The passing away of a loved one is a difficult period. While coping with the emotional loss, the legal heirs and/or family members have to also use this time to handle important formalities with regards to the deceased person’s estate. One such formality that needs to be managed is car insurance. Here, we take a look at what happens to car insurance after death of owner.

How Does Car Insurance Work After the Death of the Policyholder?

When the policyholder passes away, it is important for the family members or legal heirs to inform the concerned car insurance company of this occurrence as soon as they possibly can. Also, the deceased policyholder’s legal heir must visit the Regional Transport Office and get the car registration certificate transferred over to their name. This transfer process follows the reasoning that once the deceased policyholder’s car ownership gets transferred to the legal heir, the car insurance policy will follow suit.

However, if there is a considerable time gap for the transfer and the insurance policy expires, then the legal heir will have to contact the insurance company to renew the coverage in their name.

Steps to Take for Managing Car Insurance After Death of Owner

• Contact the insurance company: A family member must inform the insurance company about the death of the policyholder. It is important to do so as the insurer has to change the policy details and other information. If the policyholder had mentioned a nominee while purchasing the policy, transferring the car insurance to such a nominee can be done easily. However, if there is no such nominee in place, it will be transferred to the legal heir.

• Visit the Regional Transport Office: Apart from initiating the insurance transfer, the legal heir also needs to get the car’s registration certificated transferred. This transfer has to be conducted from the Regional Transport Office (RTO), where the policyholder got the car registered. The legal heir must submit the required documents to successfully complete the transfer.

When Does Car Insurance Naturally Transfer to The Successor?

The following are the most common instances of car insurance transferring to a successor directly:

• Spousal death: In case a person’s spouse dies, he/she will be considered the legal heir. In this instance, the car insurance transfer is a breeze if the spouse is already a nominee. However, the legal heir is still required to submit certain documents to initiate policy transfer.

• Single parent’s death: If the policyholder is a single parent, his/her child is considered the legal heir and the natural successor. Thus, the child can get in touch with the insurance company and submit the required documents to get the policy transferred.

Note: If the policyholder dies during a car accident, the heir/beneficiary will also receive a car accident death insurance payout. Accidental death insurance differs from life insurance in the sense beneficiaries receive a payout via the former only if the policyholder dies from an accident covered by the policy.

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.