Posted on: Dec 7, 2020 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

Selling your bike? Here is how you can cancel your policy!

Vehicle insurance is a legal requirement and an intelligent financial decision at the same time. If you have a motorcycle, you must get a bike insurance policy, which will cover your own damages as well as losses and damages caused to other people in case of accidents or mishaps of any kind. Just like any other insurance, you pay a premium and then you are safe for a year from any risk involved with your bike. But in many cases, you might have to cancel your bike insurance after purchase.

Conditions under which you may want to cancel your bike insurance policy:

You may want to cancel your bike insurance policy for a number of reasons. Most common of these include:

  • You plan to sell or give away the bike: When you plan to give away their bike or put it up for sale, you would want to cancel the current policy. Since you will not be riding the bike after this, you may want to cancel your comprehensive bike policy and move to a third-party policy or if the sale is done, completely cancel the current policy to allow the new bike owner to get his or her own insurance.

  • You get a better deal from another insurer: In some cases, you may get a late offer from another insurance company and would hence, want to move to the new insurer. In other cases, if you have already switched to a new insurer before the current policy expiry and want to go back to your old insurer, policy cancellation may be considered.

  • In case, when you only have a third party bike insurance and your bike gets stolen, you will need to cancel the insurance. Similarly, if you have a comprehensive policy and your bike is stolen, you can claim the loss and apply for policy cancellation.

Timeslots for bike insurance policy cancellation

Insurance companies define specific terms and conditions for vehicle insurance policy cancellations.

Most insurance companies will allow you to cancel your insurance at any time, even after a month of policy issue. If you have switched insurer in the renewal period and your new policy is not in force yet, you can cancel your new insurance before it comes into force.

Your refund, of course, will depend upon the terms and conditions of the insurer. Based upon their two wheeler insurance premium calculator , they will send back your remaining premium amount.

Steps involved in bike insurance policy cancellation

In order to get your insurance policy cancelled, you will have to inform your insurance company about your intention to cancel your bike. You can write to your insurance company through the post, but as with buying two-wheeler insurance online, you can also write through email or fill a web-based form for the same.

Upon receiving your request, the insurance company will ask for your related documents that prove the reason for policy cancellation. If your insurer is not satisfied with the documents provided, they may ask for more papers otherwise your policy cancellation will be approved and communication about the decision and refund process will be shared with you accordingly.

However, the cancellation process may take a while, but you should always be very prompt in providing the relevant documentation to your insurance company. While the cancellations are usually approved in a few days or weeks at maximum, sometime the process may take longer because of extra due diligence involved.

Insurance premium refund for a cancelled policy:

The insurance premium refund process generally starts after the cancellation of the policy. The two may seem interrelated, but there are cases where they will differ. Insurance companies start calculating refund after the cancellation decision on policy is made. They will consider many factors like:

  • Remaining duration of the vehicle policy

  • Claims made in policy period, if any

  • No-claims bonus provided at the time of policy purchase, if any

In most cases, if the policy is cancelled before it comes into force, a full refund minus a small processing fee will be provided. If the policy has come in force, the company will prorate the refund.

Conclusion

In summary, cancelling a bike insurance policy is not a complicated process, just act in a timely manner, and have your documents ready when needed.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

This blog has been written by
Mukesh Kumar | Motor Insurance Expert | 36+ years of experience in insurance industry

A veteran in the insurance industry, Mukesh Kumar has the expertise of handling various functions like Business Development, Underwriting, Claims, Human Resources, Quality Management and Marketing. With rich knowledge of the industry, he loves to share his views on topics of insurance sector and takes special interest in educating people on advantages of having insurance.

Mr. Mukesh Kumar recommends "getting your two wheeler insured from HDFC ERGO, a brand serving more than 1 crore+ customers. With overnight repair services and more than 6,800+ network garages, you can be assured of help in event of any damage to your vehicle."

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