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You are here: Moneycontrol » Wealth » Features » Plan » So your car's banged up

So your car's banged up

Kamiya Jani
Friday, November 23, 2007
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So your car's banged up

OOPS, you did it again! Another dent on your beautiful car, and this one is serious.

Next step: you need to call the insurance company. Not a prospect any one of us relishes. Not only is it a painful process, no matter how good they are on service, chances of getting the full loss amount are slim as well.

Still, there are ways to figure out how to get maximum reimbursement.

The first thing you need to do after damaging your car (other than apologising profusely to your husband), is to choose between a cashless claim and a reimbursement claim.

To understand which is the better option, you need to understand both first.

Cashless claims
For cashless claims, most insurance companies have their own garage network, which they use to repair the vehicles insured by them. Expenses are dealt between the garage and company. The vehicle owner does not have to worry about expenses other than the accessories, which are not covered under the policy. They pay only the difference amount as confirmed by the claims manager to the garage.

Kartik Jain, Head, Marketing, ICICI Lombard says, "(In a cashless claim) after repairs are completed at the company's preferred garage, we pay their share of the loss directly to the garage. The insured will have to pay the excess mentioned in the policy and depreciation, salvage, etc, informed by the Customer Service Manager."

Advantages
a. A cashless claim is the complete responsibility of the company. It reduces your worry as a car owner.
b. The surveyor takes the car to the garage, gets it repaired and returns it to the owner so you don't have to do much.
c. The company's garage network is generally reliable.
d. The company service is better than that of any local garage.

Disadvantages
a. Many formalities need to be completed before any action takes place.
b. Often, the reparations are delayed since the surveyor may do a complete inspection and then take a decision.
c. The garage of the company's choice might be expensive. Since you pay a percentage of the expense, you may spend more than usual.

Photograph: AP/Jannet Walsh

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