Your Vehicle Damaged Due to Cyclone, Waterlogging? How to File an Insurance Claim

Extreme cyclonic storm Tauktae has wreaked havoc within the western coast of India. A number of areas of Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu Karnataka, Kerala have been submerged within the wake of heavy rainfall resulting from Cyclone tauktae. Images of automobiles submerged within the water or bikes broken resulting from timber falling on them, are doing rounds on the social media platforms.

Mumbai, India’s monetary capital has witnessed heavy wind and steady downpour for the final two days. After the devastating Kerala floods few years back, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had asked insurance companies to simplify the claim-settlement procedures due to natural calamities.

If your vehicles got damaged during Tauktae, the insurance companies got your back. But, you must follow the basic steps to file a claim with your insurance company. The basic motor insurance covers for losses caused by natural calamities such as cyclones, lightning, earthquakes, landslide, floods, hurricanes, storms, typhoons, and inundation.

But any consequential loss due to the natural calamity, is not covered. At first, you need to call the insurance company to inform them about the details of damage. You can find the toll-free number of your insurance company online. Customers need to inform the insurers within a month’s time to avoid claim rejections.

For the claim settlement process, policyholders need to provide relevant documents to the insurer. So, click many photos or videos of your submerged car or damaged bike. You need to submit detailed pictures of the vehicle to show the extent of damage.

The insurance companies usually have tie-ups with garages across the country. Once a customer makes the claim request, the insurer will send service personnel from the garage to inspect the vehicle. After a thorough inspection, the garage will inform the insurer of the estimated costs of repairs. Now, the company will pay the claim, depending on the insurance cover bought by the policyholder.

In case of large amount of claims for an SUV or luxury car or bike, the insurance company appoints a surveyor/loss assessor. It must be mentioned that claims of up to Rs 50,000 do not need any surveyor to assess the extent of the claim. The insurance company will pay the claims based on your cover.

Key things to note:

If your car is submerged due to waterlogging, don’t touch it. You may damage the vehicle further in the process which will delay the claim settlement process. If the exterior or interior of the car being damaged, the own-damage insurance part of your policy will cover the loss. If the engine is damaged due to waterlogging, do not try to start it.

If your engine gets further damaged due to forceful restart, the insurance policy will consider it as negligence on the part of the policyholder. In this case, the insurer might reject the claim. Car owners may opt for a separate engine-protect add-on cover to get their engine covered in case of cyclone or flood.