‘Vehicle insurance benefits both victims and owner’

Senior advocate Rhishikesh Ganu has been practising law since 1992 at the Pune district court. The 42-year-old mainly deals with criminal cases, motor accident claims and consumer forum issues. He is also on the advocate panel of various insurance companies like The New India Assurance Company, National Insurance Company, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company, ICICI Lombard Insurance and Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Company Limited. Ganu tells DNA about the importance of motor vehicle insurance.

What is the importance of motor vehicle insurance?
The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, under section 146 mandates that every vehicle should be compulsorily insured for third party risk. The reason is because of the growing number of accidents that causes fatalities and disability among the victims.

What are the types of motor vehicle insurance?
There are mainly two types of motor vehicle insurance. One is liability/act only policy; such type of insurance covers the risk of all third parties who are injured by the motor vehicle. This includes all third party users knocked down by the vehicle and also occupants of commercial vehicles. And the second type of motor vehicle insurance is comprehensive/package policy, which covers not only the above but also occupants of private vehicles and the insured vehicle itself.

Please throw light on how insurance policies help victims?
The objective of such insurance policies is to help the victims and the legal representatives of the deceased victims to secure substantial compensation. The compensation can be obtained only if the motor vehicle that was involved in the accident is insured. If the vehicles are not insured, then recovery of the compensation is a distinct possibility. For this reason, vehicle insurance benefits  both the accident victims as well as the vehicle owners as they are saved of paying any compensation out of their pocket.

Is it sufficient to just insure the vehicle?
Not only should the vehicle be covered by a valid insurance but should also be driven by a person who has a valid licence. In the case of commercial vehicles, validity of permit and fitness should be observed.

How one can file a claim for compensation after accident?
After the family suffers from an accident, the law for seeking compensation is set in motion. The necessary documents which are required to file a claim are available with the investigating officers and police machinery. These are certified copies of the police papers which include spot panchanama, charge sheet and documents of the vehicle involved in the accident.

n case of a fatal claim, the age and income proof of the victim have to be obtained. In case of injury, the medical papers and employment proof or income of the victim must be shown. The amount of compensation is based upon factors like who deserves the claim, age and income of the deceased.

Also the medical expenses and the duration of treatment that a victim undergoes determine the claim. In the case of injuries that could lead to disability and affect the earnings of the victim, the functional disability is considered and the victim is compensated accordingly.