I’m certain by now you are pretty tired of hearing how essential car insurance is, which questions to ask when phoning for a car insurance quote and which loopholes to look out for. The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter how extensively you did your homework; you can nevertheless be caught off-guard when it’s time for you to claim.
By keeping the following tips and advice in mind, your next insurance claim probably won’t turn into an insurance pain!
Some companies require clients to complete a thousand and one forms when they attempt to put in a claim. This can turn into quite an unpleasant and cumbersome task! Some other insurance companies will process the complete claim on the telephone, which is often very hassle-free! These kinds of calls are usually recorded so that the insurance providers still have comprehensive records of the incident and all the essential claim requirements. This might sound like something immaterial, but ensure that you are aware of the insurance company’s policies so that you are not agitated when inundated with tons of paperwork!
Insurance firms will have to ask a lot of questions when you want to put in a claim. Do not think that this is because they are searching for excuses to pay out, but simply because they need comprehensive information on the cause of the damages in order to communicate this information to the related parties (the people who need to process the claim, the panel beaters needing to repair the car etc).
If you have an excess amount on your policy, you have to pay the excess whenever you want to put in a claim. Do not think that because the accident was not fault, you aren’t liable for the excess. The excess amount has nothing to do with whose fault the accident was. Some insurance agencies will try to reimburse you the excess amount by claiming from the guilty party, but his is unfortunately not always possible. From time to time the guilty party will not have insurance, or will simply not be traceable!
Insurance providers have specific partners/suppliers that they use. Do not assume that your second cousin’s husband would be able to fix your car following a car accident – regardless of how fancy their panel beating facilities are! All panel beaters and other suppliers must be approved by the specific insurance company or the might not pay out your claim. This is not just to protect themselves, but also protect you, their client.
When getting a car insurance quote, make sure to ask about the company’s no-claim policies. Some companies offer bonuses when you don’t claim for a certain time. This is often by means of lowered policies, or even a money back incentive to spend as and for what you want to. If you have been paying your premiums for the required period without claiming, you would at least get something back in return for all the money you’ve already spent on your monthly premiums.
I’m hoping the above mentioned info managed to shed some light on a somewhat unfamiliar matter!