Does Car Insurance Cover Damages Due to Riots?

A car does not always get damaged due to a road accident or collision. Sometimes, it gets damaged due to unforeseen events that you have zero control over, such as a riot Nobody can predict when and where a riot will break out. Hence, it is always better to be covered against the risk of riot damages. The article below highlights how to get adequate coverage to be compensated for any loss that may occur due to a riot.

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Does Car Insurance Cover Riot Damages?

Riots are unfortunate and unpredictable and lead to the loss of several lives and property. If your car happens to be damaged when a riot breaks out, the chances of getting an insurance claim are dependent on various factors.

There are three types of car insurance policy- third party car insurance, own-damage car insurance, and comprehensive car insurance. Your car insurance policy will cover riot damages or losses caused to your car in a riot. Your motor insurance provider will pay for the repair and replacement of your car resulting from riot damages. However, the damages will only be covered if your car insurance provides coverage for the damages to your car. Hence, if you are looking to cover damages caused due to a riot you must always purchase a comprehensive car insurance or an own damage car insurance policy..

The own damage and comprehensive car insurance cover provides coverage against contingencies such as natural calamities, accidents, fire, manmade disasters and theft of the car. Since riots are manmade calamities, they are covered under an own damage cover.

In other words, you need to have a comprehensive or standalone car insurance policy to raise a claim for riot damages to your car.

What to Do if Your Car Gets Damaged in a Riot?

Riots can get out of control in a matter of minutes and can be dangerous.

Once the riots have stopped and your car is damaged, here's what you can do:

• Do not try to enter your car if it has been heavily damaged during the riots.
• Collect evidence related to the riots, such as the time and exact location where the riots broke out and note them down. Also note down the exact time and location when you found out about the riot damages to your car.
• Click pictures and shoot a video from all angles on your mobile phones as proof of your car's condition post the riot damages.
• Raise a car insurance claim with your motor insurer as soon as possible.
• Do not move your damaged car from the site unless the vehicle has been inspected by the surveyor sent by your insurance company.

Documents Required to Raise a Riot Insurance Claim

At the time of raising a car insurance claim for riot damages with your insurer, you will need to submit a few documents as part of the claim process. Take a look at the documents that you would need to submit for a riot damage claim:

1. Policy Copy: You must submit your car insurance policy document or to share your policy details to file a riot insurance claim. This helps the insurer to cross-check if your car insurance covers damages caused to your car.
2. Claim Form: You will also be asked to fill up a claim form and submit it to your insurance provider to file a claim after a riot damaged your car.
3. Police FIR: A copy of the First Information Report or FIR filed at the nearest police station for the vandalism of your car will also be required to be submitted to the insurer. The FIR will help to substantiate your riot damage claim. Thus, you must file an FIR with the police when you learn about the riot damages to your car.
4. Fire Brigade Report: If the riots that damaged your car had occurred on a large scale, there may have been incidents of fire and a fire brigade may have been called. In that case, you must obtain a copy of the fire brigade report and submit it to your insurer.
5. Newspaper Reports: In case the riots were covered by the local newspapers and online news websites, you must save a copy of it. Submit the newspaper cutting and the links to the articles or videos covered by a reliable news channel to your insurance company.
6. Car Repair Bill & Payment Receipt: If you have taken your car for repair at a non-network garage of your motor insurance company, you must submit the car repair bill generated by the garage along with the payment receipts to your insurer. This will help your insurer to estimate the actual cost of repairing your car and will accordingly compensate you.

When Can Your Car Insurance Claim for Riot Damages Be Rejected?

All motor insurance companies verify a claim before paying the claim amount. They check the authenticity of the claim and reject fraudulent claims. As it turns out, there are several reasons why your car insurance claim for riot damages can get rejected by your insurer. Take a look at the most common reasons for the rejection of riot damage claims below:

• If your car insurance policy is not valid and has expired
• If you have a third party car insurance policy that does not provide own damage cover
• If you have submitted wrong or incomplete documents
• If you had deliberately damaged your car
• If you have violated any terms and conditions of your car insurance policy
• If any unlawful or illegal activities were carried out from your car