How to Renew Expired Two-Wheeler Insurance?

If you are a vehicle owner, the one thing you should never compromise on is a good motor insurance policy. And just buying a policy is not enough. You also need to ensure that the policy is renewed in a timely manner so that you are always protected financially.

However, it may happen sometimes that you may forget to pay your two-wheeler insurance premiums on time. Or you may consciously choose to not renew the policy due to shortage of funds or some other reason. This would lead to your vehicle insurance policy getting expired, which would consequently create another set of challenges.

As a responsible rider, if you land up in such a situation, you should immediately try and revive your expired policy before it’s too late. Here’s a small guide on expired two-wheeler insurance renewal to help you through the process.

What happens if the policy is not renewed on time?

Before we talk on how to renew expired two-wheeler insurance, it is important to understand the consequences of not paying premium on time.

You should ideally renew your insurance policy before the scheduled date in order to enjoy continuity benefits. If you miss the renewal date, your insurance policy expires and stops offering any benefits and financial coverage

This means that in case your bike or two-wheeler gets involved in a road mishap after the renewal date, your policy would not pay for any damages or losses arising out of the accident or any related third-party liabilities.

Even if you are not involved in any accident, riding a vehicle with an expired insurance policy on the road attracts high penalties. You may end up paying more in fines than what you would have saved by not paying the premium.

But don’t worry. Missing the renewal date is not the end of the world as the insurer still gives you a grace period of 90 days. During this period, you can revive the policy by simply paying the premium along with a small penalty.

Though your policy would not provide you any coverage during this grace period, you would still be eligible to retain certain benefits like no-claim bonus (NCB) if you renew your policy during this window.

If you fail to pay your premium even within the 90-day window and your policy continues to remain lapsed, then you cannot revive this policy again and would have to buy a new cover.

This means you lose all the NCB benefits that you might have accumulated over the years, which could have got you up to 50% discount on your next premium.

Also, it means that whenever you buy the insurance again (which you would have to as third-party cover is compulsory in India), you will have to start the process from scratch, getting all the inspections redone. Chances are high that you would end up paying a higher premium than your previous policy as your vehicle would now be older.

How to renew two-wheeler insurance after expiry?

So, now that we know that a lapsed policy is a bad idea, it is important that you renew the policy on time, or latest before the end of the grace period.

Expired two-wheeler insurance policies can now easily be renewed online itself without any need of going to the insurer’s branch. Though you may need to keep some documents handy for the process like previous policy copy or renewal notice sent by the insurer, RC (Registration Card) of your vehicle, driving licence and latest photos of your two-wheeler.

Below are the steps you can follow for two-wheeler insurance renewal after expiry:

• Choose your insurer: If you are not happy with your current insurance provider, you can switch the insurer at this stage. Compare the plans and premium prices offered by different insurance companies online and make your choice.

• Choose the plan and add-ons: Once you have selected the insurer, choose the specific plan you want to buy along with the add-on covers.

• Provide vehicle details: Submit all the required details of your bike or two-wheeler.

• Make the payment: Choose any of the available payment modes and make a payment to buy the policy. Soon after the payment is processed, you will receive the softcopy of your policy on your registered email ID.

In case you are not comfortable renewing the expired policy online, you can even visit the insurer’s branch with all the necessary documents mentioned above and meet the executives there to complete the renewal process.

In this case, you should be prepared for a physical inspection of the bike along with a thorough verification of your documents before your policy is renewed.

Disclaimer: The above information is indicative in nature. For more details on the risk factor, terms and conditions, please refer to the Sales Brochure and Policy Wordings carefully before concluding a sale.