What to Do If Your Motor Insurance Policy Has Lapsed?

You just realised your motor insurance policy lapsed a few days ago and now you don’t know what to do! Agreed you were traveling, were unwell, your dog was unwell, you were neck deep in work, or you were just plain lazy. Could be any of the reasons, but now you’re stuck.

You do know that it is a liable offence to drive an uninsured vehicle (without a valid third party insurance) in India? Besides, who wants to risk having to pay a lot of money all from your own pocket, if/when your car/scooter meets with even a minor accident? Or get stressed out each time the traffic cop stops vehicles in front of you for a routine check?

We don’t want to nag you like mum, but honestly, renewing car insurance policy is going to be a lot of work.

Here’s a helpful step-by-step guide for lazy folks like you to undo the mistake of not renewing your vehicle insurance in time i.e. when your policy lapses/expires or when there has been a break in renewing your motor insurance policy.

The EASY Way (Like, seriously)

You renew the lapsed policy with Coverfox. We're not beating our own trumpet here. Here's how it will work out.

• You or schedule a call-back with us, we call you up, and we become friends
• We'll schedule an inspection of your car (within 1-2 days)
• Our guy will come over to your place, take some pictures of your car and give you a thumbs up
• Post inspection, for most insurance companies, you can Pay by Card at the convenience of your home
• We'll issue the policy to you in a matter of hours. Yay!

For most cases the above process can be done with in a single day and you ride your car safely insured. Just drop your contact number in the form below and we'll take care of the rest.

The HARD way

So you don't like doing anything that's easy. It doesn't feel like an achievement till you shed some blood and sweat. Well, for you such mighty warriors, here's how the process goes if you don't go with Coverfox.

• Zero in on Insurance Company

  You will need to zero in on an insurance company with the most competent premium being offered for your vehicle's make and age. You can do this easily by calling us at Coverfox. We will give you the estimated cost of the insurance, based on which you can finalise the company.

• Get Appointment for Vehicle Survey

  Once you finalise the company you want to insure your vehicle with, (or the one willing to insure your vehicle, in most cases), you will need to set up a time at the earliest for the company to come and survey your car, bike or scooter, whatever it is you need to get insured. You might have to follow-up aggressively and get the inspection done urgently, if you are in a hurry, as this process can take upto 3-5 days.

• Get Vehicle Surveyed

  A surveyor will come to your place to inspect the vehicle and determine or ascertain any pre existing damage. In case there is pre-existing damage, there might be a chance that your vehicle get rejected for insurance, given the extent of the damage.

  Usually these are third-party surveyors, and 2-3 days might go between the survey results to reach the insurance company and them providing a verdict.

  It could also be that the damage is identified & it is excluded from the insurance coverage. Or, a fixed deductible is set on that damage and same would be charged to you, once you claim in the future.

  Please Note: In most cases, there will also be a nominal fee that the insurance company will charge for this inspection, damage or no damage.

• Buy Policy Immediately

  Once the survey is done the insurance policy can be bought. An important point to note is that the inspection is valid only for 24 hours, hence you need to buy the policy within that time period.

  There you go. In the hard way, you'll get the policy within 5-10 days. We wish you good luck that you don't face any issues, and are able to go through the motions in a breeze.

• No Claim Bonus and Lapsed Policy

  A word of caution for all those really lazy people, whose policy lapsed 3 months i.e. 90 days ago, you will be losing your No Claims Bonus. No Claims Bonus, as you may know is the discount you get on your yearly premium, for each consecutive year you don't make a claim on your car insurance policy.

  This can be a huge loss, especially if you have not claimed for 3-4 years. To give you an idea, no claim bonus at the end of 4 claim free years is a discount of 45%.

To conclude, as much as you might love living on the edge, driving an uninsured car or riding an uninsured bike is as safe as walking on a tight rope. BETWEEN TWO STEEP CLIFFS!

Not only do you pose a risk to your precious vehicle that you bought with your hard earned money, you stand a risk to lose a lot even in terms of premium. Not to mention, if I may be allowed to get dramatic - you'll be taking the law in your own hands!

Go get that insurance policy today! If you buy your policy from Coverfox, we promise you that we would remind you well in time, for you to never be in this situation again.

FAQs on Lapsed Motor Insurance

With the renewal of my motor insurance, will I have to renew all the additional riders too?

No, it is not necessary that you need to renew the additional riders that you purchase with your car insurance policy. Addons such as zero depreciation, NCB protection, engine cover and others are meant to provide your car an extended coverage. So renewing the riders depends on you and your driving skills.