Many people feel that filing a claim for a motor insurance in India is a rather unpleasant process which they prefer not to go through, given a chance.
Unless one has done their homework thoroughly before taking a motor insurance policy, a bad claim experience is going to be inevitable.
If however, you did your research and opted for a comprehensive motor insurance policy from a renowned company, you can be, rest assured of a seamless claim approval and dispersal experience.
For example, with more than 92% claim settlement ratio IFFCO Tokio is rated as one of the industry leaders in fair settlement of claims, and thus if you were to choose a policy from them, you can come to expect seamless claim settlement.
What is a Motor Insurance Claim?
A formal request made by the policyholder to the insurance company requesting them to reimburse specified insurance amount as agreed in the policy. The company then reviews the claim request by making sure it is genuine and valid enough to be approved.
Indeed, it is unfair to blame the insurance company for following their standard procedures before reimbursing claims. The motor insurance companies operate within a set of stringent rules where they are expected to do a thorough investigation before honouring the claim.
Here are a few helpful tips on how to get an auto insurance claim processed quickly and easily:
Prompt Filing of the Claim
Though you would be shaken by the experience of an incident that was the cause for damaging your vehicle or you, the claim filing has to be done immediately.
Usually, insurance companies have a 24 x 7 toll-free number, where once you give them the details, the agent or the company will reach out to you to start with the process of the claim.
Why we reiterate that an early filing of a claim is important is because the earlier you file, the earlier the reimbursement will be received. Especially when there is a third party liability in the claim, your bills are reimbursed on time.
Be Ready with the Documents
The relevant documents, neatly organized in a folder, must be kept ready while filing the claim.
Important documents such as the police report in case of an accident or car repairs to be initiated for the damages or medical expenses for injury and treatment, every bill must be kept safe for claims.
The motor insurance company will give you the list of mandatory documents you have to carry along while filing for the claim.
Good Track Record
At the time of filing for a claim, it is always a plus to have a good track record. Once your records are under scrutiny, the process may take a little longer than usual.
So, filing a claim should be done on time and on priority. The time taken to receive the claim depends on the claimed reason, whether there has been an accident or a theft.
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Different scenarios when filing motor insurance claims
1. In the case of an accident, the first thing to do is to start the claim process immediately. If the filing is delayed, there will be untoward problems to be faced as the insurer would definitely question the delayed filing.
The motor insurance company will help you tow the car or let you be there for the estimate of the repairs. Turnaround time to get the claim amount is one day. Sometimes it can be more, depending on the complexity of the issue.
2. In the case of a theft, the claim amount is delayed as hunting down the thief is very time consuming and tedious. Normally, the cops take 3 months or 90 days to search for your car.
The report filed with the police along with other documents must be given to the insurance company. At the time of investigation, they will ask you for the spare key as well. Once the insurance agent is convinced about the theft of the vehicle, he will issue the claim amount within 30 days.
We are aware that early filing of the claim is beneficial to the policyholder as the claim settlement will also have to be sped up. There are quite a few benefits of filing a claim immediately.
Plus, the advantage of paperless transactions is when the insurance company decides to pay the policyholder the claim amount directly for repairs of the motor vehicle or for the hospital expenses.
3. Under a third party claim where a third party is involved, the policyholder needs to make certain that the accident gets reported instantly to the motor insurance company.
On the flip side, if you are the victim where someone’s vehicle was involved, you need to make a claim on the policy held by the other party.
4. Own damage claim happens when your vehicle is damaged in an accident. The claim filing has to be done on priority as the insurance company will depute a surveyor to access the extent of damage and its value.
Good-to-follow practices
a. When your motor insurance policy offers cashless services, the prudent thing to do is get your claim procedure started as soon as possible.
This way you give the surveyor has enough time to value the extent of damages before honouring the claim order for payment.
b. When your vehicle has been stolen, the instinctive thing to do is file a complaint in the police station and get your insurance company notified about the theft with the necessary details.
This procedure allows the police department and the motor insurance company to work in coordination to try and retrieve the lost vehicle. Only when the police declare the stolen vehicle is not been traced, the claim amount gets settled.
Every policyholder must read the guidelines and regulations mentioned when buying motor insurance online, before signing it.
People tend to sign even without reading the procedure fully. At least when there has been an accident or theft, the policyholder must read through the document to start the claim process.
Image Credits: Google Images
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