Car Insurance Claim Process For Stolen Vehicles In India

Car insurance is an indispensable part of owning a vehicle in India. In fact, it is a mandatory requirement for car owners as per the Indian Motor Act of 1988. While purchasing car insurance, it is important to include theft coverage in a country like India, where car theft is a frequent occurrence. Although unfortunate, car theft cases can get complicated if you don’t take the necessary measures at the right time and moment. This article aims to elaborate on the steps every car owner should take while undertaking a stolen vehicle insurance claim process.

How To Claim Insurance For Stolen Car?

Car theft is an unfortunate but inevitable event. Once you discover the theft, here are a few actions you must take that play a crucial role in facilitating a hassle-free car theft claim procedure. Before beginning the claim process or getting in touch with the insurer, take the following steps without losing much time. Bear in mind that the more time you spend not reporting the incident to the police and your insurer, the lesser the chances are of vehicle recovery.

Document The Scene Of Crime

It is extremely crucial to document every aspect of the scene of theft in the time it takes for the police to arrive. Take detailed photographs of the place where your car was parked at the time of theft. Go through the CCTV footage if any is available and keep a record of the same for future reference. It always helps to take photographs of your vehicle, as the details will help the police track your car down if it is sighted immediately.

Call The Police & File An FIR

A First Information Report is a crucial document in the stolen vehicle insurance claim process. After documenting the scene of the crime, the next step is to go to your nearest police station and get an FIR filed at the earliest. Ensure that you recall the events accurately as once an FIR is filed, no further corrections can be made.

Get In Touch With Your Insurer

The next step is to inform your insurer with complete details. You may initiate the claim process either through their customer service number or your insurance agent. Remember that the longer you take to inform your insurer, there will be delays in the claim settlement process. During this correspondence, you may have to share the following information with your car insurance company.

Policy number
Vehicle identification number
Date and time of theft
Description of the incident

Inform The Regional Transport Office (RTO)

In the case of a car theft, Indian laws have made it mandatory for car owners to report the incident with the nearest RTO by submitting a letter that mentions the stolen car’s details like

The vehicle’s engine number and chassis number
Name of the insurer
Registration number
Registration card/certificate
The owner’s driving license number

The RTO will issue the car’s transfer papers, which are to be submitted to the insurance company when you register for a stolen car insurance claim.

4. Complete and Submit Required Documentation To The Insurer

For a successful car theft claim procedure, policyholders must submit several documents alongside their claim form. These typically include:

Copy of the FIR
Duly filled claim form
Registration Certificate (RC) of the vehicle
Driving license copy
Letter of subrogation (allowing insurers to pursue recovery if found)
Any additional documents requested by the insurer

It is vital that all documents are filled out accurately and submitted promptly to avoid any delays in processing.

5. Await Investigation and Loss Assessment

The insurance company conducts an investigation to assess the extent of the incident by sending an investigator to physically inspect the site. After receiving all necessary documentation, the insurance company will conduct an investigation to verify the claim’s validity. At the time of inspection, one must ensure that all the required documents are in place and are submitted to them. The insurance company may review police reports and interview witnesses or the policy holders to gain clarity on the situation. The insurance company assesses the loss based on the car’s market value at the time of the theft and calculates the compensation amount.

6. Receive Compensation

Once the investigation is done successfully, and the documents are verified by the insurers, the claim will be processed. On approval, the compensation will be processed as per policy terms which usually takes 7 to 30 days after verification of all documents. In the case of vehicle recovery, insurance company compensates the policyholders for any damage that may have occured during the theft.

Vehicle Theft Insurance India: Compensation for Stolen Vehicle

Compensation Without Add-ons

If you own a regular car insurance, the compensation amount for a stolen vehicle is calculated based on its Insured Declared Value, which is the vehicle’s current market value minus depreciation. For instance, if the IDV of your car is ₹5 lakhs, that is the maximum amount you would receive as compensation if your car is declared stolen and not recovered.

Compensation with Theft Cover Add-on

Car Theft Cover: A theft cover add-on provides special protection in the case of car theft. Although buyers may have to pay an additional premium for this, it comes in handy during a tricky situation such as vehicle theft. One gets compensated with the Insured Declared Value of the vehicle at the time of theft if they own a car theft cover on top of their regular car insurance. This is specially useful for owners of third-party liability car insurance policies.

Return to Invoice (RTI) Add-on: A Return to Invoice (RTI) add on enables policyholders to be compensated with their stolen vehicle’s original purchase price and not just the IDV which is the depreciated price of the stolen vehicle. This means that if your vehicle was purchased for ₹6 lakhs, you could potentially recover that full amount instead of just its depreciated value.

Conclusion

Car theft is a major issue in India, where the reports of car thefts are on the rise, especially in metro cities and developed areas. In the face of such misfortune, a car insurance policy with foolproof coverage, especially for car theft cases, can be a godsend. It is necessary to take precautions such as installing anti-theft devices and trackers within the vehicle and parking it in places covered by CCTV cameras, to mitigate the chances of theft. Such steps can also help the police in tracking the stolen vehicles, thus improving the chances of vehicle recovery. If theft occurs, the steps mentioned above will come in handy in tackling the situation tactfully, without a lot of fuss.

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Adam Regan: Deputy Editor

Features and account management. 3 years media experience. Previously covered features for online and print editions.

Email Adam@MarkMeets.com