What is Grace Period in Car Insurance and its Importance?

Having some buffer time is always idle for anything you do in life. Be it studies or work, it is always beneficial to have extra time on your hands. This is also true when it comes to renewal of insurance policies and as such insurers offer policyholders some extra to do so. Let us take a look at what is grace period in car insurance renewal in this article.

Grace period in Car Insurance is the period of time provided to the policyholder by the insurance company to renew the policy after the policy has expired. Usually, the number of days offered by insurers under this period ranges between 7 to 30 days to renew the policy.

If the policy is renewed during the grace period, as a policyholder you can continue to enjoy benefit of No Claim Bonus (NCB). It needs to be mentioned here that the option of grace period is offered by insurers and not by IRDAI/Government.

When it comes to importance of grace period for car insurance renewal, it needs to be mentioned here that as per the rules laid down by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), you need to renew your policy before its expiry date. As per the rules, once the policy expires you need to avail a new policy.

Given this fact, insurers offer the option of grace period in car Insurance. If the policy is renewed within the grace period, you can avail the policy at a lower price as the insurer quotes a discounted price. In addition to that, as mentioned earlier you can enjoy benefits of No Claim Bonus (NCB) and not needing to go through the automobile inspection process.

The duration of grace period in car insurance varies from insurer to insurer. Usually, it ranges between 7 days to 30 days. The exact number of days offered as grace period for renewal of the policy is decided at the sole discretion of the insurer.

If the car insurance grace period  expires, here is what you need to do:

• Renew the policy at the earliest: Next, thing you need to do is renew the policy as soon as possible. Doing this will ensure that you are covered against any unforeseen financial troubles.
• Review the policy – If the policy has expired, you can review the one which you had availed earlier. You can remove or avail add-ons in a bid to cover against specific damages based on your needs.
• Avoid driving the uninsured vehicle: If the car insurance policy has expired, you need to avoid driving the vehicle on public roads as it is illegal to do so. It can lead to legal troubles and worst if the vehicle suffers damage as it won’t be covered.