You know what QR Codes are and how people are using them. From education to insurance, every industry is using QR Codes for promotional and operational use cases.
Further, statistics also show that the use of QR Codes is soaring. And it will continue to grow in the years to come.
Now each car insurance policy in India will have a QR Code.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issued a circular in November 2015. It states that:
“All motor policies issued on or after 1st of December, 2015 shall essentially contain a Quick Response Code. This QR Code would be used to verify the authenticity of the electronic policy.”
(This snapshot from a real insurance policy generated after December 01, 2015)
A QR Code is a 2D barcode that usually contains alphanumeric information such as URLs or text.
You can scan it using a QR Code scanning app on your smartphone.
Also, see various use cases of QR Codes in India.
A. Why QR Code-based insurance?
This move by IRDAI is in response to a recent study by the Insurance Information Bureau of India (IIB).
It claims that 45-55% of vehicles in India are uninsured. The same rate might percolate to other neighboring countries like Singapore or Malaysia. The insurance might not be held in high regard in these countries.
There are a lot of emigrants emigrating from India to other countries. So, an Indian wouldn’t find it surprising to find their cousins or relatives settled in the neighboring countries.
Hence, it might be worth appraising one’s relatives living abroad that when they come across a site to buy cars in Singapore, they would also need to maintain their vehicle insurance to avoid any trouble from authorities.
S.V. Ramanan, Chief Executive Officer, CAMS Repository Services Ltd, an insurance repository said:
“In fact, close to 50% of private cars are uninsured after the first year. These vehicles are able to get by due to the black economy. Insurance policies are fabricated and traffic authorities have no way to verify policy details.”
B. What will the QR Code do?
The QR Code will help traffic policemen verify the authenticity of the insurance policies.
As a result, the traffic policeman on duty can scan the QR Code using a state-provided smartphone device.
And refer to the official policy details with the details on the document.
Telangana is the first State to adopt this move and recognize the digital motor insurance policy.
In addition, S.V. Ramanan, Chief Executive Officer, CAMS Repository Services Ltd, also said:
QR readers are easily downloadable on phones. Hence, all the traffic personnel are being provided with QR readers through their phones in Telangana.
Also, IRDAI is of the opinion that all states will implement their e-Vahan policy by 2017.
That’s all you need to know about QR Code on each car insurance in India.
Do you think this is a progressive move by IRDAI to curb insurance non-compliance? Or this is another policy that might implement poorly?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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