[mayankjha1806]

Happy to see everyone was safe after the accident, having such an accident at decent speeds on a highway can be really fetal, and the car's safety features did its job well.

I am still wondering how come the tubeless burst, they usually do not and thats one of the reasons they are considered safer then the tubed tyres.

[Mik]

This reaffirms my faith in the Spark being one of the safest hatches around.
Last year a colleague of mine had a head on collision with a Qualis(no less) at alcohol induced speeds. The Qualis had almost 1/2 of its engine bay squashed and the spark almost 3/4th. Seatbelts saved his life though it did create an unusual problem.
A burst gall bladder (what with him being high and full)

Oh yes, he did face a similar IDV issue. Last i know, he settled for lesser value since it was a two way street (the alcohol aspect was conveniently ignored)
In your case, do hold firm.

[Samurai]

Sorry about the accident, but glad to hear everybody is okay.

Regarding your insurance claim, you are dealing with ICICI Lombard, which is one of the most dishonest insurance company. They have quite a history in the forum.

Here is the most famous one: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...assed-law.html (ICICI - Blatant cheating of customers & the (In)justice that is passed of as the law)

[sudev]

Insurance - as pointed out by others - also covers third party liabilities. Though these were small in past the MV Tribunal is now granting losses in proportion to earning capacity in case of loss of third party human life. So not having insurance apart from being against law of land is very dangerous.

That said from Insurance company angle any IDV declared is not automatically assumed. For instance for a car worth 5 lacs you can declare IDV of 7 lacs and get insurance by paying premium for that value. However when claim is settled only market value would be taken. This is indeed grey area - market value - and that is where surveyors come in. Technically they are supposed to be independent and are assigned cases by Insurance company.

Some questions: Is there possibility of asking for another value assessment? Do not accept verbal claim/discussions. Why is he not giving it in writing?

PS: I went through a total loss claim myself ten odd years back with a public sector insurer but had to settle for a lower market value as "auto" boxes do not have high re-sale value in market.

PPS: A car straight out of showroom also have lesser IDV than the billed price. SO in theory you loose they day you take the car out of showroom

[ghodlur]

@ketan,

Sad to see the Sparky go this way, but good to hear everyone was safe and unhurt.

Suprisingly to me all the tyres look OK, which one did go bust? Was it the frontal or the rear one?

I just replied to your post in the Automobile Insurance thread. If ICICI is not honoring the policy then you should communicate to IRDA on their website. Do keep us updated.

[sinhead]

Ketan, sorry to hear about this accident & good to know the car kept you safe.
Many years ago, my matiz was hit from the side & turned turtle. I escaped unhurt. A very well built car it was.

In my case, parking charges were waived off after a lot of negotiation.

I prefer to stick to "govt companies" when it comes to insurance.
Even I'm tilting towards going for just the 3rd party insurance instead of comprehensive insurance.

[mohandasnikhil]

We'll I have a couple of experiences in dealing with similar incidents.

The 1st involved the theft of our Zen D. We had New India Assurance and they gave us hell for the claim settlement. Till the case was closed we still had to continue paying EMIs. After 6months the Insurance Company agreed to settle the claim. The car had an IDV of 4.2lakhs. They initially claimed that since the model wasnt a popular one it was difficult to ascertain the value of the car. After A LOT of negotiations, and some under the table offering they settled the deal at 3.1lakhs. This amount was just a little bit more than to cover the Loan Amount outstanding on the car.

The second involved a major accident of again a Zen, this time an VX in 2005. The car had an IDV of 1.6l. The insurer was ICICI Lombard. The repair bill came up to 78k, and ICICI Lombard covered upto 48k without any hassles. It was a 4yr old car so depreciation on parts was a fair bit. The only problem was that it was not a cashless settlement.

In my experience it was always been easier to deal with private insurance players.

[ketantendulkar]

Hi Sudev,

Thank you for your constructive advice. I wasn't saying not to take insurance at all. All I said was we can only purchase a third party liability policy and "invest" the remaining amount to reap a sure benefit whether there is an accident or not (and even if there is - this sure amount matches the petty amount offered by the insurer 5 years down the line). I know that this is fuzzy use of probability theory, but in my case the figures add up.

Also, regarding IDV - this is what the insurer assumes as the RISK AMOUNT. They do not assume MARKET VALUE AT CLAIM TIME as the risk amount. Then why is this a grey area? It is a grey area because the insurer wants us to believe so. If we are firm we can stand up against these negotiation tactics.

That is what I plan to do.

nikhil, sorry to hear about your sorry experience with the government players too. Insurance has started indeed looking like a lucrative win-win business to me.

P.S.: Regarding the burst front left tyre, I will try to get some snaps in... actually we have wrapped the car up in our society premises in yards of tarapulin as lot of folks (kids and even grown ups) used to life the car cover to gawk at "look ma, what a bad accident it was".

[gauravdgr8]

Ketan, though it is good to know that the entire family is safe, sad to read about your sweet li'l car.

GM cars are actually built solidly and it is to be seen here.

Insurance is a must, as in such a situation, on someone's hospitalization, your car insurance company takes care of everything.

Could you let me know what was the speed of the car when the tyre went kaput? Was it not a tubeless one as generally tubeless ones do not turtle.

Nevertheless, wish you loads of luch with the insurance company. And do not wait for them to revert, lodge a complain with the IRDA ombudsman on their website right away.

[ketantendulkar]

Hi Gaurav, I had finished with the Lonavala ghats and was cruising at 60 KMPH (I distinctly remember seeing the needle at 60) - which is hardly any speed at all on the Expressway. Since we were going at a leisurely pace I was sticking to the middle lane and these being Diwali days there was very very little traffic.

The tyre was a tubelesss tyre - the OE tyre provided with Spark.

Also, I wish to reiterate that I am not opposing taking insurance. I was only trying to advocate taking the bare minimum insurance that is legally required henceforth.

I think I should go ahead with the IRDA complaint.

[Lalvaz]

Sorry to hear about your accident. Good to know that your car bore the brunt of the accident and you and your family members are safe and sound.

Regarding the insurance company, I have so far never had to deal with an insurance claim for my car, but I think we are a little unfair at blaming the pvt insurers. The fact is that all the insurance cos in India take us for a toss. Name one company in Life/Mediclaim/Auto who pays up fair and square when they have a claim.

There are numerous cases, including my own, wherein Mediclaim does not pay up claims in full even for clear cases such as cataract, inspite of over 10 years claim free record, its always lower than the amount claimed or at the very least, delayed claim settlement.

Ironically, these same insurers regularly collude with dishonest claimants to make fraudulent claims. I know of atleast one Tourist taxi operator who used to file a claim every year and get atleast a third of the IDV, inspite of his vehicles being accident free. This is all in collusion with the surveyor and the insurance officials.

No wonder then that most people involved in accidents dont even bother to lodge insurance claims for small accidents, its far easier to just pay from your pocket and move on.

IRDA needs to seriously look into this matter and pronto.

[mac187]

That looks like a nasty hit that little Sparky took. There is also an alternate way of suing the car and tyre manufacturer. But that would take years.

Regarding Insurance take it to IRDA and ombudsman. These guys wont budge so easily.

[anupamsinha]

Hi Ketan,

We also lost our car due to theft. We were also told something of this sort. We knew someone from the same insurance company. So before this call came in (from the surveyor) we were aware that the person on the other side will be saying something of this sort. For example :- " Sir the current value of the car is X Rs. The IDV is X but there is depreciation. So we will only give you X - Y Rs."

The person from the insurance company had told us just tell them (the surveyors) that by the law (there was high court ruling that said that the company will have to reimburse the IDV amount in case of total loss. If they feel there is any depreciation to be factored in they should do it at the time of selling the policy. So if the policy is bought 1 or 100 days back the amount to paid in case of total loss will be IDV). We just told him the same, and in case of repeated calls was told the same though in much much much stern manner.

We got the complete IDV in our case minus the claim charges which I guess was Rs. 500 or so. Plus there are other steps were to be followed like transferring the RC in their name etc. Just try the same. I am sure it should work in your case also.

Best of luck.

[saintsinner]

view my thread too. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-resolved.html

consult member rjvora_2000. ICICI Lombard is the no. 1 cheater in the insurance market. they have not honored one claim till date and always find reasons to get away, thinking the consumer is lame. once you the details, facts in place - send them notices from lawyer, they need to be threatened or else they will not do anything. Search ICICI in this section, you will be surprised.

Again my advice to everyone who reads this, do let your friends/family know what ICICI Lombard does.

[MrinalSinha]

My 2 cents here:

1. By law - Having a 3rd Party Coverage is mandatory. Without it driving a vehicle is illegal.
2. The premium paid towards the mandatory 3rd party coverage is 940/-(for sub 1.8L engine category), IIRC(It is definitely in a very close range).
3. Insurance is one approach to mitigate your risk of financial losses incurred in case of an accident or a theft. If you evaluate the coverage you get vs the premium you pay, based on your risk appetite, you can very well choose to invest premium in a place where you can get better returns. Like, we do not get a comprehensive cover for our cars for which the IDV is less than 1.5 Lakhs.
4. In case of total loss, you are entitled for the IDV mentioned in your policy - the deductible (usually 500 or 1000/-). Stay put for the total amount.

PS - ICICI (be it the Banking, loan, CC or the Insurance division) have been the worst in terms of honoring customer claims. Once you are through the episode, avoid them, at all fronts. Advice everyone in your circle to do the same. This the best way we can hurt them.

thanks,
Mrinal.