How to File a Motor Claim

What do I do first after an accident?

Make people safe. Then photograph everything before it is moved. Wide shots of the road and both vehicles. Close shots of the damage. The other vehicle’s number plate.

Now intimate the claim. Use the insurer’s app or helpline, and get a claim reference number in writing. IRDAI circular IRDA/NL/Cir/Misc/129/07/2015 quotes the rule. The insured “shall give notice to the insurer of any loss” at the earliest. On receiving it, a general insurer “shall respond immediately and give clear indication to the insured on the procedures that he should follow”. That 2002 regulation has since been replaced. Treat the wording as the standard the regulator set, not as a currently notified rule.

When is a surveyor appointed, and by whom?

This is the part almost nobody knows. The 2015 IRDAI circular is explicit. Where a surveyor has to be appointed, “it shall be so done within 72 hours of the receipt of intimation from the insured”. Only two parties may appoint one. The insurer, or you. Not the garage, and not your agent. Insurers cannot outsource the appointment at all. Be there when the survey happens. Once the report is filed, arguing about missed damage is far harder.

There is a size threshold too. Regulation 12A(2) of the Insurance Surveyors and Loss Assessors Regulations, 2000, as amended in 2013, puts a licensed surveyor on losses “above rupees twenty thousand”. Below that, the insurer can settle without one. That is why a small dent clears in a day and a bigger repair does not.

Do I need an FIR to claim motor insurance?

Not always, and this is where readers get bad advice. The regulation does not decide it. Your policy wording does, and so does the nature of the incident.

Our practical rule is editorial judgement, not a regulation. File an FIR whenever another person is involved. That covers any injury or death, damage to somebody else’s vehicle or property, and theft of your own. A police record is the evidence the insurer and, later, a tribunal will ask for. For a solo scrape with no third party, most insurers do not require one. Ask on the intimation call. Note the answer against your claim reference.

If somebody is hurt, your insurer does not settle that claim. It goes to the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. Third party liability is why motor insurance is compulsory in India at all. Our page on third party versus comprehensive cover explains what each half pays for.

Cashless or reimbursement — which should I choose?

Cashless, if a network garage is within reach. The insurer settles directly with the garage and you pay only the deductible and any non-payable items. Reimbursement means you pay the full bill and claim it back, and you carry the risk of the surveyor disallowing a line.

The trap is the network list. It changes, and the garage’s word is not proof. Check the insurer’s own list before you tow. If the only competent workshop is off-network, take reimbursement. Keep every invoice, towing included.

What will the insurer not pay?

Three things catch most people. Depreciation on replaced parts, unless you bought a zero-depreciation add-on. Consumables like engine oil, coolant and nuts and bolts, unless you bought that add-on too. And the compulsory deductible, which is fixed and not negotiable.

Then there are the rejections. Driving without a valid licence. Driving under the influence. Using a private car commercially. And consequential damage. The common one is restarting a waterlogged engine, which turns a covered flood claim into an excluded one. Do not start the car after a flood. Tow it. Our car insurance page compares what the add-ons actually do.

Your payout is capped by the insured declared value, not by what the car cost you. If the repair estimate nears the IDV, the insurer declares a total loss and pays the IDV less deductions. Our IDV explained page covers how that number is set. The IDV calculator lets you test it before renewal.

Should I claim at all?

Often, no. A claim resets your no claim bonus to zero. That bonus is a discount on the own-damage premium, and it grows with each claim-free year. For a small repair, the discount you surrender over the next few renewals can exceed what you recover. Run it through the no claim bonus calculator first, and read how the no claim bonus works. Intimating and then withdrawing a claim is usually possible. Repairing quietly and claiming later is not.

What if the insurer delays or rejects the claim?

Ask for the rejection in writing, with the policy clause relied on. Insurers are noticeably more careful once a reason has to be named. Escalate to the insurer’s grievance officer next. If that fails, take it to the Insurance Ombudsman. Our page on IRDAI rules and grievance redress sets out the route.