[skarface]

Originally Posted by sushantk

Am I being paranoid here? If I am the owner (and I am the the driver anyway), my wife could be fully out of the matter.

I was the one driving our i20 which was registered on my mother’s name. Never faced any issues while claiming insurance or any other related to ownership during the 9 years that we had it. So I don’t think you should be stressing out on this. Relax and enjoy the car.

PS : Now I’ve sold the car it has been a month the dealer is yet to initiate the ownership transfer, some paranoia kicking in now for me.

[fawad0222]

Originally Posted by Neversaygbye

It doesn't matter really as long as both of you are in the same location so that she can sign if there is an insurance claim. Also there was another point mentioned in an earlier post about the insurance benefits going to the person in whose name the car is registered, and that is something to consider.

Thanks for your reply. It does make things clearer.

[ashokabs]

I used a car for 13 years which was bought in my wife's name. It is insured so the risk is covered whether it's in her name or yours. I wouldn't worry.

[ravitejasharma]

Nothing to worry there. My Rexton is registered in my wife's name and there wasn't any issue when I made an insurance claim sometime back. No questions asked. Only papers needed to be signed by her

[alphamike_1612]

Originally Posted by sushantk

My car was bought in name of my wife. However, I drive the car all the time.
I have been thinking of transferring the ownership to me. The only drawback is that RC will show up me as the second owner of the car and future resale value will be impacted.

TL;DR
I use a motorcycle registered in the name of my father, have not had any issues to date, including an insurance claim.

The full story:

All vehicles in my home are registered under the name of my father and all of us use them interchangably without any issue to date.
My father got me my 1st motorcycle when I turned 18(and this was recently in 2017, so I'm not that old) since it was him who paid and did all the formalities, it was registered in his name. However unlike the other vehicles in our home, this was exclusively used by me or by my friends/juniors at college. For a long time, I too was considering changing it under my own name.

2 reasons why I wanted to:
1. I was young, I was a firebrand and I wanted laws being followed to the T. The legal way to drive a vehicle not registered in your name is to have a signed affidavit that authorises you to use the vehicle such that when the police stop you, you can say here's a letter authorizing me to use the vehicle, otherwise they might demand calling the person on the phone and verifying the same. And considering phone numbers are updated in the mParivahan database, this might be a problem (more so for me).

How do I know this?
I was asked to get one such affidavit when I tried using one of my friend's motorcycles which was registered under his father's name for my MCWG licence test. However, it was only on a white A4 sheet and not stamp paper, so I don't know if it was done because they could, or because the law mandates it.

I was also asked to get the same affidavit when I tried applying for a part time job (I wanted to be independent )that involved using motorcycles significantly. However this time, the affidavit needed to be on stamp paper countersigned by a notary. Needless to say, it never came about.

I also remember reading somewhere on the internet (must have been Quora, don't have the link now will search and update if I get it) that an affidavit countersigned by the notary is required for the same.

2. I was a college kid and being in college meant going out with your friends at all random hours of the night/with female friends and Chennai cops being Chennai cops tend to stop you especially if you have a female behind you and you have a good looking maintained motorcycle and loon young, ask you questions that are totally unrelated to the stop, such as "Who's this girl, is she your girlfriend? Do your parents know you're out at this time of the night etc." While I was okay with my parents being disturbed during the day, I wasn't very comfortable with the same at night, because 90% of the time I had sneaked out myself .
Hence having the motorcycle registered in my name would solve 99% of these problems as I would simply have to say motorcycle is registered in my name, I'm a major, deal with me. (Remember I said I was a firebrand)

But I ended up not doing it.

3 reasons why:
1. Purely sentimental, my father getting me motorcycles/cars is not going to be a regular affair, it'll be just this one or at the most one more. So why not enjoy it as such.

2. The solution to most problems I had described above dealing with the police, suddenly disappeared when they realised I'm a doctor. At the most the only thing they ask me after I stickered my ride is, which hospital sir?

3. There was once an accident claim that had to be made, not because of an accident but because some random woman decided she could sit on my motorcycle parked on it side stand and play with it and ended up pushing it over. The right fairing had to be replaced. I ended up filing a police report(not an FIR, but a CSR) against unknown persons and informing insurance and doing all other necessary requirements by myself without involving my father (he obviously knew it happened but it was me who dealt all the formalities) and at no point was I asked why the motorcycle wasn't in my name (at the police station or the insurance). I was even able to sign documents for insurance under the "for xxxx" banner.

However I might get an affidavit if I decide to go on an All India tour to avoid problems as mentioned by BHPian RoadAtlas

Originally Posted by RoadAtlas

Very recently, a friend who is an emergency services worker was going to his workplace (a hospital) during the night curfew times when he was stopped in a Naka checkpoint. They checked all his documents which were fine, however, they found out that the car was registered in his father's name and demanded that he pay a fine.

Warning: Not a lawyer, all places where I've mentioned legally is what my understanding of the law is. Kindly take with a pinch of salt.
Regards,
alphamike_1612
Mods: Please delete this if you find it to be Off Topic.

Edit - just now realized that this a year old thread...!!!

[Mafia]

Originally Posted by sushantk

I am not aware if any such thing exists. I will do some research and check with insurer too.

This feature exists abroad. I have registered a couple of close friends as designated drivers of the vehicle. And I was their designated driver.

I am sure this feature exists here in India. I am yet to confirm.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Mafia

This feature exists abroad. I have registered a couple of close friends as designated drivers of the vehicle. And I was their designated driver.

I am sure this feature exists here in India. I am yet to confirm.

Insurance has a facility to cover a paid driver and any additional authorised drivers (friends or relatives to whom you give the car temporarily) but I am not aware of any need to specify to the insurer. Maybe an affidavit that they’re authorised to drive it in case there is a claim, not sure.

[NK@Hyd]

Does the car owner need to have a driving license to buy his/her vehicle's insurance policy?

If not, and if a family member holding a driving license is always the one driving (with or without the car owner co-riding),
could such an arrangement be problematic during an insurance claim?

[Neversaygbye]

Originally Posted by NK@Hyd

Does the car owner need to have a driving license to buy his/her vehicle's insurance policy?

If not, and if a family member holding a driving license is always the one driving (with or without the car owner co-riding),
could such an arrangement be problematic during an insurance claim?

No, the car owner need not have a driving license to buy his/her vehicle's insurance policy. My Vista is in my mother's name and neither does she have a license nor can she drive. The insurance policy for the car of course is in her name (since she is the owner on paper) though it's me who drives the car. I have never faced any kind of issue with insurance claims - and there have been quite a few over the years thanks to the roads we drive on.

The owner needs to sign the claim form and as long as the person driving has a valid driving licence and the car has been used as per the terms and conditions spelt out in the policy document (such as for personal use only) there is absolutely no issue with claims.

While you will not face any problems with insurance, there is a recent trend for the police to ask for an authorization if someone other than the owner is driving the vehicle. I faced it once with the Vista and the episode left a bad taste in the mouth, so I kept emotion aside and purchased the latest entrant to our garage in my name, since my partner doesn't like to drive even though she can and has a valid licence. She would have been thrilled had I bought the car in her name but I would rather not go through hassles with the police. Also, the local taxi union in Ladakh only allows self drive vehicles registered in one's own name in.