No Insurance, No Fuel? Your Car Cover Just Changed

India's Supreme Court is cracking down on uninsured vehicles. New proposals include blocking fuel sales to uninsured cars and extending mandatory third-party insurance for new vehicles. Here's what every car and bike owner must know now.

Here's what happened: The Supreme Court proposed a 'no insurance, no fuel' pilot that would require vehicles to show valid third-party insurance before petrol pumps dispense fuel.. Mandatory third-party insurance tenure for newly purchased vehicles has been extended, so new car and bike buyers must buy longer-duration cover upfront at the dealership itself.. A public verification system is being introduced via a pilot project, allowing anyone to check a vehicle's insurance status using its registration number..

What you should do: Check your motor insurance expiry date today on the VAHAN portal (vahan.parivahan.gov.in) using your registration number — a lapsed policy exposes you to fines and civil liability.. Renew third-party cover immediately if it has lapsed — third-party insurance is legally mandatory under the Motor Vehicles Act and costs as little as ₹714 per year for a small car.. When buying a new vehicle, ask the dealer for the exact tenure of the bundled third-party cover and get it in writing — do not assume one year is the default anymore..

Third-party insurance protects others from your vehicle's damage — but it does NOT cover your own car. Always add a comprehensive or own-damage policy on top so you're not left paying lakhs for your own repairs after an accident.

For readers weighing their credit and loan options, our personal loan guide and CIBIL score resources put this update in context.