When you buy a car in India, it is mandatory to get it insured. Car insurance policies are available in different variants with a range of add-on covers to help you customise them as per your requirements. Before buying a policy, you can compare car insurance online and choose the one that is perfect for your needs.
Once you buy a car insurance policy, you receive policy documents that have all the details of the policy, terms and conditions, and dates. These documents are required at the time of filing a car insurance online claim. Hence, you are required to keep them safe.
However, there can be incidents where you lose your car insurance documents. At such times, it is possible to get a duplicate copy by following the process listed below.
A car insurance policy has four broad sets of documents. This includes the insurance policy, endorsements page, declarations, and exclusions from the policy. These documents specify the insurance policy number, registration number of the car, description of the car, make and model of the car, engine and chassis number, your name and address, and the expiry date of the policy, along with the terms and conditions of the coverage.
You are required to show these documents to government officials on demand while driving your car. You also need these documents while filing a car insurance online claim.
Process of Getting a Duplicate Car Insurance Policy Documents
In the event of losing or misplacing these documents, you can get a duplicate copy by following this process.
- Inform the insurance company
As soon as you realise that your four-wheeler insurance documents are missing, you need to contact the insurance company and inform them about the same. This is important so that the company can start the process of issuing you a duplicate certificate. You can contact the company directly via the customer care number, or email address or talk to the agent if you have purchased it via him.
- File a report with the police
The next step is to file a report of the loss with the police. You might have to visit the local police station for the same. Inform the police that the documents have been lost or stolen. When you submit your documents to the insurer for a duplicate copy, this report will be required.
- Place a newspaper ad
Some insurance companies require the policyholder to place an ad in a newspaper that has national or local distribution or both. They might specify the language of the newspaper where they want you to place an advertisement about the loss of your policy documents. The cost of getting this ad published will have to be borne by you.
- Submit the application and documents
Once you have filed a report with the local police station, submit a written application to the insurance company along with the police report copy. Remember to provide reasons why you had lost the documents.
- Get an indemnity bond
The insurance company might require you to get an indemnity bond on a notarised stamp paper. This bond indemnifies the company of any misuse of the lost documents. You will also have to bear the stamp duty charges associated with the issuance of duplicate documents.
Now that you know how to get a car insurance copy online, you can use the process if you lose your car insurance policy documents.
Summing Up
Many car owners keep approved digital versions of their four-wheeler insurance documents with them rather than carrying the original documents around. This helps them avoid the risk of losing the documents while in transit. However, you need to ensure that these digital apps are approved by the government of India and accepted by your local RTO.
Further, it is prudent to keep a folder for the original documents at home to avoid misplacing them. However, despite the precautions, if you lose them, then the steps mentioned above can help you get a duplicate set with ease. If you are wondering how to download a car insurance policy? You can do it through the website of your insurer.
Remember, it is illegal to drive your car without valid documents. Therefore, as soon as you realise that you have lost or misplaced your car insurance papers, don’t drive your car. If you are caught without the insurance papers, then you can be fined and even sentenced to prison. Hence, if you lose your insurance documents, inform your insurer and follow the process to get duplicate ones before you resume driving your car. Good Luck!