An easy process for claiming bike wheeler insurance online

Bike insurance claims

A bike insurance claim is when a demand is made on the insurance company to compensate the policyholder for damages incurred to the bike or because of the bike due to covered perils. The insurance company then compensates for the financial loss suffered and settles the claim.

When does a bike insurance claim occur?

A bike insurance claim is said to occur in the following circumstances – 

• Theft of the bike

  When the bike is stolen, a claim takes place. If the bike is not recovered, the insurance company pays the Insured Declared Value of the policy which is also the sum insured. 

• Third party liability 

  If, due to the bike, any third party (any individual besides the insurance company and the policyholder) gets physically hurt or is killed, a third party liability arises. Even if the bike damages any third party property, a third party liability arises. In that case, the policyholder is financially liable to compensate the third party for the damages caused. A bike insurance policy covers such financial liabilities. Thus, in case any third party liability arises, a claim is made in the bike insurance policy. The company compensates the third party on behalf of the policyholder.

• Own damage

  If the bike itself is damaged due to natural or man-made perils, an own damage claim arises. The insurance company pays for the repair costs of the bike.

The process of filing a bike insurance claim

The process of filing a bike insurance claim depends on the type of claim incurred. 

In case of theft 

• Report the theft to the insurance company immediately. The company would provide you with a claim reference number which is to be used in future correspondences. 
• File a FIR with the local police. The FIR is mandatory in theft cases.
• Fill up the claim form of your bike insurance policy. Attach the copies of your driving license, RC book of the bike, policy bond and FIR. The duplicate key of the bike might also be required to be submitted to eliminate the possibility of theft due to your negligence. 
• Once the claim is filed, wait for the bike to be recovered.
• If the bike is not recovered within three months of theft, the police would issue a ‘Non traceable Report’. 
• This report is to be submitted to the insurance company to avail the settlement of your claim
• The insurance company would pay the Insured Declared Value of the policy to settle the claim.

In case of third party claim

• Inform the insurance company immediately of the claim. You would be given the claim reference number for future follow-ups.
• File a FIR with the police. A police FIR is a mandatory requirement in case of third party claims
• The third party incidence would be taken to the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) which would declare the extent of financial liability.
• Meanwhile, you should fill up a claim form, attach the relevant documents like your driving license, RC book, etc. and the police FIR. Submit the documents to the insurance company to file your claim.
• Once the amount of liability is declared by MACT, the insurance company would pay for the liability on your behalf and the claim would be settled

In case of own damage claim

• Inform the company immediately about the damages suffered and the nature of damages.
• Upon receiving a claim notification, the insurance company would provide a claim reference number and guide you to take your bike to the nearest preferred garage.
• If the bike is in no condition to be taken to the nearest garage, the insurance company might also arrange for a towing facility depending upon the coverage of the plan
• Once the bike is taken to the nearest garage, a surveyor of the insurance company visits the garage to determine the extent of claim suffered. The surveyor prepares a claim estimate based on the inspection of the damages. 
• The surveyor then approves the claim and the repair works start. The surveyor also submits the claim estimate to the insurance company
• Once the repairs are completed, the insurance company settles the bills directly with the garage. You might have to bear a portion of the claim yourself.
• After you pay for your part of the claim, the claim is settled and you can take delivery of your bike.

Types of claims

Bike insurance claims can be of two types – cashless and reimbursement.

• Cashless – if the bike is taken to the preferred garage mentioned by the insurance company, the claim is settled directly by the company. This is called cashless settlement of claim
• Reimbursement – if the bike is repaired at a non-networked garage, the policyholder would have to pay for the repair costs himself. Once the bike is repaired and delivered, the policyholder submits the repair bills to the insurance company. The company assesses the bills and reimburses the policyholder for the costs incurred.

Documents required 

Every bike insurance claim requires the policyholder to submit some documents along with the claim form. These documents are as follows – 

• RC Book of the bike
• Driving license of the owner/driver of the bike
• Copy of the policy bond
• FIR, where needed
• Any other documents as needed by the insurer 

When is a bike insurance claim not accepted?

Though insurers settle your bike insurance claims in most of the cases, in some cases, your claims might not get accepted. Such instances in which your claims might not get accepted include the following –

• Excluded claims

  There are some instances which are not covered by bike insurance policies. For instance, claims occurring when driving without a valid license or when under the influence of alcohol or drugs are specifically excluded from the scope of coverage. In such cases, if a claim is made, it would subsequently be rejected. So, when making a claim in your bike insurance policy, check whether the claim is covered by the policy or not.

• Improper paperwork

  If you do not submit the right paperwork at the time of claims, your claims might not get accepted. That is why it is important to keep all claim-related documents handy so that you can submit them when needed.

• Delaying the claim

  You are required to inform the insurer of your claim immediately. If you do not inform the insurer immediately and inform after a considerable period has passed, the insurer might question the authenticity of your claim. In such cases, the claim might not get accepted.

Things to keep in mind 

Though the bike insurance claim process is quite easy, there are some things which the policyholder should keep in mind when making a claim. These things are as follows – 

• Compulsory excess

  There is a compulsory excess amount in all bike insurance policies. In each claim, the amount of compulsory excess is to be borne by the policyholder. There is also a concept of voluntary excess where the policyholder voluntarily chooses to bear a portion of his bike insurance claim to avail premium discounts. So, when the claim is settled, the policyholder would have to bear the compulsory and voluntary excess (if any).

• The effect of depreciation 

  In case of own damage claims, the insurance company pays for the repair costs after deducting the applicable depreciation on the parts of the bike. This deducted depreciation would have to paid by the policyholder to settle the repair bills.