What is Car Insurance Claim Settlement?
Car insurance claim settlement is a process under which a policyholder asks the insurer for monetary compensation in case his/her car has met with an unforeseen accident and suffered damages.
A claim can be settled via a cashless or reimbursement settlement method. The compensation paid under claim settlement depends majorly on IDV and the type of car insurance coverage of the policyholder such as third party insurance or comprehensive car insurance.
Car Insurance Claim Settlement Ratio of Different Car Insurance Companies
A car insurance claim settlement ratio is the percentage of claims settled by an insurance company in a year. It is an essential parameter to know the reliability of an insurance company in settling claims. Thus, the claim settlement ratio is a crucial indicator of an insurance company's performance and can help policyholders make informed decisions when purchasing a car policy.
Below is a table of car insurance claim settlement ratios of the car insurance companies in India:
| Public Car Insurance Companies |
Network Garages |
Claim Settlement Ratio |
| New India Assurance |
3000 |
95% |
| United India Insurance |
3100 |
95% |
| National Insurance |
3100 |
93% |
| Oriental Insurance |
3100 |
94% |
| Private Car Insurance Companies |
Network Garages |
Claim Settlement Ratio |
|
| ICICI Lombard General Insurance |
5900 |
96.75% |
| Tata AIG General Insurance |
7500 |
- |
| Bajaj General Insurance Limited (Formerly known as Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd) |
4000 |
98.5% |
| Digit General Insurance |
Repair Anywhere |
96% |
| Cholamandalam MS General Insurance |
8300 |
96% |
| SBI General Insurance |
16000 |
- |
| IndusInd General Insurance (formerly known as Reliance General Insurance) |
8200 |
98% |
| IFFCO Tokio General Insurance |
4300 |
95.8% |
| Shriram General Insurance |
2000 |
96% |
| HDFC Ergo General Insurance |
8200 |
99% |
| Royal Sundaram General Insurance |
3300 |
98.6% |
| Universal Sompo General Insurance |
3500 |
96% |
| Magma General Insurance |
4000 |
96.6% |
| Generali Central Insurance Company Ltd. (formerly known as Future Generali India Insurance Company Ltd.) |
3500 |
96.3% |
| Liberty General Insurance |
4500 |
98% |
| Zurich Kotak General Insurance Co. (India) Ltd. (Formerly known as Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Co. Ltd.) |
2327 |
98% |
| Zuno General Insurance |
1500 |
98% |
Disclaimer: The insurers/plans mentioned are arranged in order of highest to lowest gross direct premium income for motor insurance(total) by non-life insurers within India segment wise as per “Gross Direct Premium Income Underwritten By Non-Life Insurers Within India (Segment Wise): for the period upto March 2025 (Provisional & Unaudited ) In FY 2024-25”, published by General Insurance Council. Policybazaar does not endorse, rate or recommend any particular insurer or insurance product offered by any insurer. The insurers/plans mentioned are offered by Policybazaar's insurer partners offering motor insurance plans on our platform for complete list of insurers in India refer to the IRDAI website www.irdai.gov.in.
Types of Car Insurance Claim Settlement
A motor insurance company settles claims via two methods: cashless claim settlement and reimbursement claim settlement. Let us understand these terms:
-
Cashless Claim Settlement
This claim settlement is offered when a policyholder gets the car repaired in an authorised network garage of the insurer. Under this claim settlement process, the insurance company directly settles the claim with the network garage once the insured vehicle has been repaired. Thus, the policyholder is not required to pay anything from his/her pocket.
-
Reimbursement Claim Settlement
A reimbursement claim settlement can be done when a policyholder gets the insured car repaired in a non-network garage. Under this method, the insurance company settles the claim by reimbursing the claim amount to the policyholder after the repairs are complete.
Thus, this process requires the policyholder to pay the repair amount from his/her pocket and then apply for reimbursement from the insurer.
Documents Required to Raise a Car Insurance Claim
For a car insurance claim to be effectively settled, it is necessary to keep certain documents handy while raising it with your insurance company. Below we have mentioned certain documents, that are required to raise a car insurance claim:
- Duly filled and signed claim form
- KYC documents
- Copy of car insurance policy
- Copy of car's registration certificate
- Copy of driving license
- Copy of Police FIR in case of theft claims
- Estimated and original repair bills and payment receipts
How to Claim Car Insurance After an Accident?
In case your car meets with an unforeseen road accident, here is how you can easily raise a claim with your insurer:
-
Inform the Insurer
Informing the insurer will be the first step to initiate the claim settlement process.
As soon as your car meets with an accident, make sure to inform your insurer about the damages within next 48 hours. You can inform the insurer by contacting their customer support team or sending them an email.
-
Damage Assessment
Once you have informed the insurance company about the accident, they will send a surveyor to assess the extent of damage sustained by the insured car. The surveyor will now inspect the car and report the damages to the car insurance company.
-
Submit Required Documents
You will now be required to submit the necessary documents to the surveyor. Make sure to keep all the required documents handy with you.
-
Final Claim Settlement
Once the claim has been verified, the insured car will be sent to the network garage for repairs. Once the repairs are done, the insurance company will directly settle the claim with the network garage. In case, it's a reimbursement claim, the insurance company will pay you the amount of the repair after the repairs are done in a non-network garage.
