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Govt to rein in vehicle insurance defaulters
State transport department has now decided to crack the whip on vehicle owners driving without valid insurance papers as the insurance companies would be sharing the details of the vehicle owners with the enforcement authorities.
Transport department’s database to be synchronised with insurance companies’ data
Hyderabad: State transport department has now decided to crack the whip on vehicle owners driving without valid insurance papers as the insurance companies would be sharing the details of the vehicle owners with the enforcement authorities. According to sources, the insurance companies have submitted data such as class of vehicle, insurance premium to be paid, address of the vehicle owner etc, to the Transport department.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) found that over 55 per cent of vehicles across the country did not have valid insurance papers. According to a report of IRDA, nearly 60 per cent of the vehicle owners under the jurisdiction of Cyberabad police Commissionerate did not renew the insurance for their vehicles.
“There is a database of the vehicle owners by virtue of registration of their vehicles. The owner’s phone number, address and identity proof are submitted at the time of vehicle registration. The Transport department’s database will be synchronised with the insurance companies’ data, which will help in identifying the defaulters, said Transport Commissioner Sandeep Kumar Sultania.
The Commissioner said that the database with the transport department has Aadhaar numbers apart from the mobile numbers. “An SMS will be sent to the registered mobile numbers reminding the vehicle owners to pay their insurance premium. We will send a letter to the vehicle owner’s address if there is no registered mobile number and the details will be handed over to the Transport department,” said Sultania.
As per the law, the vehicle owners who don’t have an insurance certificate are liable to a ‘fine’ of Rs 1,000 under Section 194(2) (b) of the Motor Vehicle Act. The Commissioner said that instead of paying the penalty, vehicle owners can get an insurance certificate by paying Rs 650 to Rs 4,000 depending on the class and model of the vehicle.
“An owner can claim insurance if his vehicle meets with an accident provided it has comprehensive insurance. Victims are also eligible for medical expenses and other amenities offered by the insurance company if the vehicle responsible for the mishap has third party insurance,” said the official. According to RTA officials, there are 44 lakh vehicles plying in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area.
Though the rate of fatal accidents has come down, police have identified that in most of the cases the vehicles involved in the accident did not have valid insurance papers, mostly due to negligence by owners of the vehicles. Officials said that the process of synchronisation of data will soon be initiated.
