Last year, the Supreme Court passed an order in which insurance companies were instructed to not renew insurance policies of vehicles not having a valid PUC certificate. The government hopes that such a move will lead to decrease in pollution, as the polluting vehicles will not be able to ply on the roads without third-party insurance, which is mandatory.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) have also been in favour of the move, having told the general insurers to comply with the court order. But, the insurers are now planning to appeal against the order in the apex court of the country with the contention that compliance with pollution certificate norms is not the lookout of their industry.
The move of linking insurance renewal with valid PUC certificates has raised concerns among general insurers, as they expect this to take a toll on their industry’s growth. Bhargav Dasgupta, MD and CEO of ICICI Lombard General Insurance says that this move is also likely to impact insurance penetration.
Another executive with a leading general insurer added that most vehicle owners already knew about PUC requirements. Hence, increased fines and stricter compliance should be the way forward. Continuing, he said, getting the masses to comply with PUC is not the responsibility of insurers, but that of the traffic police and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
*Source:The Hindu Business Line
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