Endorsements in Car Insurance

After you’ve taken an insurance policy for your car, it is extremely important that you go through the policy document thoroughly and see if all the details are mentioned properly. Any inaccuracies in your personal and vehicle-related details such as the car’s cubic capacity, manufacturing year, etc. will not only affect your insurance policy premium but also the claim amount, whenever being raised in the future.

So, in case of any inaccuracies, or if there has been any changes in your car details since you have purchased the insurance cover, you should get them amended by the insurance company. You can do this through ‘endorsement’.

But, what is endorsement?

Let’s find out!
 

What is Endorsement?

Making changes or additions to the policy's existing terms is known as an endorsement. An endorsement can be done either in the middle of the policy term or at the time of renewal.

Through endorsement, you can add, delete, or alter any parts under the policy coverage. For instance, you can raise an endorsement request if there is a misprint in your policy document - like your name isn’t spelled correctly or there is an error in your vehicle’s registration number. You can also raise an endorsement request if you want to change the fuel type of the vehicle or if you want to opt for add-ons under your policy.
 

Types of Insurance Endorsements

• Payment-Related Endorsement That Entails Additional Payments
  Payment-related endorsements are those where corrections will have an impact on your policy’s premium.
  • Some Examples Of Such Payment-Related Endorsement Include-
    • Changing the fuel type
    • Addition of a CNG kit
    • Transfer of Ownership

• Non-Payment Related Endorsement
  Non-payment related endorsements are those that do not have an impact on the premium of the policy.
  • Some Examples Of A Non-Payment Related Endorsement Include Making Changes To Your-
    • Name - spelling corrections
    • Email-id
    • Communication address
    • Contact number

Changes You Can Make in a Car Insurance Policy

The following are some examples of car insurance endorsements:

• Changing the engine number
• Changing the vehicle’s registration number
• Changing the chassis number
• Making corrections to personal details like your name, address, phone number, email id, etc.
• Changing the vehicle’s seating capacity or the passengers covered
• Changing the vehicle’s cubic capacity
• Changing the vehicle’s make, model, or variant
• Making corrections in the calculation of the No Claim Bonus (NCB)
• Changing the details of the nominee
• Changing the fuel type of the vehicle
• Making corrections to the Insured Declared Value
• Change in the vehicle's year of manufacturing
• Making changes while transferring the ownership of the car
• Correcting the error if there’s a mismatch in the premium amount
• Adding or removing the car's electrical accessories

Please note, the corrections you can carry out in a car insurance policy will vary across insurance companies. This is just an indicative list.
 

Endorsement Process

Depending upon the type of endorsement and the insurance company you buy from, an endorsement can be done either in the middle of the policy tenure or at the time of renewal.

The process for making an endorsement in your car insurance policy is as follows:

• Raise A Request
  ​​​​​​​You must contact your insurance company and raise an endorsement request as soon as you realise you need to change something in your policy. You can do this by -
  • Contacting the insurer via the toll-free number.
  • Writing an email to the insurer.
  • Personal visit to the branch office.

• Document Submission
  The next step in the endorsement process is submitting the documents to the insurance company. Now, whether you’ll have to submit the documents or not will depend on the type of change you need to make in the policy.

  For instance, you may not need to submit any documents for making changes to your email id or phone number. However, if you want to make changes to the cubic capacity of the vehicle, or the registration number of the vehicle, you will need to submit certain documents.

• Payment
  After you submit the documents, the insurance company will check and verify them, and then proceed with the endorsement.

  If it's a payment-related endorsement, you may have to pay the difference amount in premium (if any). However, in case of a premium difference or an NCB correction where you’ve paid more than the actual premium, the insurance company will refund the differential amount to you.

  Whether your premium amount will increase or decrease will depend upon the nature of your endorsement. For instance, installing a certified anti-theft device in your vehicle can give you a discount on your insurance premiums, whereas adding a CNG kit to the insurance can increase your premiums.

• Endorsement Certificate
  After the payment is completed, the insurance company will make the necessary corrections to your policy, and update their system with the changes. They will then send you an endorsement letter/ certificate that will have the details of the changes made in the policy.
   

Endorsement Turnaround Time

The TAT (turnaround time), i.e., the timeline required by the insurance company for making the modifications in your policy, will depend on the type of endorsement you want to carry out. Generally, it takes more time to complete a payment-related endorsement than a non-payment-related endorsement.

Here’s an average TAT taken by the insurance companies -

Please note, this is a general TAT and may vary across insurance companies
 

Importance of an Endorsement

Any mismatch in your name, cubic capacity of the vehicle, etc. may create problems at the time of claims. Hence, it is important to inform the insurance company about any errors or modifications in your policy at the earliest.

For instance, if you have added any extra accessories to your vehicle like a CNG kit, etc. you must inform the insurer about it. If you don’t inform them, there can be hassles during the claim process or the insurance company may even refuse to settle the claim due to lack of transparency.

There might be occasions when you have made changes to your vehicle but are confused about whether or not to initiate an endorsement for it. In such cases, it is advisable to inform the insurance company about such changes and let them take the call on whether an endorsement is needed or not.

So, that is all about car insurance endorsement. As soon as you receive your car insurance policy document, ensure you check it thoroughly. If you find any information that is inaccurate or in case of any changes required, after you’ve purchased the insurance policy - inform the insurer and get the details altered immediately to avoid any hassles during a claim.