Know more about the grace period in car insurance 30^th November 2022

Car insurance is a shield that protects your vehicle and your finances in case of accidents or any untoward incident involving your car. You pay a fixed sum annually, known as the insurance premium, for availing of the insurance company's services. As your policy approaches its expiry date, you must renew it by paying the premium.

There may be instances when you cannot pay the due insurance premium on time. You may be busy, unavailable, or not have the funds to renew it or simply forget to renew your policy. What happens to your policy, then? Does it expire and lapse? No. You might enjoy a special privilege known as the grace period, which prevents your policy from lapsing.

Let us know more about the grace period in car insurance.

1. Duration:
An insurance company usually provides a 15-30 days grace period from the expiry of your car insurance policy. However, it may differ from one company to another as per the policy's terms and conditions.

2. Charges:
Normally you don't have to pay any extra charges even if you renew your car insurance policy during the grace period. There may be a penalty if you do not renew your policy even within the grace period and do it after it ends.

3. Accrued bonus:
No-claim bonus (NCB) is the bonus amount accrued yearly in your policy if you do not raise a claim in that year. You get a discount on the insurance premium amount at the time of renewal of the policy, depending upon the NCB accrued to date.
Does this accrued NCB expire if you do not renew your policy in time? The answer is "NO". You can enjoy the benefit of your NCB even if you renew your car insurance policy during the grace period. However, the NCB may lapse and become inactive if you fail to renew your policy even within the grace period.

4. Claim settlement:
As we have discussed above, your car insurance policy will still be valid during the grace period. What happens if your car meets with an accident or gets stolen during the grace period? Will the insurance company entertain your claim now?
The answer is "NO" again. Your claim will be rejected simply because you did not renew your car insurance in time. Hence, it is crucial that you always renew your car insurance policy before its expiry date or as soon as possible because accidents come unannounced, even during the grace period. The entire purpose of having car insurance coverage will be defeated in such a situation.

5. Legal aspect:
According to the Motor Vehicles Act, it is mandatory to have a valid and active car insurance policy in India. Your car insurance is technically invalid if your insurance policy expires and you enter the grace period. Hence, legally you will be driving without a car insurance policy. The police will have the right to fine you and issue a challan if you're being stopped.

6. Inspection:
The car insurance company may again send an agent for the inspection of your car if you renew your policy after the grace period expires. In such a case, you will have to bear the inspection charges.

An active car insurance policy is essential as it safeguards you against any mishap involving your car and third-party liabilities arising from it. So why wait for the policy to expire first to renew it?

You should always renew your policy in advance, so your protection remains intact. You can easily opt to buy car insurance policy online and also renew it online later. Buying and renewing a car insurance policy online is fast, simple, secure, and 100% reliable.

Click HERE to buy car insurance policy online.

Disclaimer: The information provided above is for illustrative purposes only. To get more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before purchasing a policy.