Information Bureau, the IIB portal, or the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. The places where you can see the insurance status for your two-wheeler are these:
- Go to IIB’s website.
- Click on ‘V SEVA’ under the quick links.
- Type all necessary information on the page that appears, including the Captcha.
- Check everything and click on Submit.
While using this web portal to view the status of the insurance, you have to follow those guidelines:
- Type the registration number of your two-wheeler without any special characters. You are required to enter this information.
- When you are submitting the details for the insurance policy to the Data Repository, there will be a 2-month delay before they appear on the web portal. This is why you might not see them.
- Companies will submit only the engine number and chassis of the vehicle when there is a new two-wheeler.
- The data is on the basis of the ones0 submitted by the insurance company. It is available for data after 1 April 2010.
- If you can’t see any data, visit the Regional Transport Office for more information about the owner, address, etc.
- You are allowed to do 3 searches for one mobile number or email address.
Once everything is correctly submitted, you will see your policy details. Here you can skip all mentioned steps and just submit a query form. After that, a professional will get in touch with you. He/she will help you with the insurance status. Keep in mind that the IIB web portal keeps data only about two-wheelers that are bought on or after April 1, 2020.
How to Check the Insurance Status using VAHAN?
The e-service of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry stores data for the insurance policies of all two-wheelers. If IBB doesn’t do the trick, you can try VAHAN.
You have to follow these steps to see the policy status:
- Visit VAHAN’s website.
- Click on Know Your Vehicle Details.
- Type your vehicle number and do the verification.
- Tap on Vahan Search.
- All policy details should appear.
Check the Insurance Status Offline using RTO
If you don’t want to use the Internet, you can go to the RTO or Regional Transport Office. Give your registration number there and you will receive the policy status and other details.
Check the Insurance Status with Your Insurance Provider
The status can also be viewed through your insurance provider. Here are the steps to do it:
- Online: Go to your provider’s web page and upload the policy details of your vehicle.
- Offline: Call customer care or visit their office.
Almost all insurance providers have offline and online services. Doing it via the Internet is always easier and faster. Remember to bring your registration number when you are doing a policy status check. In this way, you won’t miss the expiration date of your insurance policy.
Learn more about how you can build a bike yourself for cheap or upgrade it to an all-electric version.
