A car insurance claim is a procedure by which you can ask the insurance company to compensate, in case your car undergoes any damages after an accident. You can also ask the insurance company to step in when you are unintentionally responsible for any damages caused to a third-party.
Here are the simple steps how you can claim a car insurance in India:
1. Report to your vehicle insurance claim department:
- First and foremost, as the policyholder, you will have to inform the insurance company before you send the car to the garage for any repair. Noting down the accident in details including any injuries that you have suffered along with eye witness reports would be the logical thing to do.
- If your car is not in a drivable condition, your insurer can advise you on how to transport your car. If the accident is minor you can drive the vehicle to the garage yourself.
2. Collect the requisite documents to validate your estimated claim
The insurance company may ask you to provide certain documents to claim your insurance. Here is a list of relevant documents that you may need to submit:
- Copy of your insurance policy.
- First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the police if the accident involves a third party.
- Copy of the registration certificate (RC) of your car.
- Copy of your driving license or the driving license of the person driving the car.
- A detailed estimation of the repairs after consulting with the garage or the service center.
- Medical receipts, in case of physical injuries sustained by you or anyone in the car.
- Original records of other relevant expenses.
- After this, you will be required to submit a duly filled in claim form along with the previously mentioned requisite documents to the insurance company and estimate the claim amount you think you should be granted. The forms are available on the insurer’s website as well as at their offices.
3. Evaluation by the surveyor to assess the damage:
- The insurance company will send a surveyor to determine the extent of loss incurred. If the accident is severe, the surveyor will visit the site of accident at the earliest. Otherwise, for a smaller accident, he will visit the garage and will be required to prepare a report. Based on the surveyors report, you can arrange for your car to be repaired.
- If all the documents are in place and the surveyor finds there are no controversy regarding the damages, medical treatment, and repairs that you have presented, the claim will be settled based on the approximations for repairs provided by the workshop.
4. Possible disputes regarding claim:
- In case there are some disputes regarding the claim you are getting, you can negotiate with the surveyor. It is also necessary to have a clear idea of your claim. If the claim amount is within Rs 20,000, the insurance company can send their own surveyors to analyse the damage. However, for any amount exceeding Rs 20,000, the company will have to use an independent surveyor.
- The company will also analyse your insurance policy to see if there are any deductibles that can have an effect on your claim. When the company settles the claim, the voluntary, as well as compulsory deductible amount, is supposed to be paid by you.
5. Claiming of insurance in case of stolen cars:
- File an FIR and submit a copy to the insurance company.
- Most of the insurance companies will assign an investigator to you and it might take some time for the approval of the claim. The name on the RC book is to be changed to the insurer’s name. So you will need to submit the RC book to the insurance company.
- Once all the formalities and verifications are done, the company will consent to your claim.