[Spaced Out]

We need a Team Bhp note on best practices if there is an accident. Can cover:
- If self is at fault
- If the other party is at fault
- insurance handling post accident
- police handling
- service centre repair

[Old_Salt]

Originally Posted by Spaced Out

We need a Team Bhp note on best practices if there is an accident. Can cover:

Absolutely agree, brilliant idea. Should be parked on home page so it’s just a click away.

[som9729]

Originally Posted by lokii_83

My questions-

1. REPLY -> Verbal approval means there's a 99% chance you will get the claim amount from the company. However, be ready for some deductions with regards to which parts are covered or not, based on your policy & add-ons.
Also, stay on top of both Service Advisor & insurance company with respect to which parts are approved and which are not approved.

That way the service center can't spring a surprise on you later on.
If any part is not approved, take it up with the insurance.

This will take more time overall, but prevents you from receiving a nasty surprise when picking up the car.

2. REPLY -> Talk to the surveyor directly. Both dealer & surveyor will be accessible to you! Try to get in writing when possible. Verbal assurances are not always binding.

3. REPLY -> With the dealer -> Negotiate hard when its coming from your own pocket.
Most of the times, insurance companies & dealers already have pre-negotiated understandings with regards to cost. Don't jump into this unless required. Remember ,the insurance company is agreeing to these payouts before-hand and only then work begins.[/quote]

Some of my replies are inline above.

Furthermore, look at first attached pic.
This is a traffic accident report. THIS IS NOT A FIR. The police are acknowledging what has happened along with details of damage.
This is what insurance companies want.

FIR is only when action required against another party. Else this is what you need to get.
It has different names in different states, but you get the idea.

Look to get this. It makes it almost impossible for the insurance company to reject your claim.
99% of the time police will hand it to you without major investigation (since there's only damage to your car without serious injuries/fatalities to anyone, incl the other car, or any damage to public property),

Its subject to their discretion. So be clear & honest in your story.

Only the local PS where the accident happened will issue this. PS in other jurisdictions etc, won't get into it typically.

To conclude:

1. Have a word with the surveyor & dealer. Ask them for clear answers.
2. Make sure the Dealer knows to work on what's approved by the surveyor. If anything needs repair but can't be approved by insurance, they need to take your approval before working on it.
3. Get everything in writing. (Look at second attachment. That's an approval email from Royal Sundaram for a minor claim I had made. Everything clear in writing!)
4. Having done the above, do give your approval for the work. You do need to get your car back!!!!
5. Check third attached pic. That's a liability computation sheet that insurers typically give you for all non-cashless claims.

Hope this helps!

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gansan

We contacted the police station but they said nothing could be done now, we should have taken the report on the day it happened!

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

Keep in mind that a small fee might be required to complete the process.

Some three weeks had passed from the date of accident when the insurance people insisted on the police document. I contacted the police station and was open for more than a small fee.

But they said the reports carry a serial number and once some reports had been created during the subsequent days it will not be possible to retrospectively create a back dated report.

He can go there and try.

[raptor_diwan]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Some three weeks had passed from the date of accident when the insurance people insisted on the police document. I contacted the police station and was open for more than a small fee.

But they said the reports carry a serial number and once some reports had been created during the subsequent days it will not be possible to retrospectively create a back dated report.

Police documents, in the sense, are you referring to CSR or FIR? I don't think an FIR can be lodged after the date, but the CSR can be done without any issues. I have done a similar thing a couple of years ago. Maybe things have changed, but creating a CSR should still be possible and insurance agency would only required CSR.

[lokii_83]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

Did you get your policy through one of the online insurance aggregators or it was done locally through an agent? Please reach out to the HQ mentioned on your policy.

I have purchased this via Policy Bazar website.

July 16 update:
I had visited dealer and verified the estimation sheet against the car, the estimation looks good.

Body shop manager said that , he will forward the last email (the email dealer sent to me sharing estimation and seeking approval) to Surveyor and seek his email approval.
Post that confirmation, I am thinking to go ahead to pay advance to dealer. This I hope fine?

Thank you all for various inputs, I will keep this thread updated.

[CarML]

Originally Posted by lokii_83

I have purchased this via Policy Bazar website.

Sorry to hear about this ordeal. The most important fact right now is that you and your family are safe. Yes, there is lot of inconvenience for no mistake of yours. But it will be short lived. Go ahead and make that advance payment and get your car back in shape ASAP. It is not worth getting excessively worried. When we drive a car on the road, any such incident is imminent. We just need to move on.
Hope to see you plan your next road trip soon.
Take care.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Else one should not mention accident at all but claim it happened when the car was parked outside on the road near his home (hit and run).

Well there's a thread about it on the forum with the details so lying about it to the insurance company has an even higher chance of being found out as fraud.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by lokii_83

I have purchased this via Policy Bazar website.

July 16 update:
I had visited dealer and verified the estimation sheet against the car, the estimation looks good.

Body shop manager said that , he will forward the last email (the email dealer sent to me sharing estimation and seeking approval) to Surveyor and seek his email approval.
Post that confirmation, I am thinking to go ahead to pay advance to dealer. This I hope fine?

Thank you all for various inputs, I will keep this thread updated.

Please avoid all public sector insurance companies on these portals. Irrespective of your location, The local HQ is always the place where the aggregator has their company registered. In most cases, it's either Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad or Mumbai. This makes the process difficult. Please keep this in mind during your renewal. For now, i would honestly suggest you involve policy bazaar in the process. They will help you with the final settlement.

[Voodooblaster]

Insurance companies ask for Police Report mainly to confirm who drove the vehicle and know whether there were any injuries / death / property damages. Knowing the driver will help to confirm the person had a valid Driving License and also help to identify if there was any use of intoxicants leading to accident.

Since the claim amount is high, the police report might be required. Also write / mail the insurance company seeking a final list of documents needed. Otherwise the Insurance Company May bother with requests for various documents as time progresses. Also mention that you rewuure

Police reports are of 2 types:

1) FIR is filed normally under the following circumstances:

1.1) If there is injury / death to any of the occupants of the involved vehicles or pedestrians

1.2) At least one of the vehicle owner prefers to press charges and seek compensation through court

1.3) If there is property damage (walls , sign posts , traffic signals etc)


2) Community Service Register(CSR) from local police station- This is issued when the parties involved don’t prefer to press charges and there is no grievous injury to anyone. It’s a signed statement issued by police having jurisdiction in the area. Normally it mentions the place , date and time of accident along with details of involved vehicles and names of the respective drivers

Of the above 2, it’s less cumbersome to get a CSR

You will need to get at least a CSR as the damage is high and the photos are suggestive of injuries to occupants (Thankfully both of you escaped without major injuries)

Often police are reluctant to issue CSR if too many days have elapsed from the accident. Please engage services of a lawyer if you face any such difficulties

[Kalash_6324]

The SOP in insurance claims is that an FIR is mandatory only when you're claiming from third party insurance of the opposing party, if there's a casualty or there's damage to third party property.
In your case, your only obligation to the insurer is proof of when, how and where the accident happened and other parties involved and if there were any casualties or not.
That's it.
So you can stand firm on your request to not provide an FIR.
Although, if they don't budge, you can contact the concerned police station and can have them prepare an on paper settlement between yourself and the duster owner. This document only needs to state facts and that both parties involved have amicably decided to settle the matter without police intervention.

Coming to the second question, do not pay anything until you have written acceptance from the insurer explicitly mentioning how much work they'll cover in monetary terms. Can't and shouldn't trust a dealer/SC.

About negotiating the cost of repairs, my recommendation is do not.
Might give you an unnecessary headache later down the line.
Try and maintain as positive a relationship as you can with the service centre.
Granted it might inflate your insurance renewal cost, but the tradeoff is worth it.

[rnb34]

A police complaint is necessary in all such cases as otherwise, insurance people will not entertain the claim. And ensure you obtain an acknowledgment from the police for having submitted the complaint to them. Now that a few days have lapsed since the time of the accident, you can expect some challenges in getting an acknowledgment from the cops. They may insist on inspecting both the vehicles and it may be necessary to take the other person too, when you visit the Chennaraya Patna police station.
Suggest you talk to them over phone, if possible and find out the process. My experience has been that the cops ,invariably, insist on your physical presence. Try your luck.😊👍
QUOTE=Gansan;5585175]If there are no fatalities or injuries and both parties agree to settle amicably, even then the incident should be filed in the area police station and an acknowledgement obtained. Need not file FIR, it has a different name which I forgot. The insurance company will ask for it before processing the claim.

Else one should not mention accident at all but claim it happened when the car was parked outside on the road near his home (hit and run).[/quote]

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by Guna

He made the other car guy to pay up the loss due to losing the NCB and the commute cost he has to bear without the car for 1 month.

For the sake of argument, lets assume that the other guy purposefully rammed on to the friend's car, with all the ill-intentions. Even then, how exactly is the other guy responsible to pay up for the friend's lost NCB and bear the cost of his personal transport needs?

[Guna]

Originally Posted by jeeva

For the sake of argument, lets assume that the other guy purposefully rammed on to the friend's car, with all the ill-intentions. Even then, how exactly is the other guy responsible to pay up for the friend's lost NCB and bear the cost of his personal transport needs?

Simple, it was other guy's mistake and my friend shouldn't have to suffer loss. In fact he should be using his third party policy to compensate for my friend' loss but he chose not to go through the hassle (or he may claim it later).
This person realised the financial damage he has caused to my friend and immediately agreed to pay. He can't make up for the inconvenience and trauma (which involved a child in the car) caused by his mistake but this is the least he could do.
If someone intentionally ram in to the vehicle, they will be looking at bigger compensation and possibly jail term (on 'attempt to murder' charge)

[thirdmainroad]

But why go through the hassle of paying the service station - advance and everything else???

Oriental will have enough and more authorised VW service stations with cashless. You ought to shift your car to one of them.

When you go through insurance, the dealers charge more and there will always be additional charges you have to bare if paying first and waiting for the settlement later.

I once got into a major accident on the way to Bangalore from Chennai - in vellore in a Honda. When the authorised service station in vellore said they didn’t have cashless with my insurance then - I think it was Bharati Axa - I drove the car back (it could be driven) to Chennai, dropped it at Sundaram Honda and got it done. Ended up paying only Rs 1000 for a 1.2 L something bill.

There was another time when I got into another accident - not so major, but about 70 k damages including a tyre gone, and I was in a hurry to take take car out and didn’t want to wait over the weekend for insurance payout, and paid the dealer and when the insurance paid me - I should have gotten everything minus my 1000 deductible, but ended up getting some 12 K less sighting various things.

Simply take the car to where oriental has cashless claims.