E20 fuel troubles may trigger insurance disputes as car maintenance costs double

India’s cleaner E20 fuel push may be driving new challenges for motorists and potentially, for insurers, as petrol vehicle owners maintenance costs double in the past two months — from 28 percent in August to 52 percent in October.

For consumers already dealing with higher fuel prices, these costs have compounded financial stress, a LocalCircles survey, published on October 13, said.

Several respondents said that if E20 was made optional and priced 20 percent lower, they would support its use. “The sentiment is not anti-green,” the report said. “It is about the fairness of forcing vehicle owners to pay for a policy they weren’t prepared for.”

Insurance changes and grey areas

Insurance practitioners are of the view that many of these issues fall into a grey zone between “wear and tear”