How to Claim Car Insurance After Accident
A car insurance claim begins with a road accident. The nature of the accident could be two vehicles colliding on the road or a car colliding with an immovable object due to the driver’s negligence. Whatever be the case, filing for a car insurance claim requires you to follow a procedure.
When you get involved in an accident, it is natural that you feel a gust of emotions. The situation can be even more stressful if you suffer some body injuries. But you must try to remain calm and think about how to get out of the situation. Know how to claim for car insurance after an accident in order to pay for the expenses.
Steps to follow for claiming car insurance after an accident
1. Inform your insurer
Initiate the car insurance claim by informing the car insurance company as soon as possible about the accident and the magnitude of it. Most insurers have a time limit to inform them about the accident, if you fail to intimate them within the deadline, your claim may be rejected.
2. File an FIR at the nearest police station
it is equally vital to file an FIR at a police station. The FIR is an important document that the insurers need to settle claims for physical injuries and damages to the car. The police officials will visit the accident spot to assess whether the accident happened due to mechanical failure or not. The officials will also record details of the driver, witnesses at the spot, and passengers involved in the accident.
3. Click pictures or take a video for evidence
Car accidents can be extremely stressful to deal with but even at such times, you must be aware of the situation and try to click pictures of the accident and gather evidence. It will be useful to support your case during the car insurance claim process. You can take pictures of the bodily injuries and damages to the car. They can serve as proof to validate your claim. Besides, it would help if you note down the name and contact details of the witnesses.
4. Submit the necessary documents to the insurance company
After you have filed the FIR and received a copy of it, you can initiate the settlement process by submitting the necessary documents to the insurance company. Make sure that you submit the copies for important documents including car registration certificate, FIR, driving license, insurance, and other papers as required by the insurer.
5. Request the insurer to send a surveyor
After you file the claim form, you must ask your insurer to assign a surveyor to start the inspection process. The surveyor will assess the damages incurred to your car, and he/she may also assist you with choosing the right garage from the insurer’s network to fix the damages. The survey usually takes places within two to three days after you intimate the insurer about the claim.
6. Get your car repaired
After the surveyor has finished the assessment, you must get your car repaired and initiate the car insurance claim policy process. The settlement can be done in two ways. If you prefer a cashless settlement, you can get your car repaired from any of the network garages and the insurer will directly settle the bill with the garage. But if you prefer reimbursement, you must initially pay the repair cost, and submit the original bills and receipts to the insurance company and claim reimbursement.
The claim settlement process for car insurance can be a little challenging to understand, especially if you are filing the claim for the first time. It is therefore suggested that you must read the policy documents carefully to understand the inclusions and exclusions.
