For most
of us who have been living simple life oriented with our families – 2020 has
dawned new – teaching us fear of Corona Virus and the behaviour of Covidiots !
Every
day we hear and see news of increasing no. of people affected – sadly the no.
of Covid-19 cases in the country has
crossed 30000 - the Union Health Ministry said that 22,982 are active cases, 7,796 people have
recovered, and 1,008 people succumbed to Covid-19. As per the lastest data,
Maharashtra still remains to be the worst-hit state with number of cases rising
to 9,318 followed by Gujarat (3,774) and Delhi (3,314). Chennai numbers too are frightening – as we
see some idiots still loitering on road, we are worried, for these insane
people are propagating virus and making life worser still for those who are
obeying the instructions and chose to be at home – when will people realize. In a City, where literacy is high, we see people
casually strolling still for buying vegetables, fruits and sundry things and ..
.. not observing the golden rules of ‘social distancing’ and remaining at home.
From the
day Govt announced lockdown – I have ventured out only once for a few minutes
for purchase of medicines. My vehicles
have not moved out of the compound for more than a month now. This is no post
on Covid / medicines / precautions tobe taken / economic ill-effects and the like but on Motor
Vehicles and insurance.
Motor Vehicles Act
1988 mandates insurance for vehicles on public road. Sec 146 Necessity for insurance against third
party risk. —
(1) No person shall
use, except as a passenger, or cause or allow any other person to use, a motor
vehicle in a public place, unless there is in force in relation to the use of
the vehicle by that person or that other person, as the case may be, a policy of
insurance complying with the requirements of this Chapter (partial reproduction
of Act)
(2) Sub-section (1)
shall not apply to any vehicle owned by the Central Government or a State
Government and used for Government purposes unconnected with any commercial enterprise.
(3) The appropriate
Government may, by order, exempt from the operation of sub-section (1) any
vehicle owned by any of the following authorities.. …. ..
Sec 147 of the MV
Act details further on the requirements of policies and limits of liability. —
(1) In order to
comply with the requirements of this Chapter, a policy of insurance must be a
policy which—
(a) is issued by a
person who is an authorised insurer; and
(b) insures the
person or classes of persons specified in the policy to the extent specified in
sub-section (2)—
(i) against any
liability which may be incurred by him in respect of the death of or bodily 27
[injury to any person, including owner of the goods or his authorised
representative carried in the vehicle] or damage to any property of a third
party caused by or arising out of the use of the vehicle in a public place;
(ii) against the
death of or bodily injury to any passenger of a public service vehicle caused
by or arising out of the use of the vehicle in a public place:
~ thus
vehicles should mandatorily have a Policy covering the Act liability of the
owner of the vehicle. In India,
insurance can be obtained only by payment of premium. This is essence of Insurance Act 1938.
Section 64VB of the
Act : No risk to be assumed
unless premium is received in advance.—
(1) No insurer
shall assume any risk in India in respect of any insurance business on which
premium is not ordinarily payable outside India unless and until the premium
payable is received by him or is guaranteed to be paid by such person in such
manner and within such time as may be prescribed or unless and until deposit of
such amount as may be prescribed, is made in advance in the prescribed manner. (partial extract of the Act)
With the onset of
Covid or more to do with the lockdown measures announced by the Govt of India,
there was to be some relaxation on this rule with the controlling body IRDA
[Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority] announced some relaxation in
the rules in premium payment (more
specifically for Motor Third Party Insurance Policies) that too falling due during the lockdown period (25th March,
2020 to 14th April, 2020) as a result of COVID 19 situation.
To enable this the Department
of Financial Services, Government of India, issued notification dated 1st
April, 2020 directing that policyholders whose motor vehicle third party
insurance policies fall due for renewal during the period on and from 25th
March, 2020 up to 14th April, 2020 and who are unable to make payment of their
renewal premium on time in view of the prevailing situation in the country as a
result of COVID 19 are allowed to make premium payment for renewal of policies
to their insurers on or before 21st April, 2020 to ensure continuity of the
statutory motor vehicle third party insurance cover.
The condition stipulated
was that the Policyholders shall be required to pay the renewal premium for the
entire period of 12 months from the date it was due, on or before 21st April,
2020. With this relaxation, a policy
holder whose policy was due during Covid lockdown and paying 12 months premium
before 21.4.2020 will get continuity of cover ie., if policy were to expire on
say 28.3.2020 and premium is paid on 20.4.2020 – coverage (otherwise would have
been from the date of payment of premium i.e., 20.4.2020 but) would be :
- 28.3.2020 to 27.3.2021
With the extention
of lockdown, came another circular amending the original order - policyholders whose motor vehicle third party
insurance policies fall due for renewal during the period on and from the 25th
March, 2020 up to the 3rd May, 2020 and who are unable to make payment of their
renewal premium on time in view of the prevailing situation in the country as a
result of Corona Virus disease (COVID 19) are allowed to make such payment for
renewal of their policies to their insurers on or before 15th May, 2020 to
ensure continuity of the statutory motor vehicle third party insurance cover
from the date on which the policy falls due for renewal so that any valid claim
triggered during the grace period can be paid.
In general,
the premium income has gone down drastically for General Insurers as there is
no new vehicle registration and some owners have not renewed their policies in
time – there have been quite lesser no. of claims reported too, as vehicles are
not plying on road. It is feared that
when the lockdown is lifted some could behave idiotically and drive rashly,
road rage could result in more accidents and claims.
Miles away,
in UK, Covidiots
caught speeding on quieter roads during lockdown can expect to see their
premium rise by at least a third, insurance insiders warn. GoCompare said a speeding offence will result
in increased premiums. In Britain, cases
being reported during lockdown are the most extreme types of speeding. This includes one motorist clocked at 151mph
on the M1 and another driving at 134mph in a 40mph zone. These fall into 'Category C' offences, which
result in 6 points or a driving ban
vehicles impounded for speed offence
Thisismoney.co.uk
reports that Motorists using quieter roads as their personal race track have
been warned the financial implications of being caught go further than just
fines. Police forces across the country have reported many cases of dangerous
driving in the last six weeks, with some cases of individuals being clocked at
speeds in excess of 150mph due to there being far less traffic than usual. While
most covidiot speeders will receive fines of £100 or more and points on their
licence, they should also expect to see their insurance premiums typically soar
by a third, comparison site GoCompare has warned. Deserted roads during the lockdown has seen a
spike in dangerous driving. Insurance experts have warned motorists about the
financial implications of speeding - and not just when it comes to the size of
fines.
In a recent poll of
almost 20,000 motorists, almost half claim they had witnessed more speeding on
the road since the lockdown was implemented on 23 March. Home Secretary Priti
Patel recently slammed the volume of instances of 'extraordinary dangerous driving'
during the pandemic restrictions. Ms Patel addressed the daily Downing Street
press conference on Saturday to explain what the police is doing to maintain
law and order during the lockdown., stating: 'Burglary, car crime and shop
lifting are all lower than for the same period this time last year.' However,
she also raised that there's been a worryingly high level of law breaking on
the roads during the same period. 'That includes some extraordinary dangerous
driving, with a minority of drivers using quieter roads as their own personal
race track and endangering peoples lives.'
While such
behaviour poses a serious risk to other road users and could in turn increase
the pressure on emergency services, drivers are being warned that being caught
speeding could see motorists face much higher insurance premiums or a driving
ban. Speeding offences are divided into
three main categories (bands A to C) based on seriousness, with penalties of
increasing severity to reflect the seriousness of the offence. Penalties depend on several factors including
by how much the speed limit was exceeded by and, the type of road. The most
common speeding offences falls into the lowest category, these generally lead
to a speeding ticket issued via a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). Provided the
driver accepts responsibility, they will be fined a minimum of £100 and receive
three points on their licence - unless they have been given the option of
attending a speed awareness course instead of prosecution.
However, with roads
being much quieter in recent weeks, police have reported more extreme cases
that result in higher penalties. In
addition to larger fines, drivers committing a Category B speeding violation
face between four and six penalty points.
Category C offences result in six penalty points or a driving ban.
Penalty points remain on driving licences for four years from the date of the
offence. The Home Secretary revealed one covidiot
motorist was clocked during the lockdown at 151mph on the M1 while another
whizzed through a 40mph zone at 134mph in London - both easily deemed category
C speeding crimes.
Having any form of
speeding offence on your record will increase your premiums, GoCompare Car
said. 'Motorists convicted of speeding will typically pay more for their
insurance because insurers deem them to be a higher risk,' it explained. 'The
size of the increase will depend on the driver's individual circumstances (age,
experience, vehicle, etc.) and the severity of the offence.' GoCompare says a 30-year-old female, driving
an Audi A3, living in London would pay £1,084 for cover if they had no driving
convictions. The cost would increase by 34 per cent to £1,450 if they were
convicted of speeding with three points on their licence. A 50-year-old male in
Norwich driving a BMW 535 DGT M Sport, convicted of a category B speeding
offence, could see their premium rise 35 per cent from £712 to £961. However, if it was deemed to be dangerous
driving, his existing insurer could charge far more, and many other insurers might
decline to offer a price.
'Insurers take
differing views on motoring convictions and price accordingly. Some insurers
will swerve speeders altogether, while there are others that will provide
cover, at a price.' Even drivers who opt
to attend a speed awareness course might not escape unpunished by their policy
provider. While they will not have their speeding recorded as a conviction they
may still be required to disclose their attendance to one an awareness course
to their insurer if asked to do so. Drivers failing to
tell their insurer about any speeding convictions they hold risk invalidating
their cover.
Hope that
in India too such measures are introduced – rewarding the safe drivers and penalizing
the wrong-doers.
With regards
– S. Sampathkumar
29.4.2020.
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