Insurers to Synchronize Data with Police for Stolen Vehicles and Accidents

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Akanksha

Insurance companies under the aegis of General Insurance Council (GIC), an association of general insurers, are in talks with police force to get first-hand information about stolen vehicles and accidents, the moment First Information Report (FIR) is registered.

GIC is going to conduct a one-day workshop under the aegis of the director general of Haryana police in Karnal district tentatively on 15 July 2012.

GIC will introduce the police officials to the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) database. In a case a FIR is filed for a stolen vehicle, or a stolen vehicle is found, or a vehicle has met with an accident, the police official will have to dial a toll-free number that will be connected to the IIB database. The police official will have to key in the vehicle registration number or chasis number or engine number of the vehicle. The system will take in the information, search the insurance policy number and send the alert to the insurer.

IIB, constituted by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), contains elaborate information about every motor insurance policy issued (third party and own-damage) since April 2010.

Last month, IIB, through its website has already opened data version or the trial version for general public and accident victims. Any person can enter the registration number of a vehicle involved in an accident and the accident date, and know if the vehicle is insured or not and who is the insurer.

Take for instance, if a vehicle is stolen in Andhra Pradesh and recovered in Maharashtra, the police can enter the register number on IIB website and look for the information about the vehicle owner. The system automatically informs the insurance company that vehicle has been recovered, as per the law an insurer had to settle the claim for stolen vehicle within 90 days. So, recovered vehicle will help in recovering back the part of the claim amount.

It will also help insurers to know about uninsured vehicles. Third party motor insurance is mandatory for all vehicles by law.

Police information will also tell insurers if the insured vehicle was used for any other purpose not permitted by law. The motor vehicle act defines the use of each vehicle and carrying capacity. It will also tell whether driver had the license or he was in the influence of alcohol so insurer would know that it did not have any liability in such a case.

If pilot project gets a success, then GIC will try to implement it in all states. In the second phase council will take up the project with RTO. Council is trying to create a synchronized data with police and RTO.

Motor insurance business is the largest and fastest growing business of general insurers. General insurer’s gross motor premium collection for FY’12 stood at Rs 24,175.91 crore which is the rise of 31.34% on year-on-year basis.