To claim or not to claim

Motor Third-Party Liability (TP) insurance is a cover under which the insured does not get to make a claim, but is covered for any claims that others may make on him.The claimant will be the victim of

Motor Third-Party Liability (TP) insurance is a cover under which the insured does not get to make a claim, but is covered for any claims that others may make on him. The claimant will be the victim of a vehicle accident who sustained injuries or damage to his vehicle or other property. In the case of death, his legal heirs can make the claim against the offending vehicle’s owner and, due to the transfer of such liability through the TP policy, the insurance company will step in to pay the claim as per the policy terms. If there is no TP cover, the owner of the vehicle is directly responsible for the liability. We saw the procedures for making a TP claim in the previous instalment of Cover Note. It is essentially petitioning a special court called the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT), set up under the Motor Vehicles Act and functioning all over India under the supervision of the respective High Courts. MACTs have a huge caseload leading to time-consuming legal proceedings.