UIIC Takes Stock Of Checks And Balances In CV Insurance

In yet another MOTORINDIA exclusive, we bring you a pertinent dialogue on various aspects of motor insurance for commercial vehicles with the top brass of United India Insurance Company (UIIC) Regional Office, Madurai. A report by Dhiyanesh Ravichandran

The skyrocketing third-party premiums (TPP) for transport vehicles are a real kick in the teeth for vehicle owners and fleet operators in the country. Together with rising fuel prices and toll fares, it is creating a ripple effect in the trucking industry that is already reeling under idling fleet capacities and nosediving freight rates. As usual, the industry was resentfully awaiting a further smack early this year from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) that never misses to revise the premium rates at the dawn of every financial year. But the notification came two months later in June, just days after the general elections, raising eyebrows among transporters on a plausible political nexus in tariffing TPP!

The third-party insurance cover is a statutory mandate under Motor Vehicles Act for all vehicles on road. As per the latest Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill 2019, those vehicles driven without valid insurance are liable to pay a minimum penalty of Rs. 2,000 and confiscation of the vehicle in case of any mishap involving third-party. Thus, considering the risks involved, transporters cannot afford to go non-compliant, but the rationale and good intent behind the concept of motor insurance is lost. They see insurance as yet another means of virtual extortion of hapless transporters. And a huge chunk of them hardly care about comprehensive insurance policies covering own damage with some extra premium in addition to TPP.

So, when MOTORINDIA met a team of regional managers at UIIC Madurai Regional Office, the objective was to get more clarity on the rising TPP and the significance of comprehensive insurance for

transport vehicles in the current scenario of market downturn. United India is one of the four nationalised general insurance companies, fully-owned by the Government of India. It pioneered motor insurance in India decades ago, and is among the leading insurers of motor vehicles in the country today.