[T-Bone]

Few days ago, Team-BHP had reported this,

https://www.team-bhp.com/news/insure...rkshop-opinion

Based on the above, I guess the vehicle owner can file a case against the insurer. Also may be show the insurance agent the above news which will make them think again

[murcie]

Looking at this thread, Im feeling lucky.

I had zero depreciation policy from Royal Sundaram for my Hexa which had to be renewed this month. Looking at the current situation with no significant usage of the car in foreseeable future, I scouted around and got a policy with the same cover and IDV for almost half the price(55%) from Acko. My phone was ringing just now with a followup call from RS while I was reading the thread.

[clementw]

I remember reading in the paper of a similar case where the insurance company disregarded the advice of the authorized service centre for total loss instead of repairs. The court awarded the owner total loss minus depreciation albeit after a long drawn case of a few years.

[BLACNWYTE]

I have insured my scooter with RS, but the good thing is that it will be over this October and I'm not going back.

For the car I usually go with what the dealer offer, but last time their quote was the same as that of the year before and at a lower IDV than I then had. So I chose to go insurance shopping online and got one from New India Assurance at 2/3rd the cost and better IDV from Policy Bazaar. It doesn't have cashless claim with dealer workshop but the office if the insurer is in the same building as my office so if at all I have to talk to them (hopefully I won't have to, touchwood) its just a floor down

[ads295]

Perhaps this link may be of relevance to you.

https://www.team-bhp.com/news/insure...rkshop-opinion

[Gannu_1]

Sheethal shares some additional information related to the incident. There's more to it than meets the eye!

Initially when Royal Sundaram suggested repair with body shell child parts:

Owner sends a confirmation mail to the verbal communication:

The mail from Royal Sundaram's Deputy Manager suggesting repair is doable with child parts:

Owner responds suggesting repair isn't an option since Ford isn't agreeing to what Royal Sundaram is suggesting. This goes around in circles and the owner is being unduly pressurised into a repair.

Owner writes to Ford with his grievance:

After close to 45 days of waiting and zero response, the owner unwillingly succumbs to the pressure and writes to Ford and Sundaram willing to go ahead with the repairs:

Which Royal Sundaram gladly confirms but Sheethal who is a bit more knowledgeable in these aspects steps in and asks him to put a hold to the repairs confirmation:

And the Owner takes back the confirmation he gave before realising the safety of the car could be compromised due to the repairs:

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by Sedate

I have seen all the anger towards insurance companies - but are we to blame a bit on the body shops also?

I am in now way condoning the response from Royal Sundaram and is also not justifying them. But thinking in an alternate dimension, about what is making insurers take these harsh business decisions which is alienating customers from them.

That is a lame excuse for the insurance industry which claims to be a professional organisation. They should have the ability to determine which is a fraud claim and which is not. The answer to curb fraud claims is not commit fraud on genuine customers. And in almost all such fraud claims, their own employees/agents/surveyors are in cahoots with the garage.

[Vitalstatistiks]

This thread has been an eye opener- not only for Royal Sundaram's practices, but also to understand that there is something called CHILD PARTS.

What is it, I am still trying to figure but I will not stop in my quest. It will be great if someone here could clarify what exactly is being referred to. Thanks!

[Funny]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

What is it, I am still trying to figure but I will not stop in my quest. It will be great if someone here could clarify what exactly is being referred to. Thanks!

Child parts is a term used by Ford to refer to sub-parts of a part. Instead of changing the whole part which can cost substantial amount, Ford provides smaller sub-parts of the main part to reduce costs of repair in case of damage. More info can be found at this link: Ford Child Parts

Originally Posted by pareekvirendra

I am not really aware as to how responsive Iffco Tokio is. So, is it advisable to change the insurer just for Zero DEP policy?

We had a decent experience with Iffco Tokio during our last claim which was for 1.3 lacs out of which we had to bear 3K and the rest was directly transferred to Ford from Iffco Tokio (cashless). Although there was a slight delay in the whole process, I would mostly renew my insurance with Iffco Tokio itself.
Note: They are tied up with Ford under the Ford Assurance Program.

[Voodooblaster]

Originally Posted by chiefpk

I really appreciate the Government's decision regarding the reduction of compulsory insurance to 1 year from existing 3 years, one of the main reason being the services and satisfaction of the insurer. If you like it for the first year then keep them otherwise change your insurance provider.

There are 2 component for every motor insurance policy sold in india.

Compulsory liability part - This is to compensate victims for accident caused by our vehicle. Even now, you have to take it mandatorily for 3 years {pvt car - PC} and 5 years { 2 wheelers - TW} . This is due to a Supreme Court order

Optional Own Damage part - This section pays for damages to the car caused by accident. There was an option for customers to take it either for just 1 year, or for the full policy duration(3 year for PC/5 year for TW) till 31 July 20.
Most dealers sold policies with own damage cover for one year only. Reason: They get roughly 15% commission on Own Damage premium if it's taken separately for each year. If the customer took own damage section for 3 years at a stretch, dealer gets only 5% in subsequent years.

So, the stories doing rounds in social media that insurance prices will come down is a myth since 90% of long term motor insurance policies had only 1 year own damage cover.

From 1 Aug 2020, you can have take damage cover for 1 year only. Then renew every year. Insurance company can hike rates/deny coverage on renewal based on their claims experience

Originally Posted by VKumar

I very strongly believe in the 'arm twisting' power one possess. and recently I have seen the same happening too. I was facing some issue with the Reliance as my diesel car has went for a repair in which even the ECU replacement is also needed.

I gave a call to body shop manager and told him that it's already 15 days, I have never seen such a delay in claim processes. He took the Reliance guy on the line with me, told Reliance guy to take his manager on the line. Now we 4 had conversation and the last two statements sealed the entire conversation:

Body shop manager (In full anger): Yeh hamare acche customer hain, 4 saal se koi claim nahi liya, tumko paisa de rahe hain har saal. Bhai tum aise hamare customers ke sath karoge toh hume bhi fir dekhna padega (This is our good customer, has been paying you since 4 years without any claim, if you will do this to our customers, then we will have to see)

Reliance Manager: Give me 10 min sir, I will check and get back.

After 10 minutes, entire claim worth over 2.1 lac was approved.

So, my point is rather simple, if your service station is giving them business worth lacs and even crores per year, they possess the 'arm twisting' power too. And if you have right relation with right guys - you are never going to face a headache at least.

Was the ECU replacement necessitated due to accidental damage ? If not, insurance company need not pay for it. Moreover arm twisting, especially when it's unfair is not a pleasant experience for the recipient

[VivekCherian]

While talking to Sheethal, got some updates on this case. The Ecosport was finally delivered on 28th December after completing all the work. Similar to how the discussion was progressing earlier, they finally changed the entire body shell and did not end up using child parts as the owner agreed to pay 10K towards the body shell. Total down time was about 7 months ( 3 months spent in back and forth emails, 3 months to complete the work, and 1 month to procure all clearances).

He also shared a photo of the repaired car along with majority of the parts that were replaced laid out next to the car



The final amount paid by Royal Sundaram was around 5.77 lakhs. That plus the 23K (10K for the body shell and 13K for consumables) that the owner paid brought up the total to 6 lakhs for the repair work.

[amalji]

I was considering Royal Sundaram myself as one of the options for my Innova Crysta. I did my research, saw this thread and was shell shocked to see that someone could resort to such unethical strategies.

This is the email, I sent back to Royal Sundaram when I denied their quotation.



The irony is that they have good claim settlement ratio. But, if that claim settlement ratio is achieved by forcing the manufacturer to repair rather than respect total loss for such accidents, then that's as bad as having a low claim settlement ratio.

[Cresterk]

It's insane that the insurance company managed to strong arm the dealer into repairing a clear write off. Generally dealers will give an inflated repair bill to force the insurer to total the car in such situations. This is why sometimes you get repair bills that cost more than the car itself. I wonder why the dealership didn't just give some 15-20L estimated repair cost quote to make the insurance company back off and just pay out the IDV.