We decided to mutually settle this accident without a police complaint but after the insurance surveyor inspected my SUV, he asked for an FIR copy.
BHPian lokii_83 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Background:
On July 08th, 5:45 AM, Saturday I met with an accident in my Tiguan. Myself and my family had left Bangalore early morning at 3:30 am and were travelling to our native place in Mangalore.
What happened?
When reached near Chennaraya Pattana, a Duster came from the left side at high speed and hit our car. The left side of the Duster hit a concrete wall and the right side of the car hit my car badly. Attached are the images – the front door, backdoor and quarter panel, rear bumper were badly damaged.
For Duster, since it hit the concrete wall from the left, the car was heavily damaged at the front.
Luckily no injuries to either car passengers or drivers.
Since I was having my little kids and family in the car and also the Duster driver too with his family, we decided to mutually settle this accident without a police complaint. Same day, I drove the car back to Bangalore Volkswagen service centre (Volkswagen Palace Cross, Hesargatta, Bangalore), and the insurance claim submission was done with the service advisor on the same day.
I have Oriental Insurance, for my fate, the dealer doesn’t have cashless payment with Oriental Insurance.
July 13:
After 5 days, Surveyor inspected the car and then he was asking for an FIR copy, which I denied softly. The estimation for this repair/replacement is on the higher side, the dealer estimated almost 6 lakhs.
July 14th:
I have received the claim reference number in the email as well as an SMS from the insurance company.
Spoke to Surveyor and he says, oral approval has been given now and he needs 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, the dealer sent me an email with the estimation sheet, asking me to approve the work, as they said in the email: vehicle inspection is done by the insurance company and the surveyor has given the approval to start the work.
Also, they requesting now to make a 50% advance payment to order parts as no cashless facility.
I have yet to approve the work.
My questions
- Should I wait to hear from the surveyor for the next steps, should I be concerned about not having an FIR copy? Will this impact my claim approval? What’s the next step from the insurance company, should they approve the claim before repair work?
- Since I have an email proof from the dealer that the surveyor approved to start the work, can I go ahead with the dealer and approve the work and make payment? I requested the dealer a copy of the surveyor report, which he seems don’t have. Is this possible?
- Should I negotiate the estimated cost?
Thankful in advance for all the advice!
Here’s what BHPian Gansan had to say about the matter:
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).
Here’s what BHPian Guna had to say about the matter:
Sorry to hear about the accident.
Recently one of my colleagues (who is also a Bhpian) had a similar accident. His car (Hector) was hit by another car and damaged both doors on the driver’s side. Even the side/curtain airbags 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 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.
Here’s what BHPian jaspritsingh had to say about the matter:
In case of a collision even when the other side looks reasonable:
- 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 – don’t know what it is called in your province).
- Always insist on a spot survey. It will help in collaborating with your version and also prevent the insurance from denying any item claiming it was from a different accident/cause.
- 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.
- 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.
Here’s what BHPian raptor_diwan had to say about the matter:
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.
Keyword: High-speed Duster hits my Tiguan hard: Need insurance claim advice