Car Insurance Claim Procedure
Motor Vehicle Insurance is compulsory in India under Motor Vehicle Act 1988. Motor vehicle insurance is the insurance coverage of the risk of a third party arising out of the use of a motor vehicle and also for covering the risk of damage caused to the vehicle. Indian people are neither concerned about Life Insurance plans nor Medical Insurance plans but they are more concerned about Motor Vehicle Insurance whether they are driving a Scooter or a Bike or a Car or Truck. It is mandatory otherwise if anyone is injured without an insurance vehicle, it will be treated like a Crime.
Nowadays everyone has a vehicle, roads are jam pack with vehicles, and the risk is high as a result, motor insurance companies are growing day by day and claims have also gone up. But many a time, the policyholders do not know exactly what they can do to get their Car Insurance Claim Procedure.
Here we are explaining the procedure for how to claim your car insurance policy. This will help you a lot.
How to claim your Car Insurance Claim
We will understand this procedure in some scenario step by step so it will be very easy for us.
Claims for own damage: If your car met with an accident, you should follow these steps to claim for damages:
- Inform the insurance service provider – First and foremost you should inform the insurer at the earliest and you have to submit a duly filled-in claim form along with the required documents to the insurance company before you send the car to the garage for any repairs. The forms are available on insurance service providers’ websites. Most insurers follow strict guidelines and it’s mentioned in the policy documentation.
- Lodge FIR – In some cases, First Information Report (FIR) is required so lodge an FIR at the nearest police station for the safer side. Although it may not be mandatory for claim settlements it is advisable to lodge an FIR. It depends on the condition.
- Assess the damage – Once you inform the insurance service provider, they will appoint a surveyor who will assess/evaluate the damage to your vehicle. He will prepare a report and pass it on to the insurance company. You will also receive a copy and then you can move your car to the nearest network garage for repair. Note: If the damage is severe then the surveyor will reach the spot of the accident at the earliest for the survey.
- Claim settlement – As soon as the insurance company receives the survey report, they will analyze the claim request and sends approval to the garage. The garage will have to provide an estimated cost for the vehicle repair and timelines for the same. The insurer will be in touch with the network garage for an overall view of the extent of damage and how the repair work is proceeding.
After the work is completed, you will have to take the duly signed bills and documents from the garage and submit them to the surveyor. Surveyor will send it to the insurance company.
If all the documents are completed, the insurance provider will reimburse your bills. Keep in mind that there will be some compulsory deductible and variable deductible components, as stated in the policy document. Once your claim is settled and your car is OK then you can drive again.
Car insurance claim process for a third party claim: -If you are responsible for an accident where a third party suffers injuries or damage to property, here is what you need to do:
- Inform an insurance service provider – First and foremost you should inform your service provider at the earliest. Also, remember not to make any financial commitments to a third party.
- Lodge FIR – Lodge FIR at the nearest police station and keep a copy of the FIR for future reference as well.
- Share policy document – You should mandatorily share a copy of your car insurance policy with the third party so that they can raise a claim on it.
- Claim at Motor Tribunal – According to the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, third-party liability claims are raised at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT). The claim can be raised by the third party at the tribunal closest to his/her residence or yours.
After receiving all the documents, the insurance service provider will verify the documents and assess the accident and if found satisfactory, you will get a lawyer appointed by them.
If the court directs you to pay the damages to the third party thereafter, the insurance service company will directly pay the dues to the third party.
It is advisable to see if the situation can be settled amicably outside the tribunal.
Claims for theft: If you find that your car has been stolen then follow the below procedure.
- Lodge FIR – Lodge FIR at the nearest police station and keep a copy of the FIR for future reference as well.
- Inform the insurance service provider – You should inform your service provider at the earliest with a copy of the FIR
- Once you receive the final report from the police station, make a copy of it and submit it to your insurance company. The insurance company will assign an investigator. Investigator will make the report and submit it to the insurance company. Once that is done, submit the RC book of your stolen car to the insurance company.
- Submit the duplicate keys of the car and also a subrogation letter. You will also need to submit a notarized indemnity on stamp paper also.
- Once all the formalities are completed, the insurance company will disburse the claim.
We need to know about the formalities of the car insurance claim procedure otherwise many people are paying from their pocket due to a lack of this information. Nowadays the entire insurance service provider’s having a very good customer support network and their teams are skilled and cooperative also so you must communicate with your insurer whenever you need it.
I wish that you don’t need these procedures. I wish you will have a Safe Drive, someone is waiting for you.
