How To Identify The Fake Motor Insurance Policy

Introduction

The number of fraud insurance cases are increasing at an alarming rate. It is not only causing undue tension among the stakeholders but also has been resulting in major setbacks in the national economy as a whole. As per the recent reports from India Forensic Center of Studies, India has been constantly incurring a loss of $3.5 billion to $6.4 billion per year (Source: Wikipedia) and a huge chunk of such reports have been filed against motor insurance companies. With such high records, the damage caused to stakeholders and policy bearers is potentially unimaginable. Though it is not practically possible to completely eradicate frauds and tricksters, it can definitely be avoided with a careful approach and a conscious mind. We often fall prey to unregistered phone calls or messages luring us to a cheaper motor insurance policy, however, there are high chances of fraud even from reputed companies as well. Such cases mostly result from purchasing vehicle insurance online. This also happens when the customers do not purchase the policies directly from authorized agents or the company itself. Hence, it is highly advisable to the customers to verify and double check the inflated claims from the policy provider. Here are a few essential tips for identifying a fake car insurance policy so that you do not fall prey to frauds and tricks.

Request Receipt

Receipts provide strong proof of your purchase from the company and lists down the amount of you have provided them. A receipt can be easily used for legal approach in case of fraud regarding the vehicle insurance policy. However, in such cases where the receipts are attached with the policy documents, the policy bearer should double check the information printed on the receipt. Information such as an address, email ID, cheque number, bank account number, IFSC, etc., are very important and missing out on any of these might cost you a lot.

Signature

Your signature is your identity. Hence, under no circumstances should it be replaced by any other employee, agent, or a nominee on the proposal form. A number of cases of forged signatures have been surfaced in the last few years especially where the owner avails motor insurance online. Self-signature allows the policyholder to double check and verify the details by themselves. Before signing the agreement, one should check for the car model listed, whether the registration mentioned is for private or commercial purpose, whether the car is petrol/diesel or CNG driven, car registration number and many more. Any deviation or wrong mention should be immediately reported and called for.

Verify The Insurance

The best way for verifying insurance is to scan the QR code provided on the insurance proposal form. QR codes have been made mandatory since 2015 by the IRDA, a move to prevent frauds by unregistered motor vehicle insurance both online and offline.

However, one can also look out for verification links on the agreement provided by the motor insurance online. If the company readily provides a verification link, then chances of frauds fall down appreciably. However, if they are not inclined to providing one, reach up to their support team and bring the terms of the policy to their notice. Besides, you can also visit their nearest office to verify the credentials of the policy provided.

Do Not Miss Out On IDV or NCB

While going through the agreement or proposal form, be attentive to look out for IDVs and NCBs. Where the former (Insured Declared Value) mentions the exact amount payable, the latter (No Claim Bonus) guarantees no additional deduction of money in the name of bonus or other purposes. Apart from these, one should also disagree if the agreement flaunts deduction of other kinds. Any kind of deduction in the name of company or insurance holder is a clear indication of a fake car insurance policy