Bike insurance policies are undergoing a change. Nowadays, these policies are also being offered for a longer tenure of 2 years or 3 years besides the regular one year policy.
Whether you buy a 1-year policy or a policy with a longer tenure, your bike insurance policy would come up for renewal after the stipulated term comes to an end. Do you know how to renew it?
Renewing a bike insurance policy is an easy affair which seems difficult to common individuals who don’t know how to go about it. As a result most bike insurance policies lapse. Are you too a victim of a lapsed bike insurance plan? If you are, its time you wake up and renew your bike insurance policy without further delay. If you don’t know how the article would give you a complete guide to renewing your lapsed policy, but first, let us understand what exactly is a lapsed policy.
What is a lapsed policy?
Your bike insurance policy has a specified tenure. When the tenure is over and you do not renew the plan, the cover stops and the policy lapses. For instance, if you have bought a one-year bike insurance policy on January 1, 2017, the policy would run till the midnight of 31st December, 2017. On 1st January, 2018, if the policy is not renewed, the cover would stop and the policy would lapse.
A guide to renewing a lapsed policy
What happens when you are lazy or forgetful and do not renew your bike insurance plan on time? Your bike insurance policy lapses. To renew your lapsed policy here is what you should do:
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Do online renewals
The online marketplace has revolutionized the way we shop, hasn’t it? You can do everything online and renewing a bike insurance policy is no exception. Bike insurance companies allow online renewals of your lapsed bike insurance policy. There are online insurance aggregators, website of insurance companies and also online insurance brokers from where you can renew your bike insurance policy online. Just provide your bike details, follow some simple steps, arrange for an inspection, make an online payment and, voila, your policy would be renewed.
Read more about why buying online insurance is better than offline
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Get your bike surveyed and inspected
If your bike insurance policy lapses there is an inspection of your bike before your policy is renewed. Even if you opt for online renewals, an inspection is required. To get your bike inspected you would simply have to inform the insurance company which sends its surveyor who conducts the inspection. After the bike is inspected the surveyor submits his report to the company and the company allows your policy to be renewed.
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Protect your No Claim Bonus (NCB)
No Claim Bonus (NCB) is allowed to you if you do not make any claim in a policy year. This bonus rate starts from 20% for the first claim-free year and increases every year when a claim is not made. NCB allows you a premium discount when you renew your bike insurance policy. If your policy lapses, you stand to lose your accumulated NCB discount if you do not renew your policy within 90 days of such lapse. So, if your policy has lapsed, remember to renew it timely to retain your NCB.
Read more about No claim bonus
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Pay heed to automated renewal reminders
It’s not only you who loses when your bike insurance policy lapses, it is the insurance company too. That is why your insurer sends you regular reminders through calls, texts and emails when your bike insurance policy is approaching the renewal date. You should heed such reminders and renew your bike insurance policy on time. Well, you must be wondering how this point fits into renewing your policy. It doesn’t. This point is a heads up for preventing your bike insurance policy from lapsing the next year.
The three above-mentioned points help you in renewing your bike insurance policy if it has lapsed and the last point tells you to prevent such a lapse from happening again. So, get your online bike insurance policy renewed timely. Not only would you escape from any traffic fine for not having a valid insurance cover, you can also retain your NCB if the renewal is done on time.
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