How To Check Car Insurance: The Ultimate Guide

If you do not remember your vehicle insurance details or are not able to locate your policy documents, there are several other ways by which you can easily check or track your car insurance policy status online. With the advent of the internet, you can now conveniently check your vehicle insurance details through online modes such as websites or smartphone applications.

The easiest way to find out if your car is insured is to check your registration number against the Motor Insurance Database (MID). This is a national register of all the cars insured in the UK. The free search will tell you whether your vehicle has a current, valid insurance policy in place. You’ll get a simple yes/no response – you won’t see any details of your insurance. You may also see the make and model of your car if that information has been provided by your insurance provider.

Be aware that the MIB is warning its customers about reported cases of scam callers pretending to be from the MIB. The scam caller will probably ask for your bank details. If you suspect that you’ve received such a scam call, you can visit the MIB website’s help and advice page.

Types of Car Insurance

There are many types of car insurance; some are optional, and some are mandatory, depending on where you live. Understanding insurance types will help you find a suitable policy to protect yourself and your passengers in an accident. Here are the most common types of car insurance:

Liability insurance

Liability coverage is a mandatory requirement for drivers in most states. It compensates others when you’re at fault for an accident that causes injuries, damage, or death. Auto liability insurance can also cover your legal expenses if another driver sues you for an accident you cause.

There are two forms of auto liability insurance: Bodily injury liability pays for the other driver’s medical expenses, while property damage liability coverage pays for vehicle repairs.

Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage

Uninsured motorist insurance covers you in an accident with an uninsured driver, while underinsured motorist insurance reimburses you if the at-fault driver’s policy is inadequate to cover your injuries or vehicle damages. UM and UIM usually pay for your medical expenses and those of your passengers in an accident.

In some states, the coverage can also pay for vehicle damages, lost wages, and funeral expenses in case of death.

Collision and comprehensive coverage

Collision coverage can help repair or replace your vehicle if you hit another vehicle or an object. Conversely, comprehensive insurance pays for non-collision occurrences, including vandalism, hail, storms, floods, earthquakes, or falling objects. Collision and comprehensive coverage are optional in all states, although lenders may require them if you’re financing or leasing a car.

Personal injury protection

Personal injury protection covers the injuries you and your passengers sustain in an accident. It also covers lost wages, funeral expenses, survivor benefits, rehabilitation, and replacement costs for accident victims. PIP is also known as no-fault insurance because it covers accident-related expenses regardless of who’s at fault.

PIP is part of the no-fault insurance laws and is mandatory in Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, and Utah. Some other states allow you to purchase optional PIP coverage.

What documents do I need to check my car insurance on the MID?

You don’t need any documents. Just your car registration number to check if your car is on the Motor Insurance Database using the free askMID search tool. To carry out a search on the MID, you’ll need to declare that the car is registered, owned, or insured by you or your employer.

Ways to check car insurance status online

There is no doubt that the internet has made insurance penetration deeper and technology-driven innovations have made after-sales services much more efficient and smooth. With the ease of the internet and digitization, and with just one tap, one can quickly check their vehicle insurance details online and get updated for the expiry or renewal dates.

You may want to check your vehicle insurance online in two situations:

If by any chance you have met with an unfortunate accident and you do not remember your policy details.
Or, you have lost your insurance policy document and you want to check online.

The easiest way to check the car/bike policy details is via online platforms such as:

Insurer’s website or their mobile application
Parivahan Sewa
Insurance Information Bureau (IIB)
Regional Transport Office (RTO)
VAHAN – Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Check car insurance details via insurance providers

Just by visiting the official website of an insurance provider or via their mobile app, the user can check the vehicle insurance details very easily. This is the most convenient and easiest method of checking the insurance details online. Different insurers might ask for different details, but in general, all of them ask for the registration number of the vehicle.

Check car insurance details via Parivahan Sewa

Parivahan Sewa is a government-based website maintained by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways which is responsible for gathering the data of all the insured vehicles across the country. Below are the steps to check your car/bike insurance status online via the Parivahan Sewa portal.

Log in to the official website of Parivahan Sewa.
Click on the “Informational Services Tab”.
Go to the “Know your vehicle” menu.
The user will be redirected to the Vahan NR e-services page.
Enter the registered mobile number and the verification code and click on “search vehicle”.
The car details along with the insurance expiry date will be displayed.

Check car insurance details via the IIB web portal

Through the web portal of the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB), you can easily check vehicle insurance details online. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has initiated the service of maintaining the crucial data related to the various insurance policies.

The Insurance Information Bureau (IIB) facilitates the online tracking of policies and seeks information on vehicles registered in India.

Below are the steps to check your car/bike insurance status online:

Log in to the official IIB web portal.
Submit all the required information such as name, mobile number, e-mail ID, and vehicle registration number.
Post submitting the required details, your policy details of the vehicle will appear.
If you are not able to get the insurance details with the registration number, then you can search by entering details of the vehicle engine number or chassis number.
Enter the registration number of your insured vehicle.
If by any chance, details of the vehicle are not available, you may visit the concerned Regional Transport Office (RTO) for other details of the owner, address, etc.

* Details are available for insurance policies issued post 1 April 2010.

* New Insurance policies less than two months old will not appear on the IIB database.

Check car insurance details via the Regional Transport Office

With the help of RTO, the user can also check their respective vehicle insurance policy details and expiry date along with other details of the vehicle. Below are the steps to check your car/bike insurance status online:

Visit the official website of your state RTO or you can directly visit their office also.
Click “online services for citizens”.
Select the tab “vehicle-related online services”.
Select the option of “Vahan citizen services”.
Fill in the details of your RTO where your car is registered along with the registration number and other such details.
Fill in the captcha code and submit all the details.

Check car insurance details via VAHAN

There is also another way to check vehicle insurance details online by using the VAHAN website managed under the e-governance application of the National Transport Project. VAHAN is a highly comprehensive system that carries all the information related to your vehicle including insurance policy details. Below are the steps to check your car/bike insurance status online:

Visit the Vahan e-services 4.0 portal.
Go to “Know your vehicle details”.
Log in by entering your mobile number and create a new account.
After logging, enter the registration number of your vehicle and click on “search vehicle”.
Details of your vehicle including your car insurance policy will appear.

How do I check who my car is insured with?

If you’ve checked askMID and discovered that you’re covered, but you can’t remember which insurance provider you’re with, there are a few ways you can find out: 

Search your email inbox with the words ‘car insurance’ to see if you’ve had any recent emails or a PDF certificate from an insurance provider relating to your car.
Check your bank account or credit card statements for payments made to an insurance provider.
Retrieve an old quote if you used a comparison website like Comparethemarket to see if this jogs your memory.
Submit a Data Subject Access Request to the MID. You’ll need to provide copies of ID to prove your identity and address, plus pay a small fee to get the name of your insurance provider.

When does my car insurance run out?

Many car insurance policies will renew automatically, which means you should always be covered unless you cancel your policy or your payments are disrupted. This may sound appealing if you’re struggling to stay on top of your car insurance policy, but it could mean you end up paying more than you have to. It’s always wise to shop around before you renew to check you’re still getting the best deal.

There are a few ways you can check when your car insurance expires. Look for your car insurance renewal date on your policy documents or car insurance certificate. If you’ve lost these, you can contact your provider and ask them directly or sign into your online insurance account.

Your insurance provider will also contact you before your renewal date to let you know when your policy is due to auto-renew or expire. This is a good time to compare quotes from other providers to see if you can get a cheaper deal on your next policy.

Why do you need car insurance?

Car insurance covers unforeseen bills and liabilities arising from an accident. It protects you from hefty out-of-pocket expenses, provided you don’t exceed the coverage limit. Without it, you risk paying out-of-pocket to settle legal claims, medical expenses, and damages if you’re at fault. Here are some other reasons you need auto insurance:

Legal Requirements

Most states require basic liability coverage before you can legally register and drive a car. Driving without valid car insurance may lead to fines or even license suspension.

Car lease or financing

Banks, credit unions, and other lending institutions will require valid insurance to finance a car purchase. Likewise, car dealers will require you to purchase collision and comprehensive coverage before leasing a vehicle. Car insurance protects the company against financial losses if you file a claim after an accident.

How To Check Car Insurance: The Ultimate Guide