Motor insurance helps protect the policyholder against medical and legal expenses in case of an untoward incident. Most importantly, it covers any damage to not just your vehicle but third-party damage and injury as well. In India, insurance is a mandatory requirement for all vehicles. So, not only do these policies protect the policyholder’s finances if there is an accident or damage due to any other reason, but also ensure legal compliance.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) does not require you to have the same address on the vehicle registration certificate (RC) as your vehicle insurance policy. But it is usually a good idea to have the same address on both documents. Read on to learn why.
Matching the Address on a Vehicle’s RC with Its Insurance Document
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the IRDAI do not have any guidelines stating that the address on the RC should match that on the insurance document. However, certain insurers and some Indian states may require the address on the RC and insurance policy to match. This is because the insurance premium and terms are derived from several factors, such as the vehicle’s manufacturing date, condition (new or refurbished), engine type, insured declared value (IDV), location. The registration office is one of the significant considerations in determining the premium. The RC identifies the regional transport office (RTO) where the vehicle is registered.
Certain regions are more prone to vehicle theft or accidents, while others might be vulnerable to natural disasters. Even the density of vehicles in a region and climatic conditions affect the rate of vehicle deterioration. Pin code considerations, therefore, impact the insurance premium. Consequently, some states and insurance companies require the address on the RC to match that on the vehicle insurance document.
More importantly, matching addresses on the two documents reduces the amount of verification required and accelerates the claim settlement process. Therefore, it is a good idea to get the address on your RC and insurance documents updated whenever you move cities or states.
Keep the Address on the RC and Motor Insurance Document Updated
Most vehicle insurance providers have processes in place to help you seamlessly update the address on the policy document. You can update the address on RC via two methods:
Offline Mode
Visit the nearest RTO and get the address updated. Carry your identity proof, vehicle ownership proof, and copy of the old and new address proofs. Fill out Form 33 and Forms 60 or 61, if applicable, and pay the address change fee on the official website of Parivahan.
Online Mode
You can visit the vahan.parivahan.gov.in website and register with an active email ID. After that, follow these steps to update your address on the RC:
Go to Online Services and click on Vehicle Related Services.
Next, enter the registered vehicle number and the last 5 digits of the chassis number to generate an OTP that you will receive on the registered mobile number.
Find Change of Address in RC from the available options, fill in all the details, and click on Submit.
Record the application number generated.
Upload all the required documents for verification.
Click on Appointment and schedule it according to your convenience to get the documents verified and make the payment. You can choose to make a cash payment at the time of your visit as well.
Once you are done, visit the RTO where you have taken the appointment and complete the verification formalities. The updated RC will arrive within 15 working days to the address you have provided. Till then, you can check the status on the website.
