₹80,000 crore in road crash compensation stuck; over 10.46 lakh cases pending: Report 

India’s road safety challenge extends well beyond accident prevention, with a new research report by Cars24 revealing that over ₹80,000 crore in compensation remains unpaid to crash victims and their families. The study underscores a structural bottleneck in post-crash justice, with more than 10.46 lakh cases currently pending across courts and tribunals.

Mounting backlog weighs on victims, insurers

The report highlights that compensation claims take an average of 3.6 years to resolve, creating prolonged financial distress for affected households. Even after awards are granted, disbursal remains inconsistent. For instance, over ₹459 crore remains unclaimed in MACTs in Maharashtra, followed by ₹361 crore in Goa and ₹282 crore in Gujarat—pointing to procedural inefficiencies and low beneficiary awareness.

From a business standpoint, these delays have broader implications for the insurance ecosystem. The backlog locks up capital, distorts claims cycles and adds to operational inefficiencies for insurers already navigating rising motor insurance liabilities.

Underutilised schemes signal awareness gaps

Despite multiple legal pathways under the Motor Vehicles Act, utilisation remains limited. The government’s hit-and-run compensation scheme—offering ₹2 lakh for fatalities and ₹50,000 for grievous injuries—has seen minimal uptake. In FY23, only 205 claims were filed nationwide, with participation concentrated in just 10 states and one Union Territory.

This uneven adoption suggests that the bottleneck lies less in policy design and more in access, awareness and administrative complexity—key friction points that impact both victims and insurers.

Post-Crash justice emerges as policy blind spot

While road safety discourse in India largely centres on prevention and enforcement, the report identifies post-crash compensation as a neglected pillar. Victims often navigate a fragmented ecosystem involving police, hospitals, insurers and legal bodies, with no unified support mechanism.

“Compensation is treated as a downstream legal issue rather than an integrated part of crash response,” the report notes, highlighting the lack of institutional coordination.

Meanwhile, Cars24 revealed that its road safety initiative ‘Crashfree India’ is piloting solutions such as a 24x7 chatbot for claims guidance, compensation calculators and hospital-based legal helpdesks. Early pilots in Delhi-NCR have engaged over 100 crash victims directly and reached more than 300 individuals through awareness programmes.