It is not mandatory to have PUC certificate for a motor insurance claim

 A viral claim on social media claims that if the validity of a vehicle’s pollution under control (PUC) certificate is expired during the time of an accident, the insurance firms will not cover any damages. The viral post on social media claims that the order was issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) on August 20^th , 2020. We can view the circular attached with the post.
The post reads “Please be informed that for all insurance claims valid *pollution certificate* is mandatory. If the vehicle’s pollution certificate validity is expired during the time of accident insurance companies will not cover the accident damages hereafter *20th August 2020*”

Facebook Post | Archive Link

Fact Check-

We started our investigation by using keywords on Google to search for a similar circular on IRDAI’s official website. It led us to a circular published by IRDAI on 20^th August 2020. IRDAI issued the circular to insurance providers in India directing them to obtain valid PUC certificate for a vehicle while renewing the insurance policy. We can see that this is the same circular going viral on social media. We found that the circular does not mention anything about the non-payment of a claim amount for damaged vehicles with expired PUC certificates.

The official Facebook page of the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) of the Kerala government has also dismissed the viral claim calling it a misinterpretation of the IRDAI circular.

The clarification by MVD clearly states that, “The claim that insurance companies will not cover the accident damages if the validity of vehicles’ pollution certificate is expired during the time of the accident is false. If a person is given policy by an insurance company, it means that the policyholder has a valid PUC on the day the policy starts.

The company cannot deny insurance later. However, it is the responsibility of the citizens to keep the PUC always renewed. We advise you to get your vehicle serviced and PUC certificate made.”

According to news reports on the new circular the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has issued a circular to insurance companies asking them to ensure that policy holders provide a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) Certificate at the time of renewal of their motor insurance policy. The circular issued on August 20, 2020 has advised general insurance providers to not renew any motor vehicle’s insurance policy without the owner providing a valid PUC certificate, as per Supreme Court’s orders. It clarified that if a policy has been given to a customer by the insurance company, it means that the customer possesses a valid PUC certificate. It also confirmed that services to cover damages cannot be denied by the insurance companies.

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Conclusion- Fact Crescendo found the above mentioned post to be False. The PUC certificate and its validity are only necessary for insurance renewal or purchase of new insurance plan.