A string of factors including weak enforcement by the traffic police, the lack of follow-up by insurers and the rising cost of third-party covers have resulted in a larger number of vehicle owners not renewing their motor insurance policy.
The proportion of uninsured vehicles on Indian roads increased by three percentage points from 54% in FY2018 to 57% in FY2019, reported Times of India quoting a report by the Insurance Information Bureau.
Of the over 230m vehicles on the road in India as of 31 March 2019, the percentage of uninsured vehicles was nearly 57%. This means that about 132m vehicles on Indian roads were without the mandatory third-party insurance covers. As of 31 March 2018, the number of uninsured vehicles were estimated at 114m.
The bulk of uninsured vehicles are two-wheelers, which account for 75% of the vehicles on Indian roads. There are 15 states where the proportion of uninsured vehicles exceeded 60%.
According to insurers, it is possible for state governments to identify uninsured vehicles because there is a database of insured vehicles.
