The government of India has introduced the e-Vahan Bima digital insurance initiative which obviates the need to carry physical insurance papers wherever you go. Whether it is a car or two-wheeler insurance, all vehicle owners are required to carry physical copies, not originals, of their insurance papers. Driving in Indian roads without valid insurance is unlawful and law enforcement officials can demand these papers anytime and at random locations. If you as a vehicle owner are caught without the necessary papers, you may have to shell out a fine.

e-Vahan Bima to the rescue

e-Vahan Bima is a vehicle insurance policy which is sent to the insured policyholder in a digital form. The IRDAI started this initiative in an attempt to digitize vehicle insurance documents. Moreover, this digital policy comes with a QR code that has all the fine print of the insurance policy. When the enforcement authorities ask you for your insurance documents, all you have got to do is to is show them your smartphone with the QR code. The police official will only have to scan the code and all details about your vehicle insurance will be made available to them, which is directly taken from the insurance provider’s database or the database of Insurance Information Bureau. If there happens to be no internet connection, an SMS-based verification sent. Just like car insurance renewal can be done online, you can get the digital copies of your insurance policy also online.

The advantages of Digital Vehicle Insurance

• Instant verification: Getting the policy papers during a valid, legal format does away with the necessity of toting physical copies of your policy papers, thus enhancing convenience. Fraud detection also will get a boost, because it will become difficult to get away with fake papers because they are instantly verified using QR code.
• Cost effective: There will even be the benefits of cost savings as the insurance providers are not required to send physical documents to policyholders, and it saves paper. The resultant cost savings are passed on to customers, who benefit with lower premiums.
• No additional charges for digital: The insurance policy holders do not have to pay any additional charge for this facility of being provided with a digital policy, just like they do not have to pay anything additional for car insurance renewal. Besides, since this sort of policy is totally paperless, it is environment friendly and helps in the protection of trees.

Buying a car is no more a big deal for most people. It is no longer a status symbol it once was, on the contrary it has now become more of a necessity. So, in keeping with the times, the IRDAI has done a commendable job in making it legal to carry only digital copies of the vehicle insurance policies.

James Montano