Having a car not only brings ease to life but comfort as well as makes your transportation easy and fast. One should be clear about the uninvited problems of having a car. First of all, you have to decide upon which car you should buy as there are so many companies that provide different models and variants of cars available in the market. The next step is to buy a car insurance policy for your new car, which is again a matter of thorough research. As there are so many insurance providers who offer different insurance plans to the customers. Once you get the insurance policy, your next worry would be, how to deal with the risks involved in case your car gets hit somewhere or gets bang, meets with an accident or gets stolen? One small dent cost big these days, so what if the damage cost in an accident will be high.
Why car insurance claim required?
Car insurance claim facility helps you mitigate the effect of financial losses to your car under circumstances of natural calamity, theft or accident. Careful selection of car insurance as well as the insurer ensures good coverage during unforeseen incidents. The entire process of claiming car insurance appears to be strenuous to many. Doing proper research on the claim process of an insurer as well as the inclusion of the policy is a way better than blaming the insurance company.
It will be beneficial if detailed research has been done before you purchase a policy from your insurer.
Know the benefits that you can have if you invested a little time in your research while getting an insurance document:
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Covering medical expenses that you bear during the post-accident phase
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Payments towards the damage of the insured vehicle
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Covering the loss/damage caused to a third party
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Availability of pick-up services
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Cover for damages caused by human-made calamities
Know the procedure to follow for a claim settlement
Following are the steps involved to claim accidental damages
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Inform your insurance company about damage that happened to your car immediately.
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Inform the police and file FIR if your car has sustained multiple impacts, bodily injuries and casualties to anyone in the accident.
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In the case of commercial cars, spot survey is done at the accident spot. Insurance company appoints a surveyor to visit and survey car at the incident place. It is advised not to move the vehicle from the area of the incident.
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You may refer the website of the insurance company or reach RenewBuy claim support to know your nearest cashless garage. The car is then taken to one such Network garage under the Insurance company. After taking the car to the garage, a repair estimate made, post commencement of the survey.
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A surveyor form insurance company visits and discusses the estimate with the workshop
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The surveyor once finalizes the estimate and consents his approval post which the garage will proceed with repairs accordingly
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Duration of claim settlement is decided by the insurance companies and varies from company to company
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Depending on the policy the opted the Policyholder liability varies
Following are the steps involved for making a car insurance claim if it is stolen
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Immediate information to police authorities- In case the car is stolen, one has to inform and file a complaint with nearest police station or where the incident has happened.
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Intimation to the insurance company- Just after informing the police station, one has to inform the insurance company about the incident.
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Investigation- Insurance company appoints an investigator who verifies the facts of the claim and authenticates the same
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Two sets of keys- Two-sets of keys are required for claiming a stolen car. If one key is only presented, this makes insurance company presume that the other key was left in the vehicle at the time of theft.
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Original RC copy- One needs to have the original RC Copy for making a theft claim.
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Intimation to RTO authorities for RC cancellation - To avoid any fraudulent activity that may happen from your registered RC of your stolen car, the RTO needs to kept informed for the same.
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Insured statement- The victim has to give a detail insured statement to the insurance company, which includes the details like- where was the car parked, time and date on which the car was seen for the last time, stolen date etc. as asked by the insurance company.
Please note: From case to case basis additional requirements can be sought by the insurance company; for instance when the vehicle value is quite high but the vehicle is quite old; In than case insurance company may seek any documentary proof to substantiate the fact that the vehicle was in the running in good condition before the theft. Such a requirement is called a running record.
Total Loss claims
There are instances when the car is damaged beyond repair, then it is considered as Total Loss or totalled car. The minimum criteria to qualify for a total loss if the repair costs must exceed 75% of the Insured Declared Value in the policy. In such cases, Insurance companies settle the complete IDV mentioned in the insurance policy to the customer. The customer must bear the estimation and parking charges levied by the workshop in such Total loss claims.
Third party Claims
In case of injuries or death occurred to third-party in an accident, the insurance company bears the liability. The victims (injured in case of injury / Dependents in case of death) have to approach respective Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), to file a legal recourse for compensation which will be duly taken care and settled by the insurance company directly.
It is always advisable to go for a comprehensive motor insurance policy with sufficient add-on’s like depreciation waiver, Engine protection, consumables, etc. for 360-degree protection for damages caused to your vehicle due to accident, theft or any natural disaster.
Closure
Insurance companies associated with RenewBuy has a tie-up with a large number of cashless garages across the country. In case of any misfortunate event, you can always take assistance from your advisor.
#subject to the terms and conditions.
