Motor Vehicles Act Section 156 — Effect of certificate of insurance
CHAPTER IX MOTOR VEHICLES TEMPORARILY LEAVING OR VISITING INDIA
Civil
Summary
Clause (a) of this section deals with a situation where an insurer has issued a certificate of insurance but has not yet issued the actual insurance policy document to the insured person. In that case, as far as anyone other than the insured person is concerned, the insurer is treated as having issued a policy that matches exactly what is described in the certificate. This means the certificate itself stands in for the policy, and its contents are taken to be the terms of the insurance.
Clause (b) of this section covers a situation where the insurer has issued the actual policy document, but the terms of that policy are less favourable to people making claims against the insurer (either directly or through the insured person) than what was stated in the certificate. In that case, as far as anyone other than the insured person is concerned, the policy is treated as having terms that match the certificate exactly. So the certificate's description prevails over any less generous terms in the actual policy.
Official Text
When an insurer has issued a certificate of insurance in respect of a contract of insurance between the insurer and the insured person, then—
(a) if and so long as the policy described in the certificate has not been issued by the insurer to the insured, the insurer shall, as between himself and any other person except the insured, be deemed to have issued to the insured person a policy of insurance conforming in all respects with the description and particulars stated in such certificate; and
(b) if the insurer has issued to the insured the policy described in the certificate, but the actual terms of the policy are less favourable to persons claiming under or by virtue of the policy against the insurer either directly or through the insured than the particulars of the policy as stated in the certificate, the policy shall, as between the insurer and any other person except the insured, be deemed to be in terms conforming in all respects with the particulars stated in the said certificate.