Renew Expired Car Insurance

Every type of car insurance policy comes with an expiry date. Once the policy term is over, you can no longer raise a claim until the policy is renewed. However, if you fail to renew it before the expiry date, you can renew it easily on Policybazaar Insurance Brokers Private Limited.

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What Happens if Car Insurance Lapses?

If your car insurance lapses, you might face the following negative consequences:

1. A lapsed car insurance policy means you might have to pay revised premium payments to renew it and also go through the vehicle inspection process.
2. If your lapsed car insurance period is quite long, the insurer might reject your policy renewal request. However, car insurance renewal may be allowed in some cases, but with some fines & penalties.
3. A lapsed car insurance policy means possible loss of NCB (No Claim Bonus).
4. Hefty penalties are imposed by traffic police for driving without a valid car insurance policy.

Given these consequences, it is best to renew car insurance before it expires. You can check the below-mentioned steps to renew expired car insurance policy.

Disadvantages of an Expired Car Insurance Policy

If you continue to drive your vehicle without getting its car insurance renewed, it can be a problem both legally and financially. In case of an accident or any collision, if it is found that you were driving a vehicle with an expired car insurance policy, it will be considered a punishable offence.

Some other disadvantages of an expired car insurance policy are as follows-

• Legal Violation

  It is mandatory to have a valid motor insurance policy for all the vehicles plying on the roads. If you forget to renew car insurance policy before its expiry date, your coverage becomes invalid. Moreover, you might have to face legal consequences if you are caught with an expired car insurance policy.

• Loss of Coverage

  Once your car insurance policy expires, your coverage benefits are also blocked. It can lead to huge financial troubles in case of an accident or a third-party liability, as the insurance company will not compensate for any damages.

• Loss of No Claim Bonus

  To avail the NCB, you must renew your four-wheeler insurance policy timely that is offered on an own-damage premium. Usually, every car insurer offers an NCB discount ranging from 5% to 50% for not filing a claim during the policy term. You can avail this discount at the time of policy renewal and if you miss renewing it before the expiry date, you will lose your NCB.

• Higher Car Insurance Premium

  If you renew lapsed car insurance policy after its expiry date, you will have to pay a higher premium. Once the policy lapses, you lose the no-claim bonus that you have earned and might lose other discounts as well. Both these factors result in higher premiums. Thus, it may not work in your favour to miss the policy renewal either by mistake or deliberately as it shells out an extra car insurance premium while renewing it as fresh.

Things to do When your Car Insurance Policy Expires

If you fail to renew your motor insurance policy before the expiry date, you can renew it online again. It is like buying a new car insurance policy. Here is a quick guide to help you understand what’s at stake and what can be done to rectify it-

1. Get in touch with your car insurance provider as you get to know that your policy has expired
2. At the time of renewal, you can choose another car insurance provider for enhanced cover or renew the existing one as per your requirements.
3. You can also opt for an add-on cover with your car insurance at the time of renewal.
4. If your policy is expired, the insurer will fix an appointment to get your vehicle surveyed again. Also, you can choose the self-inspection option which is offered by some insurers online to make this expired insurance renewal process seamless.
5. Once the vehicle inspection is successful, you can buy a new car insurance policy which will be issued to you instantly.

Offline vs Online Expired Car Insurance Renewal

While most people prefer to buy car insurance online, there is a certain population that continues to buy motor insurance offline. Here is a table showing the difference between renewing expired car insurance online versus offline, -

How to Renew Expired Car Insurance Online?

If your car insurance policy has expired, you can easily purchase a new one on Policybazaar.com. Here is an easy step-by-step guide:

• Visit the ‘Car Insurance’ page from the ‘Insurance Products’ dropdown
• Enter your car number in the given form
• As soon as you enter your car number the details of your car will be auto-fetched
• Select policy expiry date and whether you have previously made a claim or not
• From the given policy, find the right motor insurance renewal plan for your car and add any cover you wish to add.
• Enter your previous policy ‘No Claim Bonus’ discount. You are eligible for NCB if your policy expiry is still within the grace period of 90 days.
• Now fill in the required details and proceed with payment.
• After premium verification, make the payment via online modes.
• Once the payment is complete, your motor insurance renewal policy documents will be sent to your registered mail address.

Self-Inspection Under Expired Car Insurance Renewal Online

Since your car insurance policy is expired, your car will be inspected before you are issued a policy. Policybazaar offers a feature of self-inspection to the policyholders where they can simply make a self-inspection video and upload it on the Policybazaar app.

Here is how you can upload a self-inspection video to renew an expired car insurance policy with ease:

• Install the Policybazaar app on your Android or iOS smartphone
• Login to the app using your registered mobile number in the installed Policybazaar app.
• From the menu, click on the 'Start Inspection' button
• Now follow the stepwise process to upload a video of your car
• Once you have made the video, press the ‘Submit’ button to successfully submit your video.

Once the video has been uploaded, the insurer will review the uploaded video and approve it after verification.

Documents Required to Renew Expired Car Insurance Policy

While renewing an expired car insurance policy, make sure that you keep these documents handy to ensure a hassle-free purchase. Below are some of the crucial documents that you should keep when dealing with an expired car insurance policy:

1. Vehicle Registration Certificate (RC)
2. A copy of the expired car insurance policy
3. RTO address associated with the insured car
4. Car details, including car model number, city, date of registration, insurer name, etc.