Renew your bike insurance in minutes

Bike insurance renewal is buying another term of cover on the same two-wheeler before the current policy runs out, so there is never a day when the bike is uninsured. You renew with the insurer you already have, or you move to a different one. Either way the new policy takes over from the date the old one ends, and the No Claim Bonus you have built up comes with you.

Every bike insurance policy in India is written for a fixed term, and it stops on the date printed on the policy document. Nothing continues on its own. If you do not renew, cover simply ends at midnight on that date, whether or not you are aware of it. That is the whole reason renewal exists as a task, and the whole reason the date is worth putting in your phone.

Most riders find the job takes a few minutes. Your registration number pulls up the policy, you look at what you are paying for, you change anything that needs changing, and you pay. What makes a renewal slow is not the form. It is leaving it until after the policy has already expired, which is covered in full further down this page.

What renewing on time protects

• Your cover, with no gap. The new policy starts the moment the old one finishes, so there is no day on which a theft or an accident falls on you alone
• Your legal position. Third-Party cover is compulsory for every two-wheeler on an Indian road. Riding on an expired policy is an offence, and it is the one thing on this list a rider cannot argue their way out of
• Your No Claim Bonus. The discount you have earned for claim-free years carries forward to the new policy instead of being put at risk
• A renewal without an inspection. Renew before expiry and the insurer usually takes your word for the condition of the bike. Renew after it, and someone has to look at the two-wheeler first

Renewing is not the same as buying again. A renewal continues a record that already exists: the same bike, the same claim history, the same No Claim Bonus. That record is worth money to you, which is why an unbroken run of renewals is cheaper than starting over.

Break-in is the name most likely to worry people. It has nothing to do with a break-in at your home. It means a break in your cover, and the sections below set out exactly what that costs you.

The middle column is the one riders get wrong. From the morning after expiry the two-wheeler is uninsured, whatever the grace period is doing for your bonus in the background.

The grace period is a rescue for your discount, not for your cover. On day 2 after expiry your No Claim Bonus is fine and your two-wheeler is not insured at all.

Why insurers send the reminder so early

A renewal reminder usually lands 30 to 45 days before expiry, by message and email. It is early on purpose. It gives you room to compare prices, to change your optional covers, to move to another insurer if you want to, and to correct anything odd on the policy, such as a registration number that was typed wrong. Leave it to the last evening and all of those choices shrink to one: pay, or do not pay.

Never got the reminder? Reminders go to the mobile number and email address on the policy, so a number you have stopped using is the usual reason one goes missing. The date is printed on your policy document and shows in the Kiwi Insurance app, and you can update your contact details in the app or with your agent. There is more on that in the section on changed details below.

The grace period is the 90 days after your policy expires. It protects one thing only: your No Claim Bonus. It does not keep you insured. Your bike has no cover from the moment the old policy ends, so you cannot make a claim for anything that happens during those 90 days.

The grace period in 6 points

• It starts the day your policy expires. You do not apply for it and you are not told it has begun
• It runs for 90 days. The count is from the expiry date on your old policy document
• Your two-wheeler is not insured during it. There is no policy in force, so there is nothing to claim on
• Riding during it is an offence. Third-Party cover is compulsory, and you do not have any
• Renew inside the 90 days and your No Claim Bonus carries forward. You keep the level you had reached
• Renew after the 90 days and the bonus goes back to zero. You start earning it again from the next claim-free year

Both things are true at once

Two pieces of advice on this page look like they contradict each other. Renew before expiry to protect your No Claim Bonus. Also, the grace period protects your No Claim Bonus. Both are true, and here is why.

Renewing before expiry protects 2 things: your cover and your bonus. The grace period is a safety net under 1 of them. If you miss the date, your bonus is held for 90 days so that one slip does not wipe out years of claim-free riding. Your cover is not held for a single day. That is the difference, and it is the reason the advice is still to renew before the policy ends.

One thing the grace period never does. It does not backdate cover. If your bike is damaged on day 10 after expiry and you renew on day 11, the new policy covers you from day 11 onwards. The damage from day 10 is yours to pay for, and declaring it can hold up the renewal itself.

An expired two-wheeler policy can be renewed at any time, including years later. The insurer restarts cover rather than continuing it, so the bike has to be looked at before the new policy is issued. At Kiwi Insurance that check is photos you take yourself in the app, and cover starts once they are accepted, not from the date the old policy ended.

The reason for the check is simple. Between the expiry date and the day you renew, nobody was watching the two-wheeler. An insurer taking on a two-wheeler it has not seen for 4 months needs to know it is not being asked to pay for a dent that is already there. That is all the inspection is for.

A long gap does not make a two-wheeler uninsurable. Bikes left in a garage through a posting abroad are renewed all the time. It only means the bike is treated as new to the insurer.

You can renew a two-wheeler policy in 2 ways: online by yourself using your registration number, or with an agent who takes your details and completes it for you. Both issue the same policy, at the same price, under the same terms. The only real difference is whether you prefer to read it yourself at 11pm or have somebody talk you through it.

There is an old idea that renewing offline means forms in triplicate and a policy document arriving in the post weeks later. That has not been true for years. An agent renewing your bike insurance today is working on the same system you would be using, and your policy document reaches your email and the Kiwi Insurance app once the payment goes through, exactly as it would if you had done it yourself.

Claims are handled by Kiwi Insurance either way, by a personal Claims Specialist. The route you renew through does not change who picks up the phone on claim day.

Documents you need to renew your bike insurance

• Your registration number. On its own this is usually enough to start a renewal
• Your previous policy number. It is what carries your No Claim Bonus record across, and it matters most if you are moving to a new insurer
• Your Permanent Account Number (PAN) or Aadhaar. This is for the identity check, which is done on screen
• The registration certificate (RC), if anything on the policy needs correcting
• Photos of the bike, only if the policy has already expired

A renewal with no gap needs no approval. If your cover has been continuous, nothing is checked and nothing is signed off by hand. The policy is issued as soon as you pay. Approval steps only appear after a lapse, or on a two-wheeler old enough that the insurer wants to see it.

Documents you need to buy comprehensive bike insurance

Buying a policy for the first time takes a little more than a renewal, because there is no old policy for the insurer to read from. The steps are the same: enter the bike's details, choose the plan and the Insured Declared Value (IDV), pick your optional covers, confirm who you are and pay. What you need to hand depends on whether the bike is new or used.

• For a new bike from a dealer. The sales invoice, the registration number or the temporary registration number, and your Permanent Account Number (PAN) or Aadhaar. A new two-wheeler must carry a 5-year Third-Party term, so the policy is issued with that built in
• For a used bike you have just bought. The registration certificate (RC) in your name, or proof that the transfer has been applied for, and the previous owner's policy details if the bike is still insured
• For a bike with no valid policy. Photos of the bike, taken in the app, before cover can start
• Your driving licence. It is not usually asked for when you buy. You still need a valid one on the day of any claim

A two-wheeler premium has 2 parts. The Third-Party part is fixed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and is the same at every insurer. The own-damage part is set by the insurer and is built mainly on your bike's Insured Declared Value (IDV). At renewal the value has fallen, your No Claim Bonus has usually grown, and the Third-Party rates may have been revised, which is why the total rarely repeats.

Third-Party price by engine size

Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 18% applies on top. Electric two-wheelers are priced on motor power instead of engine size, and those rates are in the electric section below.

Why the Insured Declared Value (IDV) drops, and what to do about it

The Insured Declared Value is what your two-wheeler is worth today, and it is the most you would be paid if it were stolen. A two-wheeler loses value quickly in its early years, so the value on your renewal quote is lower than last year's. That is normal and it is not the insurer marking your bike down unfairly.

You can usually adjust the value a little at renewal, within a band the insurer sets. Be careful about pushing it down to save money. The own-damage premium is a small percentage of the value, so taking ₹10,000 off the Insured Declared Value saves you a very small amount on the premium, while taking the full ₹10,000 off what you would be paid if the bike is stolen. The 2 numbers do not move by the same amount, and the trade is a poor one for most riders.

Set the Insured Declared Value at what it would genuinely cost you to replace the two-wheeler. It is the number that decides your payout on the worst day, and it barely moves your premium.

Renewing for more than one year

Own-damage cover on a two-wheeler can be renewed for 1 year, or for 2 or 3 years at once where the insurer offers it. A longer term does not usually come with a separate discount. What it does is lock your price against the next rate revision for the whole term. It removes 1 or 2 renewal dates from your calendar, which helps if you have missed one before. You pay the full premium upfront. The No Claim Bonus you already hold is applied at the start of the term. The bonus you earn during the term counts at the next renewal after the term ends.

Is there a discount for renewing early? Most insurers do not offer a separate early-bird price for bike insurance renewal. Any insurer that does should show you the figure on the quote. The real money in renewing early is the No Claim Bonus you keep by not letting the policy lapse. On a 5-year claim-free record, that bonus is worth 50% of the own-damage part of your premium.

The discount applies to the own-damage part of the premium only. The Third-Party part is fixed by regulation and no discount touches it.

4 things worth knowing about it

• It stops at 50%. A sixth and a tenth claim-free year hold it there. On two-wheeler insurance there is no product that takes it higher, so 50% is the ceiling wherever you renew
• One claim resets it. Whatever level you had reached, an own-damage claim takes it back to zero at the next renewal. So compare a small repair bill with the discount before you claim for it
• It moves with you when you change insurers. Ask the insurer you are leaving for a No Claim Bonus certificate, or give the new insurer your previous policy number. Either one lets the new insurer give you the level you had reached, as long as the old policy expired no more than 90 days before the new one starts
• It survives a new bike. Sell the scooter, buy a bigger bike, and the bonus moves onto the new policy as long as the old one was live or inside the 90-day window

Before you claim on a small repair

A claim is not free even when the repair is paid in full. It costs you the bonus you have built, and that cost lands at renewal rather than on claim day, which is why it catches people out. The rough test is simple: if the repair bill is close to what the discount is worth on your own-damage premium, pay for the repair yourself and keep the record clean. If the bill is large, claim without hesitating, which is what the policy is for.

Your renewal quote shows what the No Claim Bonus takes off your own-damage premium. Compare that discount with the repair bill before you report a small repair, not after.

Using Roadside Assistance cover does not touch your bonus. A tow home, a jump start or help with a flat tyre is not an own-damage claim, so your No Claim Bonus is unaffected.

Renewal is the point at which optional covers can be added, dropped or swapped. A cover attaches to a policy when the policy is issued, so a cover you leave off today cannot be added in the middle of the policy year after something has happened. That makes the renewal screen the one annual moment to think about what the year ahead actually looks like for your riding.

Optional covers do not renew automatically. At each renewal you choose again which covers to keep, add or drop, and each one is priced again. A cover with an age limit may no longer be available on an older two-wheeler. Read the list rather than clicking through it.

What to reconsider each year

• Zero Depreciation cover on an ageing bike. It is worth most on a newer two-wheeler. Past about 5 years the parts are worth less, and the cover saves you less than it costs
• Engine Protect cover after a move. It is a city-by-city decision. A move to a coastal or low-lying area is the year to add it
• Pillion Rider cover after a change at home. A partner or a child riding with you daily changes what the policy needs to carry
• Every cover on a very old two-wheeler. When the Insured Declared Value (IDV) has fallen far enough, some riders keep the Third-Party cover alone. It is a legitimate choice, and it is a decision to make deliberately at renewal

Comprehensive cover is worth renewing when losing the two-wheeler would really hurt. That is usually true when the bike is young enough to be worth repairing, or when it is parked where theft is a real risk. It is true when you ride a long way every day. It is also true when you could not replace the bike out of your own pocket next month. If your two-wheeler is old, cheap and parked safely, the legal minimum can be enough.

Riders for whom the legal minimum is a reasonable choice

• The owner of a 12-year-old commuter bike. When the Insured Declared Value (IDV) has fallen to a few thousand rupees, the most a theft claim can ever pay you is a few thousand rupees. At that point a Third-Party cover plus a repair fund of your own is a reasonable choice
• The second bike that barely moves. A two-wheeler kept in a locked garage and ridden a few times a month is exposed to very little. Keep the compulsory cover in force so it is legal the day you do ride it
• The rider about to sell. If the two-wheeler is going within weeks, renew the legal minimum so it can be ridden to the buyer, and let the new owner choose their own plan. Your No Claim Bonus stays with you either way

The one question that decides it. If the bike were stolen tonight, would you replace it out of savings without changing anything else about your month? If the answer is no, comprehensive cover is the renewal to make. Compare the 2 routes on our comprehensive bike insurance page before you decide.

You can move your two-wheeler policy to a different insurer at renewal, and you keep the No Claim Bonus you have earned when you do. There is no fee for moving, and no period to wait out before the new cover applies. The new policy starts when the old one ends, so the change costs you nothing in cover as long as you arrange it before the expiry date.

What does not come across is the rest of last year's policy. Optional covers are chosen again on the new plan, the Insured Declared Value (IDV) is set again, and the deductible you picked is set again. Read the new quote as a new policy rather than as last year's with a different logo on it.

One claim still running? A claim you have already raised stays with the insurer you raised it with, and it is finished by them under the old policy. Moving does not interrupt it, and the new insurer does not take it over.

Can somebody else renew for you? Yes. A family member, a friend or an agent can complete the renewal on your behalf, using your registration number and your previous policy details. The policy is still issued in the registered owner's name, and the payment can come from any account.

Scooter insurance and bike insurance are the same product. A Honda Activa and a Royal Enfield renew under identical rules: the same expiry date logic, the same 90-day grace period, the same No Claim Bonus slabs and the same Third-Party rates by engine size. If you have been searching for scooter insurance renewal as though it were a separate thing, everything on this page applies to you.

What differs is the price. Most scooters, such as a Honda Activa or a TVS Jupiter, fall inside the 75cc to 150cc band. That band has the second-cheapest Third-Party rate. A scooter's Insured Declared Value is usually modest too, so the own-damage part of the premium is small. The result is a small renewal bill, and a No Claim Bonus that is worth less in rupees than it would be on a larger bike.

Renewing a scooter that has been left unused for months? This is the most common break-in renewal there is. A scooter parked through a long trip or a house move simply needs the photo check before cover restarts, and a battery that has gone flat in the meantime does not affect the renewal at all.

An electric vehicle (EV) two-wheeler renews on exactly the same timeline as a petrol one, but its Third-Party premium is set by motor power in kilowatts (kW) rather than engine size in cc. The regulator's 15% concession for electric vehicles is already built into those Third-Party rates. There is no regulator-set discount on the own-damage part, which is built on an Insured Declared Value (IDV) in which the battery is the single largest item.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 18% applies on top. Motor power means the rated power printed on the registration certificate (RC). A rider moving from a petrol scooter to an electric one usually finds the Third-Party part slightly cheaper and the own-damage part slightly more expensive, because the vehicle itself is worth more.

What a full electric renewal costs

The figures below are indicative prices for renewing a Comprehensive Plan on an electric two-wheeler, by motor power, before optional covers and before Goods and Services Tax (GST). They are built on a 2-year-old vehicle whose owner carried a 50% No Claim Bonus across from an earlier two-wheeler. The bonus belongs to the rider rather than the vehicle, so a rider with 5 claim-free years on an old scooter keeps it on a new one. The regulator's 15% concession for electric vehicles is already in the Third-Party part. There is no regulator-set discount on the own-damage part.

Optional covers on an electric two-wheeler are priced on its Insured Declared Value (IDV). The battery pushes that value up, so the same cover usually costs a little more than it would on a petrol scooter of the same size.

The battery is the renewal decision

On an electric two-wheeler the battery is commonly a third of what the whole vehicle cost. That has 3 consequences at renewal, and they are the reason an electric renewal deserves 5 minutes rather than 1.

• The Insured Declared Value has to include it. If the battery came with the vehicle, the value on your renewal quote should reflect the whole vehicle including the battery. Check the figure rather than accepting it, because a value set without the battery would leave you badly short on a theft claim
• A leased or subscribed battery is not yours. Some riders pay a monthly fee for the battery instead of owning it. In that case the battery belongs to the company that leases it, the Insured Declared Value is set without it, and that company's own terms decide what happens if it is damaged
• Not all battery damage is included as standard. Damage to the battery in an accident, a fire or a flood is covered under the own-damage part. A fire that starts while the bike is charging is usually treated as fire damage, but check the policy document, because insurers do not all treat charging damage the same way. A fault inside the battery or the charger, with no accident, fire or flood behind it, is an electrical breakdown, and a standard policy does not pay for that

Charging at home matters to the policy. If you charge from a socket on a shared landing or in a basement parking area, say so at renewal. It is a simple detail to declare, and it avoids an argument later about where and how any damage happened.

A two-wheeler claim runs the same way at every insurer: you report the damage, somebody looks at the scooter or bike, the amount is worked out, the repair is done, and the bill is paid either straight to the garage or back to you. What changes from one insurer to the next is not the steps. It is how many of them land on you.

On paper that is 5 steps. In practice it is 5 handovers, and at most insurers you are the one holding them together: a number to call, a story to repeat, a garage to chase. None of it is difficult. All of it arrives on the week you least want it.

There is no limit on the number of claims you can make in a year on a Comprehensive Plan. Some optional covers set their own limit, and that limit is written into the cover rather than into the policy as a whole. Kiwi Insurance allows [number] Zero Depreciation claims a year on a two-wheeler policy.

What no bike policy pays for, whatever covers you add

Some things are left out of every two-wheeler policy, at every insurer. Optional covers widen what a policy pays for. They do not remove these exclusions, so it is worth knowing them before you renew.

• Age-related damage. Parts that wear out with normal use, such as brake pads, a chain or a tyre worn smooth, are maintenance. They are not a claim
• Mechanical or electrical breakdown. A failure with no accident behind it, such as a gearbox that gives up or a battery fault on an electric scooter, is not covered
• Riding without a valid licence. If the rider did not hold a valid licence for that kind of two-wheeler, the own-damage claim is refused
• Riding under the influence. An accident while the rider was drunk, or under the influence of drugs, is not paid for on the own-damage side
• Use the policy was not bought for. A private policy does not pay for an accident during paid delivery work, a rental or a race
• Damage from before cover started. Anything that happened while the bike was uninsured, or that was already there when the policy began, stays with you

The reason to renew with Kiwi Insurance is what happens on the day you need the policy. Every claim is given to one personal Claims Specialist, one person who owns it from the moment you register it to the moment your bike is back, so the running around that usually falls on the rider does not fall on you.

On a bike insurance claim with Kiwi Insurance, you deal with one person. Your personal Claims Specialist is assigned when the claim is registered and stays with it until the bike is back with you. This is only with Kiwi Insurance.

“We built Kiwi Insurance so that on the day it matters, you have one person who answers, owns your claim, and sees it through.” — Saurav Jaiswal, Co-founder, Kiwi Insurance