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Car Insurance Claim

A car insurance claim is a process wherein an insured asks the car insurance company to compensate him/her for the damages that are sustained by his/her car after an accident. Or at times, it is when the insured asks the insurance company to represent him/her or intervene on his/her behalf when the insured is responsible for any unintentional damages caused to a third-party. Since one pays car insurance premium, it is one’s right to make a claim when he/she is involved in an accident.

Car Insurance Claim Process

There are two types of claim processes for a car insurance policy, they are:

Car Insurance Cashless Claims :

In cashless car insurance claims, an insured does not have to pay upfront for the repairs at the network car garages of the insurance provider. It is the car insurance provider who settles the claims with the workshop on behalf of the policyholder. However, the damages must be covered in the insurance policy taken by the insured.

Car Insurance Reimbursement Claims :

For claim reimbursement, an insured has to pay for the repairs of the damage. And later, depending upon the terms and conditions of the car insurance policy, a reimbursement claim is made. In this type of car insurance claim, an insured does not need to get his/her car repaired at a network car garages of the insurance provider. However, the insured needs to submit the bills and repair receipts with the policy provider.

How to make Car Insurance Cashless Claims?

Follow the below steps to avail cashless claims for car insurance:

Register the cashless claim by calling the insurance provider on its toll-free number or through its website, email or mobile app.
After registering the claim, the insured receives a claim registration number which can be used for future communications/references.
Take the damaged vehicle to any of the authorized network garages of the insurance provider for repairs.
Submit all the required documents to the surveyor.
The car insurance company confirms its liability.

NOTE:In the case of a cashless claim, the damaged vehicle is repaired at an authorized garage only. And, the insurance company will settle all the bills of the garage directly.

How to file Car Insurance Reimbursement Claims?

Follow the below-mentioned steps in order to avail reimbursements claims for a car insurance policy:

Register the claim by calling the insurance provider on its toll-free number or through its website or by email.
After registering the claim, an insured receives a claim registration number which can be used for future communications/references.
Take the damaged vehicle to any car garage for repairs.
Submit all the required documents with the surveyor.
The car insurance company confirms its liability and initiates the reimbursement process.

Role of Surveyor

There are quite a few duties of an insurance surveyor or loss assessor. However, this here is not an extensive list of the same. Instead, it discusses some major responsibilities of this role.

It is the responsibility of the surveyor to manage, investigate, validate, quantify, and deal with all losses (can be of the insured or a third-party) arising due to a contingency. According to the case, the surveyor shall submit a report on the same to the insurance company. All licensed surveyors must perform their duties with full professional integrity, objectivity, and competence. The surveyor must stick to the code of conduct as mentioned in the regulations.
Declaration of conflict of interest: If the surveyor has an interest in the subject matter under loss assessment, then, the surveyor must declare the issue of conflict to the insurer and should stay away from the complete exercise of assessment. Suppose, a car is damaged due to a fire accident, but this car belongs to the father of the surveyor. In such a case, due to a conflict of interest, the surveyor cannot survey the damage endured by the aforesaid car. Further, he must declare the relationship to the insurer and must not conduct the survey.
In the loss assessment exercise, the surveyor must remain neutral and maintain confidentiality. The surveyor must keep the interest of both the insurer and the insured in mind.
The surveyor must do a thorough investigation of the circumstances and the cause of the situation in question.
A surveyor must perform the spot-survey personally and only then should comment on whether the case comes under the category of under-insurance or excess-insurance.
Give advice to the insurer about minimization of loss, security and safety measures, or perform efforts to control the loss.
If there is any discrepancy in the wordings of the policy, the surveyor must point that out.
Resolve the claim queries of both the insured and insurer.
To recommend the applicability of depreciation and its quantum and percentage.
Comment on salvage and its disposal.

Claim Settlement Process for Cashless Claims

As soon as the surveyor receives all the relevant documents and finds them in order, the order to work on the damaged car is given to the garage.
The surveyor can conduct a re-survey after the completion of repair process at the garage.
The Delivery Order (DO) is issued by the insurance provider after receiving the repairs invoice from the garage.
The garage is allowed to release the repaired vehicle after collecting the duly-signed ‘Satisfaction Voucher’ from the policyholder.

Claim Settlement Process for Reimbursement Claims

Once the insured car is repaired in the preferred garage of the insured, he/she can claim for reimbursement. However, it is mandatory to report the damage or the accident to the insurance provider and get the damage inspected by the appointed surveyor in usually within 48 hours of the accident.
Submit the original invoice for repairs, as provided by the garage, and receipt of payment to the insurance provider.
As soon as all the required documents are approved, the money is reimbursed.

Documents Required for Car Insurance Claim Submission

Claim form signed by the insured.

The copy of RC of the vehicle with its original keys

Copy of the driving license

Original policy copy

The original FIR copy in case of theft

Photocopies of the PAN card, driving license, and registration certificates of the insured