Automobile Desk – Car Insurance Claim Rejected: After a road accident, it hurts more than the damage caused to the car when the insurance company flatly refuses to pay the claim. It is generally seen that when a claim is rejected, people immediately start blaming the insurance companies and think that the companies are making excuses to avoid payment. However, every time it is not the company's fault. Ignoring the insurance rules and some minor carelessness of the car owners themselves hinders their claim.
The biggest and most common reason for insurance claim rejection is driving under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicant. Drunk driving is considered a serious crime in Indian law. If the driver is found to be drunk at the time of the accident, motor insurance companies immediately cancel the claim. In such cases, no matter how severe the damage is to the vehicle, the entire repair bill has to be paid by the vehicle owner from his own pocket.
It is often seen that people are very careless about driving license. Many times, accidents happen while driving a four-wheeler on a two-wheeler license or people are traveling with an expired license. Under the Motor Vehicle Act, it is mandatory for the vehicle you are driving to have a valid and relevant category license. If the driver does not have a correct and valid license at the time of the accident, the insurance claim cannot be passed under any circumstances.
After an accident, it is very important to inform the insurance company immediately. Every insurance policy has a fixed time limit for giving intimation of loss. Many times people contact the company several days after the accident. Companies consider this delay as 'late intimation' and may reject the claim considering the process as suspicious. Therefore, immediately after any incident, information should be lodged on the helpline number of the company.
Many people start using their private car for transportation, delivery or as a cab. Insurance for commercial and personal vehicles varies depending on the risk. If the accident involving a personal vehicle occurs during any commercial activity, the investigating officer rejects the claim. Apart from this, major modification in the engine of the vehicle without informing the company, changing the body structure or driving the vehicle after the policy lapse are also the main reasons for claim rejection.
If you feel that there was no fault on your part and the insurance company has rejected your claim on wrong grounds, then there is no need to be disappointed. First of all, you can present your views in front of the 'Internal Grievance Cell' (Internal Grievance Redressal Officer) of the concerned insurance company. If your problem is not resolved even there, you can lodge your complaint with insurance regulator IRDAI's complaint portal Bima Bharosa or Insurance Ombudsman.
