Does Car Insurance Cover Car Damages Due to Riots?

Does Car Insurance Cover Riot Damage?

Riots are unfortunate and unpredictable. It leads to the loss of several lives and property worth crores. If your car happens to be parked in an area where a riot breaks out, the probability of your car getting damaged is very high.

The important question here is if your car insurance policy will cover the damages sustained by your car due to riots.

The answer is Yes.

Your car insurance policy will cover riot damages caused to your car. It will cover any loss or damages 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.

But wait, there’s more.

Not all car insurance policies cover riot damages. Only if your car insurance provides coverage for own damages to your car, your motor insurer will cover the car damages caused during a riot.

For the unversed, own damage cover ensures that your car is financially covered against any unforeseen damages sustained by your car.

The own damage 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 own damage cover.

The Own damage cover is provided under comprehensive car insurance and standalone car insurance plans. 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. So if your car is parked in an area where a riot has broken out, you must first think about your safety and of the people around you. Do not try to check on your car or take your car to another area amidst the riots.

Once the riots have stopped, 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 Damage Claim

At the time of raising a car insurance claim for riot damages with your motor insurance company, 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 Document

You may be asked to submit your car insurance policy document or to share your policy details. This helps the insurer to cross-check if your car insurance policy covers own damages to your car.

2. Car Insurance Claim Form

Your motor insurer may also ask you to fill up a car insurance claim form and submit it to them. While some insurers may ask you to fill up a claim form online, others may ask you to submit a hard copy of the duly signed claim form.

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

In a Nutshell

Nobody can predict when and where a riot will break out. The only thing you can do is keep your car covered against the risk of riot damages so that you are adequately compensated for your losses. Therefore, make sure to buy a comprehensive car insurance policy to cover your car against riot damages.