Motor Amendment Bill 2019. Here are all the changes in insurance renewal rules

The Indian Parliament recently passed the Motor Bill Amendment Act which came into force from September 1st 2019. This law involves that driving mistakes are going to make a huge dent in a customer’s monthly expenses. The Ministry of Transportation has released a notification stating all the laws that have come into effect from September 1st.

The following laws have been introduced by the Ministry Of Transportation:

• Enhancement of Penalities- The Ministry has introduced penalties for driving errors. According to the Ministry major changes in penalties have been made. Some of them are:

1. The new penalty for disobeying the road regulations have been increased from Rs 100-500.
2. Travelling in public transports without a ticket has been increased from Rs 200 to RS 500 instantly.
3. The penalty for disrespecting the orders of authority and refusal to share any information has been increased from Rs 500 – Rs 2,000.
4. The penalty for using illegal and unauthorised vehicles has been increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000
5. A person driving without a licence can face an increased penalty of Rs 5,000 which was Rs 500 earlier.
6. Overspeeding can lead to an increased penalty of Rs 1,000-2,000 for lightweight vehicles and Rs 4,000 for a medium passenger or good vehicles.
7. Driving despite any disqualification now has an increased penalty from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000.
8. Hazardous driving leads to an imprisonment of 6 months to 1 year or paying a hefty fine of Rs 10,000 for the first offence including imprisonment up to 2 years and a fine of Rs 5,000 for the second offence.
9. If a person is physically or mentally unfit for driving it had to lead to a penalty of Rs 200 for the first offence and Rs 500 for the second offence earlier but it has been increased to Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for the second offence.
10. A penalty of racing and speeding has been increased from Rs 200 for the first offence and Rs 500 for the second offence to Rs 500 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for the second offence.
11. Driving an uninsured transport or vehicle has earlier been charged a penalty of Rs 1,000 and punishment for 3 months but has now been increased from Rs 5,000 and imprisonment for 3 months for the first offence and Rs 4,000 and a 3 months imprisonment for the second offence.
12. Occupying a vehicle by force by lawful authority and forcefully seizing the motor vehicle is now leading to a penalty of Rs 5,000 which was earlier Rs 500.
13. Causing any sort of obstruction in the free flow of traffic leads to a penalty of Rs 500 which was earlier only Rs 50.

• Expiry of driving license- According to the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 an individual can apply for renewal of driving license any time between one year before it’s expiry and one year after it’s expiry. However, if an individual applies for renewal after one year of its expiry then he is required to take the driving test again.
• Change in the address of a resident- From September 1, if a resident is willing to change the address or place of business in his driving license, he can do that online and can apply for this by registering authority within the state.

The process of renewal of a lapsed policy has now been made quicker and clearer and completely digital. Hence, the customers can now renew their policies in no time and they do not have to bear a hefty fine. Renewal of bike insurance policies is really low as compared to four-wheeled vehicles. Insurance companies expect that these new regulations introduced can hopefully bridge the gap between insured and uninsured vehicles remarkably. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India on September 1st has left it up to the will of the insurers to come up with stand-alone annual own damage policy. Stand-alone own damage policy is a part of an individual’s own standard motor insurance policy. Earlier only a third party insurance policy was available separately and not an own damage policy. The own damage policy can only be bought in combination with a third party cover. However, the new guidelines introduced by the IRDAI states that an individual will now possess the flexibility of purchasing these two insurance covers separately either from the same insurer or different insurers. In such a situation an Own damage policy can be termed as ‘Standalone Own Damage Policy’.

Both the third party two-wheeler and car insurance policies are mandatory by law. They are insurance policies are absolutely mandatory because they protect an individual from financial liabilities if he harms a third party or damages a third party property. Two-wheeler insurance policies are compulsory by law yet some individuals still disobey it. But considering the fact that purchasing bike insurance from Turtlemint is much easier than thought, one must not take the chances of breaking traffic rules and paying hefty fines if he can cover all these at a minimal cost.