How to Claim Car Insurance for Own Damage

The whole purpose of buying car insurance is to safeguard your car against all uncertainties. Accident is definitely one of the biggest uncertainties in this case, which has no time, no place. The damage caused is inevitable, sometimes to your own self or vehicle, while on other times to third-party persons or property. Basic motor insurance plans generally cover third-party liability, meaning any damage caused to the third-party vehicle, person, or property is covered by the insurance company. However, there is yet another feature in car insurance, namely own damage car insurance. Let us learn more about it in this blog.

What is Own Damage Insurance for Car?

As the name suggests, an own damage car insurance policy refers to a plan that provides cost coverage for any damage caused to the policyholder’s own vehicle. This may be attributed to man-made damage, such as the one caused during an accident between two cars, or natural calamity like earthquake, flood, and the like.

In any of the above events, sufficient damage may be caused to the vehicle of the insured. With the own damage insurance for a car, the repair cost for this damage is covered by the insurer for the policyholder.

How to Claim Car Insurance for Own Damage

In case of own damage to the policyholder’s car, the very first step is to report the incident and the subsequent damage to the insurance company at the earliest. In case the damage has been caused due to an accident, it is necessary to first file an FIR at the nearest police station and then inform the insurer immediately. Information to the car insurance company is important since you would need to file a claim with the insurer to cover the repair costs incurred on fixing the damaged vehicle. To make a claim with your insurer for own damage to your car, below are the steps to be followed:

1. 1. As stated earlier, report the incident to your insurer as early as possible. Your insurance company would need complete details of the incident, such as the registration number of the vehicle that caused the damage, the site of the accident, etc.
   2. Make sure to submit all the desired details and relevant information pertaining to the accident to your insurer. Also, your insurer would require you to submit this information within a specified time duration, after which the claim would be considered invalid.
   3. In case damage to the vehicle had been caused by a third party, it is imperative to inform the police about the incident as well. In this case, you would first need to file an FIR at the nearest police station to the accident site and then inform the insurer. During FIR filing, you would be required to state the registration number of the third-party vehicle involved in the accident as well as the license number of the vehicle driver.
   4. File a claim for accident coverage with the insurer. The latter would then appoint a surveyor to conduct surveillance of the accident site and assess all relevant details pertaining to the accident in the claim. The claim can be filed either at the insurer’s office or online by downloading the form from the company’s website.

Documents Required for Filing the Claim

In the above section, we learned all about how to claim car insurance for own damage. Now, while filing the claim, your insurer would require you to submit some relevant documents pertaining to the accident for which the claim is being made. Here is a list of all the documents that you would need to submit:

1. 1. • The claim form, either collected from the insurer or downloaded from the company’s website, duly filled and signed
      • A copy of the car insurance policy purchased
      • A copy of the certificate of car registration
      • A copy of the FIR filed at the nearest police station
      • A copy of the policyholder’s valid driving license for the car
      • Original medical bills in case of any physical injury to the policyholder
      • Original bills of any other expenses incurred pertaining to the accident
      • Complete details of estimates for car repair

What is Basic Own Damage Premium in Car Insurance?

Own Damage Premium in car insurance refers to the premium amount that you pay towards the policy in return for insurance protection against damages to your own car. When you buy a car insurance plan from an insurance company, the latter would require you to pay a certain amount regularly towards the insurance policy. In return, the insurer would guarantee to cover costs related to repair of the vehicle in case of any damage caused to your own car. This amount is known as Own Damage premium.

This premium is generally decided by the insurer on the basis of the type of car, the city/state where it is used, and the age of the vehicle. Moreover, some other factors like the make of the car, the engine’s Cubic Capacity (CC), the car’s Declared Value, and the geographical boundary of the vehicle are all taken into consideration while determining the Own Damage premium for a two-wheeler or car.

The simple formula used for calculating the Own Damage premium is as follows:

Standalone Own Damage Premium – No Claim Bonus + Applicable Discounts + Cost of Premium of Add-On Cover Benefits = Cost of Premium for Own Damage Car Insurance.