As per the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, all vehicle owners need to buy at least a valid basic insurance policy before driving their vehicles on roads in India. You must carry an original or duplicate copy of car insurance, driver’s license, PUC certificate and RC of your car every time you take your vehicle out for a drive. Failing to do so would require you to pay various penalties.

However, what do you do if you lose your car insurance papers? Read on to find out!

If you have recently bought your car insurance policy, you can conveniently find the same in your email. This is because most insurers now send you a digital copy of your insurance to your mailing address as soon as you complete the purchase.

However, suppose you cannot find the digital copy of your car insurance documents in your email. In that case, you can either get a duplicate car insurance copy by contacting your insurer directly or by visiting their official website.

• Step 1: Inform your insurer

  After you find out that your car insurance papers are missing, the first thing to do is to inform your insurer about the same. You can quickly contact your insurance company through their provided customer care number or by physically visiting their office that is the nearest to you.

• Step 2: File an FIR

  Many insurance companies require you to file an FIR about the missing documents before issuing a duplicate copy of your policy. An FIR helps the insurance company verify your claim of losing the insurance papers; hence, once you inform the insurer, head to your local police station, and file a complaint about the missing documents.

• Step 3: Issue a newspaper notice

  To apply for a duplicate insurance copy, you must publish a notice in your local newspaper. The notice you post must have your insurance details, such as the car insurance policy number, your and your insurer’s name, and the registration number of your vehicle. Do note that you must bear the cost of publishing this advertisement or notice.

• Step 4: Submit an indemnity bond

  The indemnity bond assures the insurer that you will indemnify their company if anyone other than you files an insurance claim in the future. An indemnity bond is acknowledged by a notary and requires the signature of two witnesses to be considered valid by your insurance company.

• Step 5: Submit the documents

  The last step is to submit a copy of the FIR, the newspaper ad, the original copy of the indemnity bond and the written application form to your insurer. Once your application is processed, the insurer will deliver the hard copy of your vehicle insurance policy to your registered address.

Getting duplicate car insurance papers online is relatively easy. Follow the steps below to get a duplicate digital copy of your insurance policy:

• Step1

  Visit your insurer’s website

• Step 2

  Login to your account

• Step 3

  Once you log in, you can find your insurance policy on your account’s dashboard.

• Step 4

  On the dashboard, you will see a button labelled 'Download'; click on the same and get your policy saved on your device instantly.