In an attempt to help vehicle owners across India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a statement to extend the validity of necessary documents related to motor vehicles such as driving license, permit, fitness certificate, vehicle registration, pollution under control certificate and many more.
The reason being because renewal of such documents is time-consuming and requires a mandatory visit to the Regional Transport Office. The Regional Transport Office is densely crowded due to the long list of appointments for document verification. Such a situation is a strict no as per the new rules and regulations regarding social distancing and unnecessary movement prohibition.
India has gradually opened sections of its economy one by one. As of October 22nd, 2020, we have successfully entered phase 4.0 of the unlock per the central government's announcement. Due to the infectious nature of the virus, many states and cities across the country are continuing to implement lockdown in high-risk containment zones. Due to this, there are many government offices which are not able to work on all seven days of the week due to the 30% office employee strength rule (employers and organization, private and public are allowed to maintain only 305 of their overall workforce in a single office, on a rotational basis).
As mentioned above, one such department is the Regional Transport Office (RTO). Since the number of motor vehicle registrations far outnumber the capacity of the RTO, it has become difficult for new vehicle owners to renew their vehicle-related documents. In order to highlight this concern, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has declared that all documents related to motor vehicles and their owners will remain valid until December 31st, 2020.
As per the official statement made by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), 'taking into consideration the situation continuing due to conditions for prevention of the spread of COVID19 across the country, the ministry has further advised that the validity of all of the above-referred documents whose extension of validity could or not likely be granted due to lockdown and which had expired since February 1st, 2020 or would expire by December 31st, 2020, the same may be treated to be valid till December 31st, 2020. Enforcement authorities have been advised to treat such documents valid till December 31st, 2020.'
Since motor vehicle insurance is bought/issued/renewed on the validity of the vehicle owner's documents, motor insurance plans will remain valid until December 31st, 2020. Note: The extension granted is applicable only to the mandatory documents related to motor insurance and vehicle ownership. So if you have a third party liability motor insurance policy that is about to expire, it is advisable to renew it as soon as possible. Failure to do so will lead to a late fee in addition to the inspection of your motor vehicle from the insurer's surveyor.
Earlier, the relevant government authorities (Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH and Ministry of Finance) had extended the validity for the renewal of necessary documents from June 30th, 2020 to July 31st, 2020. Next again, from September 30th, 2020, until December 31st, 2020. The decision is final across all RTOs in India.
For example, if your existing mandatory third-party liability motor vehicle insurance coverage policy is about to expire between March 25th, 2020, and May 3rd, 2020, you have the option to renew it till December 31st, 2020. Failure to do so will result in a premium hike, loss of no claim bonus, and mandatory vehicle inspection by the surveyor.
The extension is being done because the cases of Coronavirus in India are rising at an alarming rate. As of October 22nd, 2020, there are 55,383 new COVID-19 infections as the total cases surge to 77,06,946, while the total death count is 1,16,616.
Now that you are aware of the extension date, it is advisable to look for a suitable motor vehicle insurance policy. We at Coverfox have created an entire list of the top car insurance plans in India for 2020, along with the list of cashless garages, personal accident cover type, and premium amounts.
| Plan Name | Cashless Garages | Personal Cover | Starting Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Sompo Limited Third-Party Plan | NA | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 2772 |
| United India Limited Third-Party Plan | 700+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* |
| SBI General Limited Third-Party Plan | 5400+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* |
| Oriental Insurance Limited Third-Party Plan Oriental Insurance Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 5400+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 3412* |
| New India Assurance Limited Third-Party Plan New India Assurance Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | NA | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 3056* |
| National Insurance Limited Third-Party Plan National Insurance Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | NA | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 3144* |
| IFFCO TOKIO Limited Third-Party Plan IFFCO TOKIO Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 4300+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 3076* |
| HDFC ERGO Limited Third-Party Plan HDFC ERGO Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 6800+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 3065* |
| Edelweiss General Limited Third-Party Plan Edelweiss General Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 1000+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 2791* |
| Go DIGIT Limited Third-Party Plan Go DIGIT Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 1400+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* / Rs. 2772 |
| Bharti AXA Limited Third-Party Plan | 5200+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 1972* |
| Royal Sundaram Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 4600+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 3367* |
| Reliance General Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 3700+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 3130* |
| NAVI General Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | - | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 2584* |
| Magma HDI Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | NA | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 2566* |
| Liberty General Comprehensive Car | 4300+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 3150* |
| Insurance Plan | |||
| Kotak Mahindra Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 1000+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 2727* |
| Future Generali Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 2500+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 2932* |
| BAJAJ Allianz Comprehensive Car Insurance Plan | 4000+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | Rs. 3326* |
| Chola MS Car Insurance | 4000+ | Up to Rs. 15 lakhs | NA |
Disclaimer - The information mentioned above has been sourced from the official website of the respective insurance company. The premium amount is not standard and depends on the applicable factors like vehicle, location, insurer, etc. (Last updated on 22.10.2020) In Simple Words,
If your motor vehicle insurance plan expires during the period of lockdown, do not worry as the last date of the extension has been shifted to 31st Dec 2020. You can also renew your expired motor vehicle insurance policy online in a matter of 5 minutes. Learn more about motor vehicle insurance on Coverfox.