KOCHI: Are you someone who abides by traffic laws and has a track record of safe and secure driving? If a motor vehicles department (MVD) proposal is anything to go by, you stand to gain a substantial discount on your vehicle’s annual insurance premium. On the flip side, drivers who are implicated in traffic offences and severe crimes on the road will face substantially higher premiums.
The MVD has already held preliminary discussions with top officials of leading insurance companies. It will soon approach the General Insurance (GI) Council, a representative body of general insurers, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) with the proposal, which would recognise ‘model’ drivers in a measure intended to boost safety on roads.
“A meeting with the GI Council and IRDA will be convened to reduce the insurance premium amount for drivers who follow road rules. We also propose to increase the premiums for frequent violators. We are awaiting data from the health department before holding the discussion. Most probably, the move will be implemented without much delay as the preliminary talks ended on a positive note,” said transport commissioner S Sreejith, who has been deputed by the government to hold talks with insurers.
He said the cancellation of vehicle registration certificates (RCs) and non-renewal of insurance for vehicles used in serious crimes are also under consideration.
“If we analyse heinous crimes in the state, the involvement of vehicles is more than 75%. Vehicles are more likely to be involved in crimes such as murder and kidnapping, and other criminal offences. If we cancel RCs and direct insurance companies against renewing insurances, we would also be able to reduce crime to some extent. We recently cancelled the RCs of two vehicles that were used for criminal activity,” the commissioner said.
He said the government is also in discussion with insurance companies about setting apart some of their profits for the well-being of people involved in accidents. The transport commissioner added that AI-enabled drone cameras will be employed to ensure road safety.