BH-series car involved in accident; How to claim total loss settlement

The insurance company is saying that this will be a NOS settlement, where they will auction off the car to the highest bidder.

BHPian JardaniJovonov recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all,

I currently own a car having an IDV value of around 20 lakhs. Due to an unfortunate accident, the insurance claim (with a private insurer) is heading towards a Total Loss, as the service centre gave a repair estimate of around 14 lakhs. The insurance company is saying that this will be an NOS (Net of Salvage) settlement, where they will auction off the car to the highest bidder, who will most likely repair the car and sell it off. The balance amount will be transferred to me from the Insurance company.

The Insurance company is saying that I will have to hand over the original RC and sign Form 29,30 for the eventual transfer of ownership, which will not be immediate. To make matters worse, the car is having BH-series registration.

I went through many total loss threads on team-bhp. I also went through threads like this.

Based on the above 2 threads and some of the legal forums, I understand that unless the ownership is transferred and reflected on the Parivahan portal, for all legal purposes, the original owner (i.e. me) is liable. Even documents like delivery notes, and affidavits, don't hold in a court of law.

There were some suggestions in the above threads to make the transfer myself, but given it is a BH-series registration, I doubt the auction buyer will qualify for it (the new owner must be an employee of a company having offices in equal to or more than 4 states), so I can't even do that.

Now I am in a soup and don't see any way out.

Can esteemed members of this forum please suggest any ways to safeguard myself or any other way out?

Here's what BHPian Turbanator had to say on the matter:

I don't think this is a cause of worry. It is pretty standard procedure: Insurance will sell it to wholesalers who will either repair your car and sell it or resell it to people who stock such cars for parts. Either way, it's a documented process; you are not selling to any individual directly.

Besides, how can a third owner renew BH ownership without getting it transferred first to himself? I think, these days, OTP is sent for all such renewals or transfers.

Here's what BHPian JardaniJovonov replied:

Thanks, Turbanator for the quick response.

In an ideal circumstance, I agree, that this (BH-series) would motivate the new owner to make the RC transfer sooner. But on the other hand, I am worried that the whole seller would be even more motivated to sell without initiating the transfer of RC, due to the difficulty of finding a BH-series eligible buyer.

And if that happens (whole-seller selling without transferring), and the next buyer can't even renew the registration, what will happen to the RC? (since the next 2 years of road tax is not paid?). Does the RC stand void? or will there be penalties attached to this RC, and therefore I am liable to pay those, since on paper, I am the owner?

In response, here's what BHPian Turbanator had to say:

I understand your frustration as you are considering worst-case scenarios. Ideally, Insurance should get the car transferred to their names. This is fundamentally so wrong, and with that ruling, everyone gets worried.

In your case, since Insurance paid you out and it is all documented, I won't worry. Give the vehicle to them and move on. What they do is their own or that of whoever purchased it.

Remember, your car is a total loss, implying something serious happened. So there are a lot of assumptions that you are making. Somethings best left to destiny perhaps, you (or anyone else using that car) walked out without getting hurt (I assume) so, just Thank God and buy a new car with insurance money.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.