5 Ways to Check Whether your Car Insurance Policy is Genuine
When you think of insurance fraud, your mind goes directly to falsified claims. While it is true that false claims are the most common of insurance frauds, it is also a fact is that there have been several cases of people buying fake car insurance policies. As improbable as it may seem, it does tend to happen quite often. If one happens to buy a fake car insurance policy, any claims that they try to put in will not be honored. Thus, in order to avoid buying fake motor insurance, one should always buy directly from a reputed insurance provider or from a reliable aggregator.
The growing number of fraud cases in the insurance industry in India and all over the world has become a major concern for stakeholders, as it translates into major losses. However, it is also important that you as a consumer be aware of the most common ways to spot a fake car insurance policy from a genuine one. 5 things that you must always check and keep in mind before buying car insurance online or offline have been listed below:
1. Buy Your Car Insurance Policy from a Credible Resource
No matter how many times you have bought car insurance policies, it is very hard, even for experts, to judge whether a policy is fake or genuine just by looking at it. One of the easiest ways to ensure that you only buy genuine policies is to buy your car insurance online directly from the insurance company’s website or to compare and buy from a reliable and reputed aggregator site. For instance, when you buy our car insurance online at IFFCO Tokio, any concerns regarding its genuineness quickly dissipate.
2. When you Have to Make Payments, Do It Via Cheque or Online Payment Modes Which are Secured
Opting for car insurance online from IFFCO Tokio or from an aggregator site means that you will have to make the payment online, which will be a safe transaction. However, if you are buying your car insurance policy offline, you should always pay with a cheque. To ensure that you are paying for the right thing, your cheque should be made out in the favor of the insurance company and not in the name of the individual or agent. Always remember to avoid paying in cash, even if you are getting a receipt. Nowadays, the safest way is to buy your car insurance online, not only for the convenience but for avoiding unnecessary risks.
3. Look for the Policy Verification Links
There are a number of general insurance companies that offer policy verification links on their websites. To confirm that you have bought a genuine policy, you should visit the insurance provider’s website to validate your policy via the verification link. Another way to confirm the authenticity of your motor insurance policy, as well as others, is to get in touch with the customer care of the company to verify the details of the respective policies.
4. Check the Existence of the Policy and Look only for Recognised Insurers
A recognized insurance provider is one that is registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). Presently, there are 33 accepted general insurance companies that are licensed to sell insurance products by the IRDA, so when you are planning to buy car insurance online, make sure that you check the IRDA list and make sure that the company you have chosen is featured on the list. While the best idea again, is to buy directly from the insurance company’s website, if you do go through an agent or call center, make sure that you contact the central office of the company (take the number from their website) and verify the agent.
Another thing that you need to do is to verify your actual policy. With technology being what it is, it is not at all hard for someone to copy the logo of the insurance company and hand you a fake car insurance policy. So, the next step that you must take is to check the existence of your policy. You could visit the registered branch office of the insurance provider or you can go online and get in touch with the company to make sure that the policy document that has been issued to you is genuine.
5. Look for the QR Code
Checking your policy via the QR code is another option that has been made available to consumers. If you are tech-savvy, you can simply scan the QR code on your policy and be sure that it is genuine. Actually, IRDA has made it mandatory for insurers to print QR codes on car insurance, among other insurance products. This addition has made it really simple for consumers to view and verify their policies and has been mandatory for all policies sold after December 2015. If you are being offered a policy that does not have any QR code, it is a major red flag that you should be looking out for. When you scan the QR code, it should take you to a page that displays the status and details of your policy as well as the vehicle insured.
A few pre-emptive steps are taken while buying car insurance online, or even offline can save you a lot of hassles down the road. Make sure that you keep the above-mentioned pointers in mind whenever you next buy a car insurance policy.
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**To understand exactly about the policy coverage, exclusions etc read the Policy Wordings carefully.**
