[dpkbehera]

Had additional queries i.e.
I had a few queries regarding "The Seller needs to get the insurance policy transferred in the name of the buyer and also claim a No Claim Certificate." i.e.
a)On the receipt of the modified RC (new owner), the seller has to submit the same to the insurance company and get the insurance transferred. Is this the responsibility of the seller only?
b) In the interim period i.e till the actual change in ownership, can the buyer use the insurance policy which is on the seller's name?
c) Is there any liability/additional charges to the seller and the buyer when the insurance policy gets transferred.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by dpkbehera

a)"You cannot claim your NCB for the first year but make sure you get the NCB letter when you sell your old car. You can use the letter to reduce your second year’s premium."
b)"Claim your NCB refund for the first year by submitting NCB letter when you sell your old car."

Both options are feasible. But I would suggest for option 2 so that you can use the NCB earned for the first year too.

Ideally you should have applied for the NCB letter from the old car Insurer and used to while buying the Insurance for the new car. You should have made an application for the same with the Insurer and used the copy of same documents submitted for ownership transfer.

Originally Posted by dpkbehera

a)On the receipt of the modified RC (new owner), the seller has to submit the same to the insurance company and get the insurance transferred. Is this the responsibility of the seller only?
b) In the interim period i.e till the actual change in ownership, can the buyer use the insurance policy which is on the seller's name?
c) Is there any liability/additional charges to the seller and the buyer when the insurance policy gets transferred.

Answering your queries serially:
a) It is the responsibility of either the buyer or seller based on mutual agreed terms but the seller has to ensure that the Insurance is transferred so that he should not be called for while claims are initiated going forward. Similarly the buyer should also ensure that the ownership changes so that any claims made can be honoured by the Insurance cos.
b)The Insurance will be valid for the car but buyer cannot make any claims until the Insurance ownership is transferred
c) There is a small fee charged by the Insurance co for the ownership transfer. Apart from that if any NCB is applicable and claimed by seller, he will have to return the NCB amount on pro rata basis. If mutually agreed, then even the buyer can pay this amount and get the Insurance ownership transferred.

[naut]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

If only the Insurer for the new car would have been Oriental again, you did have a slim chance nevertheless. But worth a try. You can come up with some innovative reasons like out of country for not applying for the NCB letter.

Originally Posted by kalyan_hyd

Well, do write to the Oriental Insurance company about the NCB letter. You can mention the true state of facts:

If the letter does not work with Oriental folks, writing to IRDA for advice might help as IRDA usually is consumer-sided. You might have a sleek chance.

Folks! Thanks for all the help!

Well, I wrote a letter, enclosed my car smart card copy, my policy copy, the premium renewal notice that I had received and a "B-extract of ownership transfer from Bangalore One" (Note: B-extract does not include the date of vehicle transfer). Since, I had received the renewal notice, it was unlikely they knew about the vehicle ownership transfer.

Either, everything was in order or the good offices of my well wishers (Who transact a lot with this branch) helped. Finally, I was able to get the NCB letter with 50% NCB. Now, trying to get my new car insurance renewed with 50% NCB. Should help me save a good 6-7 grand when I renew the insurance this month.

After all this, I understand this whole thing much better now.

However, one mystery remains. I had definitely considered converting my previous car's insurance (just before sale) to a third party cover so that I could get the NCB letter and pass on the 50% NCB benefit for the first year premium of my new car. Is this feasible at all?

The oriental insurance development officer, had then denied and continues to deny (even now) the feasibility of this. He says, unless ownership of the car is transferred, they will not issue an NCB letter when one moves from full cover to third part cover. Is this correct?

Please enlighten me!

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by naut

unless ownership of the car is transferred, they will not issue an NCB letter when one moves from full cover to third part cover. Is this correct?

Yes that's correct. It is one way for the Insurer to ensure that the old car has a valid insurance against it.

[naut]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Yes that's correct. It is one way for the Insurer to ensure that the old car has a valid insurance against it.

Thanks Godlhur,

Can you explain the rationale behind this a little more? Did you mean, "it is a way for the insurer to ensure the old car has a full cover (full cover == more premium)"? Because, by taking third party cover, the owner is going to have a valid insurance (minimum mandated by law) on his car anyway.

Since, there is no concept of NCB for third party cover, what happens when full cover insurance (with say 50% NCB) is due to for renewal and the owner opts to renew the insurance as a third party only cover?

Will the NCB lapse immediately and can't be taken advantage of the by the owner even though he did not make a claim for several years before.

What I really want to get to is, is there a way I can separate the NCB benefit (in the form of a NCB letter) from my current car (before selling it) so that I can transfer the same NCB benefit to a new car that I intend to purchase.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by naut

What I really want to get to is, is there a way I can separate the NCB benefit (in the form of a NCB letter) from my current car (before selling it) so that I can transfer the same NCB benefit to a new car that I intend to purchase.

You mean to say your insurance in due for renewal soon, and you don't want to renew comprehensive and opt for 3rd party. At the same time keep the NCB alive?

With TATA AIG i could do this, i wrote to them and asked to issue a new third party which i paid for, and then issue NCB letter which i could use later on. This NCB letter is valid for 2 years.

[naut]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

You mean to say your insurance in due for renewal soon, and you don't want to renew comprehensive and opt for 3rd party. At the same time keep the NCB alive?

With TATA AIG i could do this, i wrote to them and asked to issue a new third party which i paid for, and then issue NCB letter which i could use later on. This NCB letter is valid for 2 years.

Yep Jaggu, exactly what I had in mind.

Tried to get this done with Oriental insurance when I had decided to sell my Fusion within the next year and buy a new car. Wasn't successful then. Your experience proves that it is allowed by Tata-AIG at least.

But for some reason, the development officer @ this particular branch of Oriental insurance that I was dealing with thought otherwise. Even @Godlur feels it is not possible. Does anybody know what is IRDA's take on it?

A lot of people would be selling their cars to dealers rather than direct buyers. If this is feasible, it is a hassle free way of transferring your NCB to a new car.

Also, with this you get the previous NCB benefit right from the first year insurance premium rather than later. Given that the first year premium is usually the highest, it makes sense to transfer NCB this way (All this makes sense, only if you are unable to sell your car before you make the new purchase).

Just for pun: With this I reach a double ton

[kalyan_hyd]

Originally Posted by naut

What I really want to get to is, is there a way I can separate the NCB benefit (in the form of a NCB letter) from my current car
(before selling it) so that I can transfer the same NCB benefit to a new car that I intend to purchase.

Yes, I did that with Bajaj Allianz.

1. I voluntarily cancelled my old car's policy(2 months before it was expiring). And got an NCB letter in my name valid for 3 years time.

2. I got a comprehensive insurance policy on my new car and utilized the NCB letter to get me 50% NCB.

3. I got a comprehensive insurance policy on the old car with 0% NCB while it was still in my name. Since I had cancelled the policy on this car, it was out of coverage for 3 days and so on renewal, they needed inspection. They sent their advisor to my home for the same.

4. And eventually sold the old car. The benefit to the new owner was that they did not have to pay any amount for policy transfer as I had renewed with 0% NCB.

Originally Posted by naut

exactly what I had in mind.

Does anybody know what is IRDA's take on it?

Wordings from a IRDA consumer education website(http://www.policyholder.gov.in/Faqli...?CategoryId=78) read:

NCB is given to the insured and not to the insured vehicle. Hence, on transfer of the vehicle, the insurance policy can be transferred to new owner but not the NCB. The new owner has to pay the difference on account of NCB for the balance policy period.The original owner can, however, use the NCB on a new vehicle purchased by him.

Law is open to interpretation until one gets a clarification from the respective Courts.

--Kalyan
(PS: Going by what I have read most on this thread, it looks like private policy providers like Tata AIG, Bajaj Allianz are complying to such requests while the Government providers like Oriental Insurance, National Insurance, etc are not. Just an observation.)

[praveen_v]

A snippet from ICICI motor website for NCB FAQ

The NCB Discount Transfer Process
There are 2 different ways to transfer your existing NCB discount from your existing vehicle insurance policy to next car plan.
Method 1:
Submit updates of old car sale documents to avail of No Claim Bonus retention letter.
Method 2:
You can also go for third-party insurance for existing car in order to get retention letter for No Claim Bonus.

So yes. You can cancel the current policy with the insurance provider when it is up for renewal and get a NCB letter. You can then start a new policy for the old car either as a Third-party only or as @kalyan_hyd mentioned above, go for a new comprehensive cover with 0% NCB.

My case is a little different. I have my old car where there are some dents which I need to fix. I have been holding out not fixing it so far and my NCB is 50%. If I cancel the policy and get an NCB, then my current car will have to renew it and they will inspect it and I wont be able to claim since the damage was present before renewal.

So I am thinking if it will be worthwhile to get a NCB letter for the new car or claim insurance for fixing current car and lose NCB in the process.

[manish7]

I am sailing in the same boat now. I sold my old car yesterday and we both (seller & purchaser) have signed RTO forms in the agent's office. I have also obtained buyer's signature on the delivery note.

I need to know 2 things -

(1) How do I transfer insurance to the new buyer? The actual RTO transfer may take 1.5 to 2 months to get new RC.

(2) I have 50% NCB as of now. How do I get NCB certificate in my name?

I actually visited Bajaj Allianz branch today, but guy there looked quite clueless. He said he can only transfer the insurance when new RC is available. Is that true? Can I submit delivery note copy or another document for insurance transfer? Besides, he also talked about getting "Insurance Transfer Letter" from RTO, and my RTO agent said that there is no such letter/from at the RTO. What's the correct procedure?

I don't want any liability since the car is not in my possession now.

[anup7649]

Originally Posted by manish7

(1) How do I transfer insurance to the new buyer? The actual RTO transfer may take 1.5 to 2 months to get new RC.

(2) I have 50% NCB as of now. How do I get NCB certificate in my name?

I actually visited Bajaj Allianz branch today, but guy there looked quite clueless. He said he can only transfer the insurance when new RC is available. Is that true? Can I submit delivery note copy or another document for insurance transfer? Besides, he also talked about getting "Insurance Transfer Letter" from RTO, and my RTO agent said that there is no such letter/from at the RTO. What's the correct procedure?

1. Yes, RC transfer will take 1 month as per their norms. Sometimes comes well within 1 month.
2. Once the RC copy is made available to you with the new ownership details, you will have to submit your Original insurance note+ RC Copy and Insurance transfer Note (this comes along with the forms 29&30) to Insurance organisation. You will get the NCB certificate immediately.

I just sold my car week back and this is what I am following as per RTO guidelines per my personal visit there and my discussions inline with the RTO Officer.

[kalyan_hyd]

Originally Posted by praveen_v

My case is a little different. I have my old car where there are some dents which I need to fix. I have been holding out not fixing it so far and my NCB is 50%. If I cancel the policy and get an NCB, then my current car will have to renew it and they will inspect it and I wont be able to claim since the damage was present before renewal.

So I am thinking if it will be worthwhile to get a NCB letter for the new car or claim insurance for fixing current car and lose NCB in the process.

1. Get a quotation for repair of the dents on your old car. Also get an estimate on how much the insurance coverage would be.
2. Compare that to the NCB savings of 50% on a new car. Depending on which one outweighs the other option in terms of getting you the max savings, go for that.

Originally Posted by manish7

I am sailing in the same boat now. I sold my old car yesterday and we both (seller & purchaser) have signed RTO forms in the agent's office. I have also obtained buyer's signature on the delivery note.

I need to know 2 things -

(1) How do I transfer insurance to the new buyer? The actual RTO transfer may take 1.5 to 2 months to get new RC.

(2) I have 50% NCB as of now. How do I get NCB certificate in my name?

I actually visited Bajaj Allianz branch today, but guy there looked quite clueless. He said he can only transfer the insurance when new RC is available. Is that true? Can I submit delivery note copy or another document for insurance transfer? Besides, he also talked about getting "Insurance Transfer Letter" from RTO, and my RTO agent said that there is no such letter/from at the RTO. What's the correct procedure?

I don't want any liability since the car is not in my possession now.

Provider to provider, the interpretation of the laws is a little different. The best way is to approach your providers office and talk to folks there.

1. In some cases, I have observed that the insurer can transfer the insurance to the new owner(rather possessor) of the car even before the RC has arrived based on the RTO receipt[obtained when the new owner applies for the change in RC card] and copies of Form 28(transfer of RTOs, in case it was needed), 29 and 30 + Sale agreement + A no objection letter from the old owner. Bajaj Allianz should have this process, if your local advisor is not that well versed with the state of affairs, you can get in touch to someone on call from their support center.

2. You can get this only on transfer or cancellation or expiry of the old policy. In your case, once the insurance transfer has happened, you can then get a NCB retention letter in your name.

--Kalyan

[manish7]

Thanks! There was no "Insurance transfer Note" with form 29 & 30 when we submitted it. How do I obtain it?

[kalyan_hyd]

Originally Posted by manish7

Thanks! There was no "Insurance transfer Note" with form 29 & 30 when we submitted it. How do I obtain it?

Assuming you are the seller of the old car, an insurance transfer note is a letter written by you claiming you have no objection to the insurance company transferring the car's insurance to the new owner to whom you have sold the car.

The new owner can now approach the insurance provider with copies of Form 29, 30, RTO receipt and the letter from you to get the insurance transferred to his/ her name. Once the transfer is done, you can apply for your NCB retention letter.

--Kalyan

[praveen_v]

Originally Posted by kalyan_hyd

1. Get a quotation for repair of the dents on your old car. Also get an estimate on how much the insurance coverage would be.
2. Compare that to the NCB savings of 50% on a new car. Depending on which one outweighs the other option in terms of getting you the max savings, go for that.
--Kalyan

Thats what I am planning to do. Closer to renewal, will get it evaluated from both FORD workshop and a FNG near my place and see how the overall benefit works out.