
A bike insurance policy is your lifeline for safety and is also mandatory by law. Therefore, you should carry a copy of your bike’s registration certificate and insurance policy whenever you ride the bike. Unfortunately, it is ever so often possible that you could lose your original insurance policy for various reasons and realise it later. Now it is an offence if you are found to ride without proper papers and are not able to produce it to any traffic official for verification purposes.
If you have faced such a situation, you must know how stressful it was. So, what should you do if you lost the policy? Well, you can get a duplicate copy of bike insurance online and secure it for all your needs going forward. You need to follow a few steps as discussed below.
Preliminary Steps Required Before Applying for Duplicate Insurance
Before you apply for duplicate bike insurance, here are a few basic steps that you should ensure to follow:
- File FIR: When you have lost the original bike insurance, as a primary step, you have to lodge
a First Information Report (FIR) in a police station. One copy of your FIR will be needed by the insurer for their verification process before issuing the duplicate insurance certificate.
- Inform the insurer: Once you have filed the FIR, it is important to inform your insurer that you have lost your original two-wheeler policy and request for issuing duplicate insurance for the bike based on your application.
- Place a newspaper advertisement: Before you make an application for a duplicate insurance policy document online, you have to give an advertisement in an English newspaper and a vernacular newspaper in your area. It should detail the loss of your insurance policy with a request that the finder may hand it over to you.
- Submit an Indemnity bond: The next step is to submit an indemnity bond in favour of the insurer. It can be done on a non-judicial stamp paper. You have to mention your name, policy number and other details and get them attested by a notary public and a witness. The insurer will require the document with both signatures for the issuance of the duplicate insurance certificate.
When these documents are ready, you can apply for the duplicate insurance policy with the copies of these documents attached.
Steps to Apply for Duplicate Insurance Online
Insurance companies in India have developed online processes for the convenience of policyholders. You can now easily buy and renew 2 wheeler insurance online. It is cost-effective, simple and quick. Therefore, you can also apply for a duplicate copy of bike insurance online in simple steps.
- Visit the website of the insurance company to understand their process for getting a duplicate copy of your bike insurance online.
- From the list of policies mentioned and shown, select the policy that you hold.
- Provide the details asked for on the web page. It will ask for your policy number and other basic details. If you cannot recollect your policy number, you can contact the customer service team and share your details, such as the mobile number and vehicle registration number, to get the details for you. They can find the details in their database by matching the details provided by you.
- There will be a defined verification process at their end to find if you are the actual policyholder. Leading insurance companies offer a streamlined process and dedicated customer service. For instance, TATA AIG bike insurance online facilities are efficient and quick. The customer service team is also helpful in going through the process.
- After the successful verification process, you will be able to view the insurance certificate on the screen. You can either download or print it for your reference. However, do ensure it is secure in a safe place where you can remember. You can store it digitally and view it if you have a smartphone.
- You can also opt to receive the policy by email. The insurer will provide a soft copy of the duplicate insurance copy will be sent to your inbox.
Once you receive it by email or take a printout, ensure to keep it safe. You will have to produce it when the traffic police demand it and, most importantly, when you have to make a claim for your bike’s damages and repairs.
Conclusion
A bike insurance policy is an essential document for your bike’s security. More importantly, you need to have the original policy document for lodging your claim. As you can now buy bike insurance online, do take care to keep it safe for future references. But, if unfortunately, you lose the original document you can approach the insurance company to get a duplicate bike insurance certificate. You need to do this without delay and with proper supporting documents. It pays to be careful, yet if you do lose the insurance document you can follow the steps discussed above to get a duplicate insurance copy online.