By Goran Alben
When you purchase a bike insurance policy, the insurer sends the policy certificate. This document contains policy details and is considered valid to prove that your bike is insured. Hence, if your bike causes an accident that damages third-party property, you might have to provide a copy of your policy certificate to help the third-party file a claim. Also, since the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, makes it mandatory for all two-wheelers to have a two wheeler insurance policy, if you are caught riding your bike without the insurance papers, you can be fined or imprisoned. However, if you have lost your two-wheeler insurance certificate, you need to take certain steps to ensure that you comply with the law and don’t lose your protection.
Things To Do When You Lose Your Two-wheeler Insurance Certificate
Here are some tips to help you manage the loss of your insurance for your bike:
● Report to police
As soon as you realise that you have lost your bike insurance documents, the first thing to do is to notify the local police station. Make sure that you visit the police station with jurisdiction in your area. Make sure to include the name and number of your insurance policy along with details of your plan. Once the report is registered, you can get a copy of the FIR from the station. Send an application letter along with an authenticated copy of the FIR to your insurer requesting duplicate documents.
● Application to the insurer
As mentioned above, you need to send an application to the insurer along with a copy of the FIR. While writing this application, ensure you provide all the relevant information like your policy number, name of the policyholder, date of issuance, type of cover, add-ons, deductibles, etc. Also, ensure that you explicitly mention the reason for requesting a duplicate copy. Also, some policies are jointly held by multiple policyholders. In such cases, the application needs to be signed by all policyholders. You might have to pay a small cost to get a duplicate set of policy documents.
● Advertisements in a newspaper
Some insurers ask for further indemnification and ask the policyholder to place an advertisement in a local newspaper specifying that you have lost your policy documents. The newspaper usually charges for such ads, and the policyholder is required to bear those costs. Once the advertisement is placed, submit a copy of the same to the insurer.
● Indemnification
This is an important step for the issuance of duplicate policy documents. The policyholder must write an indemnity bond on a non-judicial stamp paper of the prescribed value. This bond must contain the policy number and name of the policyholder and be signed by two witnesses who are not the immediate family members of the policyholder.
Tips for buying a two-wheeler insurance policy
- You can buy online two-wheeler insurance from the comfort of your office or home.
- Use the free online bike insurance calculator to estimate the premium of the comprehensive policy.
- Choose the type of policy you want to buy – third-party, own damage, or comprehensive.
- Select the add-on covers based on your needs
- Make sure that you claim the No Claim Bonus discount
- Choose the voluntary deductible carefully
Summing Up
Remember, riding a bike without an active third-party two-wheeler insurance plan is illegal. Hence, if you have lost your insurance documents, follow the tips mentioned above and ensure you get duplicate documents. Until then, do not ride your vehicle. Also, ensure that you check with the insurer about the process for getting duplicate documents before buying the policy. Good Luck!
