How to claim insurance?

It is always a pleasure to receive a no claim insurance bonus every year. However, God forbid, if something unpleasant does happen and one has to claim insurance, here is how to go about it.

In formal terms, an insurance claim is an official request given to an insurance company asking for compensation and / or payment in monetary terms according to the conditions entered into by the insurance policy. It has to be first approved before any actual payment is made.

When it comes to how to claim insurance, one has to know a few things. The first is of course the type of insurance. When trying to claim insurance after a car accident, for example, one should have ready photographic evidence of the damages to the car immediately after the accident, plus a record of the type of accident and the registration number of the other car involved, if applicable. Finding witnesses and recording every on site detail that one can may also prove to be helpful later on.

Before you call your insurance claims help counter, be sure that you want to claim insurance in the first place. Pertinent is the question whether you were at fault and whether you can afford to pay for the damages yourself, weighing the financial burden against the actual amount of the no claim bonus. A very important insurance claim advice is to file your insurance claim immediately. The sooner you apply, the better are your chances of availing the insurance amount.

Before you get your car repaired, someone from your insurance company should assess it. The report of the damages along with the payment and compensation plan has to be forwarded to your insurance company by that same person. After this is done, you can get your car repaired by the professionals recommended by the insurance company. An FIR is usually preferred in case one wants to press charges.

Domestic insurance claims are also filed very commonly. Also, mail insurance claims advice is generally required. For mail insurance, when there is loss or damage in transit, you can file your claim either in person or through post. Many insurance companies have made available the option of claiming insurance through post. Again, the rule of thumb is to file for insurance claim as soon as possible, as this is a major requirement for many policies and companies.

The main aim of the insurance claim compensation is that the client or customer should be in the same position after the mishap as he or she was before the mishap. While this is quantifiable easily in material insurance, like auto insurance, it becomes more complicated when life insurance is involved. Many companies have a claims analyst who is responsible for analyzing the validity and extent of the claim.

The various documents required in various claims are:

Health insurance: a proof of treatment, a proof of hospitalization and a report from the doctor in charge.

Life insurance, with Death Claims: a death certificate, an FIR in case of a police case or criminal case, along with a post mortem report with the attending doctor’s report.