When an Auto Insurance Claim is Rejected?

It is common for Auto insurance companies to reject large number of car insurance claims or to reduce there payment values. Generally they would do this, only if they have genuine reasons. Filing claims and receiving the monetary benefits could be a difficult task. There are several factors that can result in claims rejection:

• The insurer may come to the conclusion that driver was largely or entirely at fault in case the claim is related to theft from the vehicle or of the vehicle itself. The car insurance policy may contain a clause which invalidates the claim.
• The insurer may call off the claim if the information provided during application was inaccurate or false.
• Another reason why a claim may get rejected is that the customer may have taken an insurance policy for a normal private car while it was actually used for commercial purposes. When a customer has a taxi, he should use a policy which is designed for taxis.
• In case of partial damages, which occur as a result of accidents, a customer often gets claims lesser than demanded because of the depreciation of the vehicle. So, an insurance company puts a car back in the same position as it was prior to the damage of the vehicle. For example, if the engine of a five-year old Maruti car is damaged, the insurance company is liable to pay the customer equivalent to five year old engine. If it is replaced with the new one, then the depreciation is deducted as per the tariffs so as to bridge the gap between the cost of the new engine and five-year old engine.
• If you are unable to provide receipts to backup claims of theft of items from your vehicle.
• If the value of the car is considerably less than the money you've invested in restoration or enhancements.

In any insurance policy your insurer expects you to disclose all the information that could be of importance to them. You are obliged to do this even if the detail is not requested. This process is known as “utmost good faith”. Insurance companies often use this extremely wooly approach to sharing information to justify rejecting or downscaling claims. If such situations arise with your car insurance claim, there are certain important points to remember:

• The small print of your policy carries a lot of weight, read it thoroughly before, during and after your claim.
• Keep the accurate records of conversations and correspondence along with all the receipts backing up your claim.

The payout figure announced by your insurance company is not a set in stone. Rather than just accepting the amount on offer you are perfectly entitled and rightful to question the payout. And you can put forward your case for why it should be increased.