Apart from the fact that car insurance is mandatory in India, it is also important to protect life and limb – yours as well as the third party’s – as much as to protect your car itself. Therefore it stands to reason that you would remember to buy it in the first instance, that is when you buy your car, but since you don’t see the benefits of car insurance in the routine course of life, you are apt to forget to renew it when its one-year validity comes to an end. And if you do not renew your car insurance, you could get into all sorts of trouble, legal as well as financial, not to speak of medical emergencies. If you think renewing it is a big hassle, just remember that you can renew your car insurance online also. It is also possible that you do remember to renew your online insurance, but are unable to find the time to do so, which too is understandable. In the meantime, however, remember to keep the following things in mind:
Avoid driving your car till your renewed insurance policy arrives
Besides the fact that if you are driving an uninsured car, and get into an accident, you will be held totally responsible to make good the damages, you could also get caught by the traffic police and may have to shell out a hefty fines in consequence. Therefore, to be on the safe side, avoid driving your car until your renewed car insurance policy arrives.
Research for online car insurance renewals
Do your research diligently to find out what are your options for renewing your car insurance online. If you had bought online insurance in the first place, it would be easy to renew with the same company online. But otherwise you will have to shortlist a few companies which offer online car insurance renewal, and check which suits you best. After you have zeroed in on the company with whom you wish to renew your expired insurance, just follow the online instructions to renew it.
Get in touch with your insurance company
If you do not wish to renew your car insurance online, and wish continue with your current insurance provider, then the first thing you should do is to get in touch with them. The advantage of continuing with your current insurance provider after your car insurance has expired is that they would probably maintain the continuity of your policy and will not deprive you of the no-claims bonus. It will also save you from paying steep fines and penalties.
Keep your insurance documents handy for reassessment by the insurance provider
When you go for renewal of your car insurance, the insurance company will most likely want to make a fresh physical assessment of your car to determine its current market value and how much cover they can provide you under the present circumstances. In this case, it would be advisable to have all your vehicle documents, as well as the documents related to the expired insurance policy handy so that the survey can be conducted without any hitch, and you can get your renewed car insurance policy as soon as possible.
