The process of buying a car seems extremely joyful and exciting. You can search for the different types, brands and models within your budget and pick the one that best suits your requirement. However, it would help if you bought your car insurance with the same enthusiasm and effort. Purchasing good car insurance is just as important as purchasing a good car. It is advised that you research car insurance in India and chalk out all the details of your car insurance policy.

With the advent of digitisation, more and more people are now buying car insurance online. When you buy insurance for your car through the insurance company’s website, you get a soft copy of your four-wheeler insurance policy on your email ID, which you can download and access anytime. Be it for checking the expiry date or for filing a claim or to produce the same to the authorities, you might need access to your insurance policy for various reasons.

However, if you do not get access to your soft copy, or you had bought your policy offline and have misplaced the insurance document, then fret not. You can check your car insurance status online.

Here is how you can check your car insurance status online

1. Check car insurance status through the insurance company’s website:

After the car insurance has been paid for, you can contact the car insurance provider for getting updates on your car insurance policy. If you want the information on the status of the policy, you can log in into the website of your insurance company and check the status. On the car insurance policy website, you can conveniently register for your claim and track the status of your car insurance policy online.

A lot of companies provide these features, where policyholders can log in to their website and check their policy status from anywhere at any time. Car insurance providers like Tata AIG also have the provision for checking all the information on the existing policies, checking the policy history, registering a claim, requesting for a policy document or finding the nearest branch.

1. Check car insurance status through the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB):

The Insurance Information Bureau was promoted by the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India). The IIB is a data repository which collects accurate, reliable and timely data for the Indian insurance sector. The main reason for setting up the IIB was to help the insurance industry work efficiently and smoothly. If you want to check your car insurance policy online, follow the listed steps:

• Go to the IIB web portal
• Enter login details
• Your insurance policy details will be provided to you

If you are not able to see your policy information, you can search for the vehicle engine number or chassis number.

1. Check car insurance status through VAHAN e-services:  

An alternative to the IIB web portal is the VAHAN e-services. If the IIB is unable to provide you with the information on your car insurance policy, you could use this method for checking the VAHAN e-services. To check your insurance status on the VAHAN e-services, follow the listed steps:

• Go to the official page of VAHAN e-services. Once you have reached that page, you should go to the ‘Know your vehicle’ option.
• In the box that comes up, input your car’s registration number and verification code.
• After this, the vehicle’s insurance expiry date will be available to you. Some of the other details of the vehicle also appear in the process.

Why is a car insurance policy essential?

A car insurance policy offers protection against the financial liabilities arising from accidental damages to and by your car. In India, a third-party insurance policy is compulsory for every vehicle. However, third-party insurance covers only the damages caused by your car to a third party. If you need to cover the damages to your car, theft of your car as well as injuries to the owner-driver, along with the third-party cover, then you need to buy a comprehensive car insurance policy.

In the case of an accident where your car suffers damage, you will need to file a claim with your insurance provider to get compensation for the financial loss. One of the first steps to get the claim is to inform the insurance company. After that, you will need to provide the insurance company with the concerned documents like a claim form, a copy of the RC (registration certificate) and other related documents. Car insurance companies have two options for settling the claim – one is through cashless settlement where the insurance company will settle the claim directly with the network garages, and the other is where you will pay the bill, raise the claim and the insurance company reimburses you the amount.

Getting a car insurance policy is mandatory by the law. With the advancements in technology and digitisation, every industry has shifted its base to the digital space. Buying a car insurance policy online is quick and easy. Since you do not have to physically go to the company, you can just visit the website from the comfort of your house. Now, not only can you buy car insurance online, but you can also check the status of your policy online as well.

With all of these easy and simple ways of checking your car insurance policy status online, you can be done with it in a matter of minutes. You can select the choice that is easy for you. But ensure that you follow each step carefully when providing input on the different identification steps for knowing your policy status.

Bonnie Clemens