[lokii_83]

Background:
Last week, July 08th, 5:45 AM, Saturday I had met with an accident in my Tiguan
Myself and my family had left Bangalore early morning at 3:30 am and travelling to our native place in Mangalore.

What happened?
When reached near to ChennarayaPattana, a duster car came from left side in high speed and hit our car. The left side of the duster hit a concrete wall and right side of the car hit my car badly. Attached the images, the front door, backdoor and quarter panel, rear bumper badly damaged.
For duster, since he hit the concrete wall from left, car heavily damaged on front.

Luckily no injuries to either car passengers or drivers.

Since I was having my little kids and family in the car and also Duster driver too with his family, we decided to mutually settle this accident without police complaint. Same day, I drove the car back to Bangalore Volkswagen service centre (Volkswagen Palace Cross, Hesargatta, Bangalore), and Insurance claim submission done with service advisor on same day. I hold Oriental insurance, for my fate they dealer doesn't have cashless payment with Oriental insurance.

July 13:
After 5 days, Surveyor inspected the car and then he was asking a FIR copy, which I denied softly. The estimation for this repair/replacement is on higher side, dealer estimated for almost 6 lakhs

July 14th:
I have received the claim reference number in email as well as SMS from Oriental insurance.
Spoke to Surveyor and he says, oral approval given now and he need to talk to his manager; he requested me to send a detailed email with accident photos and reasons for no FIR. I did the same.

Also dealer sent me the an email with estimation sheet, asking me to approve the work, as they said in email: vehicle inspection is done by insurance company and surveyor has given approval to start work.

Also they requesting now to make 50% of advance payment of ordering parts as no cashless facility.

I yet to approve the work.

My questions-

1. Should I wait to hear from Surveyor for next steps, should I be concerned of not having FIR copy? Will this impact claim approval? What's the next step from Insurance company, should they approve the claim, before repair work?
2. Since I have an email proof from dealer that, surveyor approved to start the work, can I go ahead with dealer and approve work? and make payment?
I requested dealer a copy of surveyor report, which he seems don't have. Is this possible?
3. Should I negotiate the estimated cost?

Thankful in advance for all the advices!

[Gansan]

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).

[Guna]

Sorry to hear about the accident.
Recently one of my colleague (who is also a Bhpian) had similar accident. His car (Hector) was hit by another car and damaged both doors on the driver side. Even the side/curtain air bags got deployed.
In his case, he had 'bumper to bumper/zero depreciation' insurance and the insurance has agreed to pay the entire repair cost (estimated around 2 lakhs).
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.
He didn't have to file an FIR.
Hope you have taken the contact details of the Duster guy in case you need his cooperation.
Make sure that the insurance approves new doors/trims and not tinkering the old doors.

[lokii_83]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Need not file FIR, it has a different name which I forgot. The insurance company will ask for it before processing the claim.

Thank you Gansan for the quick reply. Is the word CSR? I could not find difference between FIR vs CSR though.
Going back to police station is a major hassle, I presume other driver also need to accompany.

Originally Posted by Guna

Hope you have taken the contact details of the Duster guy in case you need his cooperation.
Make sure that the insurance approves new doors/trims and not tinkering the old doors.

Thank you Guna!
Yes, the estimation provided by the dealer has replacement of doors, bumper and quarter panel.
Which insurance was it, in your friends case?

Also, yes having Duster guys contact details.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by lokii_83

Which insurance was it, in your friends case?

He has ICICI Lombard Insurance

[jaspritsingh]

Originally Posted by lokii_83

Thankful in advance for all the advices!

In case of a collision even when the other side looks reasonable

1. FIR is needed when you have a complaint. In this case you needed to inform the local police station of the collision and get a Raazinama (acknowledgement of compromise - dont know whats it called in your province).

2. Always insist on a Spot survey. It will help in collaborating your version and also prevent the insurance from denying any item claiming it was from a different accident/cause.

3. Get a letter from the Surveyor asking the dealership to start opening the car. The surveyor will need to photograph the car, the damaged parts and tally it with your version of the accident.

4. Till the car is opened any estimate is based on guesswork. The actual work required could be higher/lower than what it looks like.

Let me know if you need any help on the Insurance angle

[n_aditya]

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).

Not that easy anymore. Insurance surveyor will visit the site, check for CCTV installations in the vicinity and source footage for evidence.

If proved wrong, it will amount to insurance fraud.

Just mention the facts to the surveyor and the service centre will use their influence to get the surveyor to soften up.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Insurance surveyor will visit the site, check for CCTV installations in the vicinity

I forgot the cc cameras! They were not around during the period when a similar accident happened to me about twelve years ago. It involved an STC bus and happened in a very rural area of TN. The police arrived, both parties went to the police station and each gave mutual letters to settle amicably since there were no injuries to either side, with a copy to the police. We sent the car by truck to Chennai and took a cab. I was not aware of this non FIR report to be filed in the police station, and neither did the police tell me anything.

The car was my brother's Chevrolet Optra which I was driving, and we left it for repairs with the dealer (TVS) in Chennai. Job estimate was 1.5 lacs of which we had to bear 40k. We agreed and the papers were moved to the insurance company by the workshop, who also gave their go ahead. But just after the job was almost over and delivery date was fixed by the workshop, the insurance office contacted us and said they will not settle without the police report. We contacted the police station but they said nothing could be done now, we should have taken the report on the day it happened!

I contacted a friend who was an insurance lawyer for guidance. He told me to visit the insurance company and remind them politely about their initial go ahead which made the dealer to start the repairs. If they still did not budge, to ask them to give their refusal in writing, so that I could go to the insurance ombudsman.

The insurance company settled the payment.

[raptor_diwan]

If FIR is not available, at least CSR might be required in your case, depending on the surveyor's discretion. They can approve it, but if they have any doubts about your claim, you may be compelled to obtain a CSR from the nearest station to proceed further.

Visit the police station and explain the situation and the incident that occurred. It is possible that both parties might be required to visit the station. Keep in mind that a small fee might be required to complete the process. ( You know why it is required ) If you have influence or connections, it may make the process easier. However, if you don't have such influence, they may initially claim that it's not possible to obtain the required documents, but eventually, they will proceed with the process.

[Kashish]

Originally Posted by lokii_83

1. Should I wait to hear from Surveyor for next steps, should I be concerned of not having FIR copy? Will this impact claim approval? What's the next step from Insurance company, should they approve the claim, before repair work?

Since you have clear spot photos which match the events of the accident, there is no need to be concerned about an FIR or Diary Entry. This will certainly not have any impact on claim approval. After the survey, the insurance company/ surveyor is required to share a work order/ repair authorization with the workshop and you. Do not start the work unless you receive this. Oral confirmation does not work here since this is not a cashless claim.

2. Since I have an email proof from dealer that, surveyor approved to start the work, can I go ahead with dealer and approve work? and make payment?
I requested dealer a copy of surveyor report, which he seems don't have. Is this possible?

Please ask the surveyor/ insurance company to share the work order with you directly as this is proof of the insurance company accepting your claim. The dealer only cares about his billing. Who pays is certainly not his worry. You need to be firm and polite since this is not a cashless claim and big money is involved.

3. Should I negotiate the estimated cost?

Usually, no negotiations happen here. If you have a Zero Depreciation, consumables cover you need not bother about this, since you only pay the compulsory deductible. But make sure that only the damaged parts are replaced and repainted since the dealers will go to any length to inflate the bill, especially in zero depreciation claims where the customer doesn't bother much since he is paying minimum charges.

[Kkumar]

Hi sorry to know about your accident but as long as there is no casualties then it’s fine. Because repairing a car much more easier than repairing the bones. I had a somewhat similar accident wherein both the parties amicably settled the issue and no FIR was filed. I had an ICICI Lombard insurance and they asked for a notarised affidavit stating the reasons for not filing FIR and also an undertaking to take on any future claims in case of any legal dispute. Thereafter they gave the go ahead to repair and settled the claim. I just had to pay the processing charges.

[ike]

Originally Posted by Gansan

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.

This is a GD entry. If there aren't serious injuries or loss of life police usually don't initiate an FIR.

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).

Usually these days the insurance company makes enquiries and scours through the available CCTV footages for corroboration. This qualifies as insurance fraud and is a criminal offence.

It also seems that Oriental does not have cashless facility for most OEMs. Wonder how they get by without it.

[Turbanator]

I don't think FIR or any documentation is necessary as long as you have mentioned the other unknown car. But if you have shared the details of that car, I am afraid; you might have to lodge a complaint. Whether it will be FIR or DDR depends on the police.

I think back-dated should work well too as you can tell that you were with family and the same about others.

[vjbox]

Originally Posted by Gansan

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).

Yes a CSR entry should do. I had an Auto Rickshaw hit and run my Volvo years back and I filed a CSR and got an acknowledgement of my complaint in a printed form that I submitted to Insurance for Claim. It was hassle free.

But glad your Tiguan held like a champ and protected your family. The reason why we must prioritize well built cars.

[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.