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How To Check Whether Your Car Insurance Policy is Genuine?

Team AckoJan 17, 2024

Everyone wants the best deal on their car insurance. However, that does not mean you buy a policy without any thought. It is crucial to buy from certified insurers. Fake insurance could cost you more. While there are several ways to get cheaper car insurance in the market, if you get a deal that seems too good to be true, the possibilities are it might be not genuine.

If you have not taken enough precautions while purchasing an insurance policy, there’s a chance that you might fall prey to fraudsters. Such incidents occur in vehicle insurance since people usually do not buy policies through their authorised agents or directly from their insurance company.

Unfortunately, unsuspecting drivers are caught off-guard and targeted by insurance fraudsters, who sell policies that are either not genuine or cancelled shortly afterwards. Becoming a victim of a fake insurance policy can have serious consequences especially when you want to raise a claim.

Let’s look at ways how to check whether your car insurance policy is genuine.

Contents

Easy Ways to Check Whether your Car Insurance Policy is Genuine:
Why is it Important to Check the Genuineness of your Car Insurance Policy?
Why Should You Check if the Insurer is Genuine?

Easy Ways to Check Whether your Car Insurance Policy is Genuine:

Speak With Your Insurance Company:

This is the most effective and easiest way to check if your insurance policy is fake or genuine, but do it before you buy the insurance policy. You can contact them through their toll-free number or by sending an email to the customer service team, which can be found on their website or mentioned in the policy document.

In case both these ways are not satisfactory, you can visit the nearest branch office of the insurance company and get your query resolved. Or, you can also reach out to them through their social media handles such as Twitter or Facebook account.

If you have purchased your car insurance policy long back and not sure if it’s genuine, call the insurer’s customer care and verify the current status of your policy. This way you can eliminate surprises when you raise or register a claim.

Pay by Cheque/Credit Card/Online:

Never pay by cash. The most accountable mode of payment is through a cheque/credit card/online (net banking), making it a genuine transaction. Also, new-age payments transactions such as digital payments are secure and fast compared to conventional methods of payment. By paying through these faster and effective methods of payments, you are aware of the details of the beneficiary account.

Also, read: Credit Score and Car Insurance

Collect Your Receipts of the Premium:

Ensure you take a receipt for the premium paid and save them as these serve as a proof of payment. With new-age digital transactions, you’ll receive a soft copy of the receipt by email, which is the policy document, or you could simply log in to your account and view or download the receipt of payment.

Check Policy Verification Links:

Many insurance companies have a policy verification link to check if your insurance policy is fake or genuine. You’ll find ‘Online Policy Verification’ option on the insurance company’s website. Enter the policy number to check if your insurance policy is genuine. If you find out that the policy number is invalid, call the insurance company’s customer care or write an email to check the authenticity of the policy.

You could also log in to your account on the insurer’s website after buying the policy to verify the authenticity.

Check the Existence of the Policy:

If you are approached by an agent or an insurance company that you have probably not heard off, verify the details in the official website of the insurer. If an agent is trying to sell an unknown policy, you can verify the details online and avoid making an unwanted deal with the agent.

Check Essential Details:

Make sure important information is mentioned in the policy document correctly. Details such as No Claim Bonus (NCB), Insured Declared Value (IDV) and the deductibles need to be accurate. One of the easiest ways to identify fraudulent insurance is if the premium offered by the insurer is very low. There’s a possibility that the agent might alter the NCB and IDV to reduce the premium. If you find that the NCB and IDV are not mentioned correctly in the policy document, get it immediately corrected with your insurance company to avoid any unfortunate circumstances in the future.

Sign the Proposal/Cover Note Yourself:

The proposal form or the cover note includes information about your car and it’s absolutely important that you sign it and ensure all details are accurate. You could also fill the online form yourself if you have opted for a digital insurance company. This proposal form includes information such as the make and model of your car, engine capacity, whether it runs on diesel or petrol, etc. You can enter all the required details on the form or verify the details entered by the agent or the insurance company before you sign the proposal form to ensure the authenticity of the policy.

Also, read: Vehicle Scrappage Policy in India

Verify Through QR Code:

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI), which is the governing body of the insurance industry, has made it mandatory for every insurance policy that’s being sold to have a QR code. This code helps you to check the genuineness of the policy. You can scan the QR code on your smartphone by utilising a QR scanner app. Upon scanning the code, you’ll be able to view the status and the information related to your insurance policy.

Why is it Important to Check the Genuineness of your Car Insurance Policy?

A car insurance policy acts as a protective cover for your car, safeguarding it against impact damage, collisions, and any unfortunate incident. You don’t want to end up paying for the repair bills and the loss caused to you and your car due to a fake insurance policy. Also, if there’s a third-party involved in the accident, you’ll end up paying from your pocket for the damages.

Why Should You Check if the Insurer is Genuine?

You can easily be tempted with the lowest premium for your car insurance, but this one of the indications of a fraudulent insurance company. It’s also good to check the authenticity of the agent who approaches with a lucrative car insurance policy.

It’s clear from these tips that you cannot rest by just paying the premium on time, you need to read the terms and conditions before you sign the policy document.

Alternatively, you can choose to go digital. There are several new-age insurance companies who transact directly with the customers and offer all services online, making it safe and hassle-free.

Disclaimer: The content on this page is generic and shared only for informational and explanatory purposes. It is based on industry experience and several secondary sources on the internet; and is subject to changes. Please go through the applicable policy wordings for updated ACKO-centric content and before making any insurance-related decisions.

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