[ghodlur]

Almost every BHPian must have been inundated with offers, calls for a competitive premium on their 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers. The premiums quotes are so tempting and attractive that often people instantly buy them. Some out of sheer greed of a lesser cost, some out of time limitations. But Beware. Not always low premiums are true, you may be handed a fake insurance policy.

Mumbai Police recently unearthed a bogus scheme involving a gang which sold fake insurance policies to innocent 2 wheelers owners. Around 800 such fake policies were sold.

The modus operandi
The frauds usually call two-wheeler owners claiming to be motor insurance agents. They promise heavy discounts on premiums and add-on covers, provided the policy is renewed through them. Once they get the cheque, the policy is issued. Trouble starts when the policyholder files a claim. Then they are told by the insurer that the policy is fake and the agent is untraceable.

Sometimes even the automobile dealers are involved in the fraud. “A dealership in Maharashtra was caught issuing fake policies. The dealership deducted a premium from the customer, ostensibly for motor insurance. It issued fake polices by editing the soft copy of an original policy that belonged to another customer,” says Dwivedi.

Frauds detected in 2018-19
183 around the country



Don’t fall for the low premium lure

• The fraud
• Issuance of fake policy
• Add-ons promised but not part of policy document
• Cover note issued, but no policy

Antidote

• Verify agent credentials with the insurer; visit insurer websites to get the contact details
• Issue cheques/transfer funds to the insurer’s official bank account, not the agent’s
• Go through the policy document to compare promises with actual offerings
• Raise the issue with the insurer in case of discrepancy
• Verify agent’s credentials, make payments only to insurer’s official bank accounts

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/68640514.cms

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Pretty sure more a huge majority of two-wheeler policies are never ever claimed, but only bought for paperwork reasons. Parts and panels are so cheap, people usually don't go through the whole process of claiming insurance, unless there is a major mishap.

So such frauds could go undetected a whole lot easier than in the four-wheeler industry where a lot many more owners are likely to claim their insurance.

[Kashish]

Fake policies are a real thing especially in the pre-owned car market where many cars have an expired policy and the agents usually get a fake comprehensive policy made at a mere 800 bucks to get a good deal and also simultaneously get the car transferred without any hiccups.

The fake policies look as good as the original policies with the insurance company's seal and there is no way to find out unless one contacts the concerned insurance company to confirm.

[GTO]

Yikes! Thanks for the heads up, Ghodlur. In a country of scams, it sure seems like we cannot take anything for granted. I guess we might be using our insurance policies once in a couple of years, if at all. Imagine filing a claim and then being told that the policy doesn't actually exist .

Guess the best thing is to buy it from a reliable broker, whether online or offline. Those who are really anxious could call the insuring company to verify the details.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Pretty sure more a huge majority of two-wheeler policies are never ever claimed, but only bought for paperwork reasons. Parts and panels are so cheap, people usually don't go through the whole process of claiming insurance, unless there is a major mishap

More than very much valid points!!

5 years ago when I went to renew my Rx's insurance (TP), I was made to run from pillar to post because only United India could provide TP (now even ICICI can do it). When I went in the morning they asked to come by noon, when I went in the noon, they said systems aren't working, when I went next day noon, printer wasn't working & it took 3 days for me to get 1 insurance

I was very seriously contemplating to make one on my own by simply changing the dates from the existing; all it takes is simple MS Word skills. But later discarded as the work was done on third day

Another reason for such frauds being, insurance cost is increasing way too much every year. For instance, the B2B premium was 32K for 9.8L IDV last year & this year its nearly 32K for 8.7L IDV & add to that the cess, mess, chess & what not in surcharges & taxes!!

I always make a policy to buy everything online from company's website rather than going through policy bazaar or marketing bazaar websites that takes our phone number, overrides DND & keep calling us to buy from hairpin to aircraft!!

PS - And in few years there could be fake links as well to steal the money online.

[psmenon]

Had a similar experience with Trident automobiles(Renault), Bangalore. Thanks for bringing up this so that I can share my experience.

My duster's insurance would expire today (10th April) and I started searching for an agent to get it renewed. The car is 2018 registered and the insurance provided during purchase was from Reliance (through Marsh India Pvt Ltd). I called up my agent in Kerala and came to know that the dealer policies could not be renewed through them, so I walk in to trident showroom in Sarjapur road and I enquire about the same to them. They collect my details and provide me with a number of supposed call center they run for insurance renewals.

In the following day I receive a call from Ms. Akshatha and she has all the details of me and my car. She informs me that she is calling from Trident representing Tata-Aig and offers me an insurance for about 17k including 10 lakh IDV, nil depreciation and consumables, this was when I was getting quotes above 23k for the same from my agent in Kerala and other websites. She was pushing it so bad that she was ready to send her executive to collect cash immediately, felt something fishy and I was not done with my research so asked her to wait a couple of days.

In the meantime I get a call from Mr. Shiv, from Trident automobiles and he informs me that Akshatha and her colleagues are running a bogus firm and issuing policies with lesser than agreed up IDV. This totally killed my comfort in trident automobiles as I was not really able to understand who is fake who is true.

Shiv assured me that he would send in a representative to my house and I can issue him a postdated check in favor of Tata-Aig, I agreed to this since I have a control on the check encashment. I clearly informed him that I would block the check if the policy is not shared before the check date. An agent from trident comes home and collect all RC, personal details and check and issues a receipt on the same.

After like 10-12 days I have not received the insurance copy and call him, couple of calls went unanswered and finally after a lot of pestering I get the insurance copy in my mail. Going through it I could find that the policy does not have the consumable part that was agreed on, as well as there are lot of clerical errors on basic details like car model, year of manufacture and my address. I request him to send in the corrected copy as soon as possible on the same day, but this was never shared with me even after two days.

I went ahead and blocked the check, called up Tata-Aig customer care and informed that such a thing has happened and I need the insurance to be cancelled. They were super supportive with the whole thing and helped me get a new insurance for 19k change with 9.5 lakh IDV, nil depreciation and consumables plus some services like RSA, etc. etc.

[ghodlur]

Not just 2 wheelers, even luxury car owners are now a victim to the bogus insurance fraud. And surprisingly the agents of the Insurance co themselves are involved in the issuance of fake motor insurance policies.

Pls pass on this alert to all your friends and relatives who are in the process of buying motor insurance so that fully ascertain that the agents do issue the original policy. Buying the motor insurance online on the Insurance co website is the safest way to ensure the originality of the policy.

Fraudsters usually take advantage of the background of the people who come to buy insurance. Their theory is simple – cheat those who are less likely to make a claim. And those to fall prey to these fraudsters are those who drive less often, those who buy vehicles but leave them at home and work abroad, and women. These people need the insurance certificates only during inspections by traffic cops. They generally buy insurance for a year. Since they do not make a claim, the fake certificates seldom get caught. The fraudsters take advantage of the fact that out of 10 policies mostly one or two claims are made.

https://english.manoramaonline.com/b...ce-policy.html