[ketantendulkar]

My beloved Sparky met with an accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway almost two months back and things are finally limping back to normal so that a post was long due.

The pictures say it all when on a chilly October morning the left tyre burst and the car pulled to the left from the middle lane and ended up thus:

(see pictures attached at the end)

My family escaped almost unhurt in comparison to the disaster, though the post accident effects would last for long gruelling weeks - it was as if the car has taken the complete blow upon itself and saved us all.

THANK YOU DEAR SPARKY. YOUR UNTIMELY DEMISE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AND YOU WILL BE SORELY MISSED.

Post-accident:

The IRB highway team IMMEDIATELY came to our rescue, we were pulled out and the car which was overturned was pushed over so that it lay on its four wheels again. An ambulance came within minutes nay seconds. We were witnessing a live miracle.

A police officer came to survey the site and recorded my statement. We then had to go to the Lonavala police station and the chief there took inputs from the accompanying officer and started the enquiry. The police officer's behaviour was EXPEMPLARY - there was no bribe, no harrassment, he was as helpful as he could be. The FIR took a long time to record with minute attention to details and he cross-questioned me and my wife till he was satisfied. Kudos to these men. They represent the spirit of Anna Hazare's movement.

Insurance Claim:

The insurance saga deserves another thread and sadly this is what people ailing after an accident have to face in our country:

ICICI Lombard's authorized Pashankar Body Workshop where we towed the vehicle to has estimated in the excess of Rupees Five Lakhs to repair the car. Pashankar charged Rs.300 per day as "Parking Charges" and took a leisurely week to prepare the estimate.

If we had kept the vehicle still with Pashankar Garage (we had to again tow it back to our premises) we can well multiply the Rs.300 per day charge it comes to Rs.30,000. Duh?


The IDV on the policy is slightly higher than Rs.2,10,000.

ICICI surveyors are stll verbally "negotiating" with us saying that they will pay maximum Rs.1.5 lakhs including scrappage since "market value" of my vehicle is not more than this amount.


To me it seems a clear case of the insurance company dishonouring their policy wordings which clearly states the following:

" 'IDV' shall be treated as the 'Market Value' throughout the policy period without any further depreciation for the purpose of Total Loss (TL) / Constructive Total Loss (CTL) claims.

The insured vehicle shall be treated as a CTL if the aggregate cost of retrieval and / or repair of the vehicle, subject to terms and conditions of the policy, exceeds 75% of the IDV of the vehicle."


I am planning to stay firm on my stand that I WILL NOT settle for less than full IDV of my vehicle.

I am firm that I will leave no stone unturned to get what is fair and mine. This would include approaching ICICI Lombard Senior Management, appealing to IRDA, appealing to the ombudsman authority and finally if things don't work out then legal proceedings against ICICI Lombard.

I hope I receive full support from Team-BHPians for my just cause.

[sdp1975]

Sorry to hear of the accident. Good to hear that nobody was injured.

How did the tyre burst ? I am assuming it was a tubeless ? Was the burst on the sidewall ?

[deehunk]

Sorry for the incident, but tubeless tyres have the tendancy to burst. I have heard some 2 incidents so far, problem lies in detecting a puncture on tubeless tyres. I know people running for 300+ km with running puncture.

[aravind84]

It was indeed a relief after I read through your post that no one was injured.

Am sure, what you are planning to do is right. Will the insurance co accept if we say we will pay a 1000 INR less premium bcos that's what the market says is worth.

It's crap and am sure u will get the right support from this group. Also IRDA is pretty tough on its rules and will not leave ICICI take you for a chance.

This is where public insurance companies takes the lead. Though there is lack of service but there is no fooling around of customers

[ketantendulkar]

The theory of randomness takes over (just read "Fooled by Randomness" by Nicholas Nassim Taleb) - as can be seen from these lots of experiences by Team-BHPians:


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...-new-xylo.html


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...yre-burst.html


Just shows that one cannot be too careful. A random number somewhere flips and can take out a perfectly planned vacation to shreds.

Touchwood. All of you drive safe and be happy to be alive.

[splitsecond]

Your cars other tires looks in good condition then how did the tire burst? How much KM it had run?

[Mpower]

What kind/brand of tires were you running...tubed or tubeless?

Please post a close-up picture of the burst tire

[ketantendulkar]

Hi Aaravind,

Thank you for your post, reassuring words and moral support.

I will definitely go the IRDA way if ICICI Lombard does not honour its policy contract.

There are no words to describe how I feel about this car now. I definitely give it a five-star or even seven-star safety rating - all the crumple zones worked and kept the passenger cabin safe.

Hats of to the manufacturers!

I am also planning of shifting all my motor / scooter insurances to other government companies where there may be slightly more hassles but none of the "bargaining" tendencies that seem to be cropping up with this insurer.

Regards,
Ketan

[SDP]

Sorry to hear about your ordeal. Good that nobody got seriously injured.

Please take ICICI Lombard guys to task. A lot of these private insurance players seem to believe that their only job is to collect the insurance premiums.

[sdp1975]

OE tyres on the Spark are tubeless - 155/70 R13 Tubeless.

Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LT, Chevrolet Spark 1.0 LS & Chevrolet Spark 1.0 Specifications

Still can't figure out how a tubeless can burst.

[rajeev k]

Lucky that it did not went into some other vehicle and happy to know that everyone is safe.
BTB all the private insurance company behaves this way unless the vehicle is new or almost new. All the good words turn sour the moment a claim is lodged. There could have been a change had you taken the car to Chevrolet service where the Chevy guys would have taken care. Just hope.
How old is the car and how many kms? Tyre brand?

[ketantendulkar]

Which insurance company is the most reliable for settling claims?

If I really calculate, after paying four yearly premiums (the car was four years old) I have already given 30k to 40k to ICICI and now have to go through this hassle.

What's the use?



Since an accident is a probability event, NOT buying comprehensive insurance might work out to the same amount after x number of years. Since even if the event occurs then these companies will ensure that you do not get your money's worth, so I am now coming to the opinion that putting the difference amount in an FD / NSC etc might be a better option since the "event" of the money growing at a compounded 8% (minimum) interest for say 5 years would still be a better bet than putting money down the drain with these tight fisted insurance companies.

What do all of you feel?

NOTE: I am speaking of this calculation with respect to small cars only - for cars costing more of course that 8% annual return would barely grow to seem meaningful, but in this case the IDV of the car has shrunk to 2,10,000 in four years and I have already paid Rs.40,000 to the insurer as premium which means that if ICICI Lombard thinks it is being magnanimous by giving me a lower-than-IDV compensation Rs.1,50,000 they forget to take into account that after deducting the premium paid I am getting only 1,10,000.

If I had instead invested the "premium" in a 8% GOI bond I would have easily gotten 65,000 out of it. Or if I had invested it in a 11% FD I would have gotten 85,000 out of it. - and this is guaranteed - if I had not had an accident then I would be left with 85,000 so feel that this is approaching the figure of 1,10,000 - so why gamble on insurance and instead not take a sure bet?

[SDP]

^^
I prefer National Insurance or The New India Assurance any day over a whole bunch of private players. They do not advertise, the premiums would be very similar and paying premium and getting the policy would be slightly painful. But when you need them (in case of accident), they don't harass you.

[krish82]

Originally Posted by ketantendulkar

Which insurance company is the most reliable for settling claims?

If I really calculate, after paying four yearly premiums (the car was four years old) I have already given 30k to 40k to ICICI and now have to go through this hassle.

What's the use?



Since an accident is a probability event, NOT buying comprehensive insurance might work out to the same amount after x number of years. Since even if the event occurs then these companies will ensure that you do not get your money's worth, so I am now coming to the opinion that putting the difference amount in an FD / NSC etc might be a better option since the "event" of the money growing at a compounded 8% (minimum) interest for say 5 years would still be a better bet than putting money down the drain with these tight fisted insurance companies.

What do all of you feel?

NOTE: I am speaking of this calculation with respect to small cars only - for cars costing more of course that 8% annual return would barely grow to seem meaningful, but in this case the IDV of the car has shrunk to 2,10,000 in four years and I have already paid Rs.40,000 to the insurer as premium which means that if ICICI Lombard thinks it is being magnanimous by giving me a lower-than-IDV compensation Rs.1,50,000 they forget to take into account that after deducting the premium paid I am getting only 1,10,000.

If I had instead invested the "premium" in a 8% GOI bond I would have easily gotten 65,000 out of it. Or if I had invested it in a 11% FD I would have gotten 85,000 out of it. - and this is guaranteed - if I had not had an accident then I would be left with 85,000 so feel that this is approaching the figure of 1,10,000 - so why gamble on insurance and instead not take a sure bet?

Sorry for this blow, look very scary, Actually insurance should settle the IDV value promised, but i have never read the lengthy booklet of clauses that comes with any insurance deal.

But through insurance dont look at your cars damage alone, it sometimes helps to get claim if you hit others cars, or in event of injury or death to other persons also insurance settles the amount other members correct me if i am wrong. You are lucky to escape with this accident i should say as you did not hit others or neither your family was injured. So god has given a second life, what 50k 100k? this you will earn in some months pal. Although this should not be the reason for the insurance company to get away, i think insurance company people performance will be measured on the rate IDV - Rate they give!

[ketantendulkar]

Thank you for your kind words.

It is indeed a second life for all of us. God's and forefather's blessings are with us, as is nature's bounty and we are thankful for all of that.

While I know that I must not spend my life fretting over the difference in IDV amount and claim settlement amount, I wish this process was smoother and less repulsive. If I fight now I will at least ensure that all the cases after me are not meted the same inhuman treatment when the cost to the company is really negligible... just think of what extra margin of profit will ICICI achieve by shaving off these piddling amounts from already anguished and suffering policy holders? In fact you would be already aware that a casino / gambling establishment and an insurance company operate on the same basic principles of risk / reward and probability – so shouldn’t the insurance companies be at least as honest as the Las Vegas Casinos?