How to claim car insurance after an accident: the step-by-step

It is 8:40 on a Tuesday night. Someone changes lane without looking, your bumper takes it, and you both pull over. Nobody is hurt. The other driver wants to "settle it cash, no insurance", your phone is at 6%, and you have no idea whether to call the police, your insurer, or a tow truck first.

What you do in the next hour decides how much of that repair bill you get back. A motor claim is won or lost on intimation, inspection and paperwork, in that order. Here is the sequence.

What you are actually claiming

Your motor policy is two covers wearing one document.

Third-party cover pays for injury, death or property damage you cause to someone else. It is compulsory under Section 146 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and it is not claimed the usual way: injury and death cases go to a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, where the affected person files and your insurer pays.

Own-damage cover repairs your own car, and exists only if you hold a comprehensive or standalone own-damage policy. That is the claim most people mean. If your policy is third-party only, there is no own-damage claim to file, however bad the bumper looks.

The first hour, at the scene

1. People before paperwork. Get anyone injured to a hospital. The Act puts that duty on the driver.
2. Photograph before you move anything. Wide shots of both cars and the road, then every dent, then the other number plate.
3. Swap details. Name, phone, licence, registration number, insurer and policy number.
4. Involve the police where the law expects it. Where a person is injured or property damaged, the Motor Vehicles Act requires the driver to report to the police, commonly within 24 hours. Theft and third-party claims almost always need an FIR.
5. Intimate your insurer from the spot, by app or toll-free number.

Refusing the roadside cash settlement is usually the right instinct. A ₹15,000 "adjustment" looks simple until the other party denies it later, or the damage you could not see costs triple.

The claim path, start to finish

Stage	What happens	Your job
Intimation	You report it and get a claim number	Immediately, before any repair
Documents	Insurer asks for the standard set	Send complete scans in one go
Survey	A surveyor assesses the damage	Do not let the garage start
Approval	Insurer confirms what is payable	Get the amount in writing
Repair	The garage does the work	Cashless, or pay and claim back
Settlement	Insurer pays the garage or reimburses you	Read the deductions line by line

IRDAI's policyholder-protection rules put timelines on the insurer at each stage: appointing the surveyor, filing the report, settling or rejecting. Those windows have been revised over the years, so check the current regulation or your policy wording. Once you file, the clock is on them.

The documents to keep ready

Missing paperwork is the most common reason a claim crawls. Keep a folder on your phone:

• Signed claim form and policy number
• Driving licence of whoever was driving, plus the registration certificate
• FIR copy, where theft, injury or third-party damage is involved
• The garage's estimate, and original bills for a reimbursement claim
• For theft: the original keys and a police non-traceable report

Cashless or reimbursement

Cashless means a garage in the insurer's network. It bills the insurer directly and you pay only your share: deductible, depreciation, anything not covered. Less paperwork, but only network workshops. Better for a big repair you cannot fund upfront.

Reimbursement means any garage: you pay the full bill and claim it back with original invoices. More freedom, more paperwork, and the settled amount is what the surveyor assesses, not what your garage charged.

Why the cheque is smaller than the bill

An approved claim rarely pays the full invoice, and that is not a rejection. Three things take a cut:

• The deductible. A compulsory amount on every own-damage claim, commonly ₹500 or ₹1,000 for private cars depending on engine capacity under the India Motor Tariff, plus any voluntary deductible you chose.
• Depreciation on replaced parts, at standard rates by material and age. That is what a zero-depreciation add-on waives.
• Your IDV, which caps a theft or total-loss settlement. See the guide to IDV.

Then the decision nobody prompts you to make: whether to claim at all. A claim normally resets the No Claim Bonus built up over years. If the repair is close to your deductible plus the bonus you would forfeit, paying cash is often cheaper. The NCB guide works through that maths.

How to file a motor claim without losing money

1. Intimate first, always, before any repair, and note the claim number.
2. Let the surveyor inspect before work starts. This is the step that most often sinks an otherwise valid claim.
3. Send the document set complete, in one go. Piecemeal submissions restart the wait.
4. Get the approved amount in writing before you authorise the garage.
5. Read the settlement breakup, and escalate if it looks wrong: ask for the clause in writing, then the grievance cell, then the Insurance Ombudsman, which handles personal-line disputes up to ₹50 lakh.

Most of what goes wrong in a claim was decided long before the accident, in the policy you renewed without reading: your deductible, whether depreciation is waived, what your IDV caps you at. FinDecode reads your motor policy against IRDAI rules and flags those figures, every one from your own document. Decode your motor policy → · See how we check our work →.

FAQ

How soon must I report a car accident to my insurer? Ideally from the scene. Your policy wording states the expected window. Separately, where a person is injured or property damaged, the Motor Vehicles Act requires the driver to report to the police, commonly within 24 hours.

Do I need an FIR for every car insurance claim? No. A minor dent with no injury and no third party can often be claimed without one. An FIR is normally needed for theft, injury or death, and third-party property damage.

Can I get the car repaired before the surveyor inspects it? You should not. Repairing first removes the insurer's ability to verify the damage, and the claim can be reduced or declined.

Will making a claim affect my No Claim Bonus? Yes. A claim normally resets the discount you have accumulated, unless you hold an NCB protection add-on. On a small repair, the discount you forfeit can exceed what the claim pays.

What if my claim is rejected or paid short? Ask for the reason in writing and check it against your policy wording. Then the insurer's grievance cell, and failing that, the Insurance Ombudsman, which handles personal-line disputes up to ₹50 lakh.

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FinDecode provides AI-assisted analysis to help you understand your policy. It is not legal or financial advice. Compulsory third-party cover (Section 146), the driver's duty to report an accident, and the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal route come from the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Compulsory deductibles and parts-depreciation rates come from the India Motor Tariff on irdai.gov.in. Surveyor and settlement timelines sit in IRDAI's policyholder-protection regulations, which are revised over time. Ombudsman jurisdiction comes from the Insurance Ombudsman Rules. Your policy wording governs your claim.