Road Accidents - Insurance Claims
Arising out of a road accident, what types of insurance claims can be made by the accident victim? It depends really as circumstances vary from one accident to another.
In this continuation of my series on Road Accidents, I will share with you the common types of insurance coverages available and what you should be doing to make a claim in these various types of insurance coverages.
Motor Policy
If your vehicle is involved in an accident and you have purchased a comprehensive motor policy, you may make a claim on your comprehensive motor policy to restore your vehicle to its pre-accident condition. You would not be able to do so if you only purchased a third party coverage motor policy.
Personal Accident Policy
If you are injured in a road accident, you may make a claim on the personal accident policy which you purchased subject to the type of injury sustained. Usually in policies of this kind, you must sustain serious injuries which disable a part of your body. Consult your insurance agent whether the injury sustained is covered.
Hospitalisation Policy
If you are admitted to a hospital due to injuries sustained in a road accident, you may be able to make a claim on your hospitalisation policy subject to the terms of the policy. The common items claimable are operation and treatment fees as well as bed. You are advised to carry your medic card with you issued by your insurer so that in the event you are hospitalised, you can produce this card to the hospital upon admission to check whether your hospital bills would be paid for by the insurer or not.
Loss of Income
There are some policies which contain an additional coverage for loss of income arising out of a period of disablement due to injuries sustained during a road accident. Consult your insurance agent for further details of your coverage.
Third Party Motor Policy Claim
If the road accident arose due to the negligence of the other motorist, you may make a claim against the insurer of the other vehicle for general and special damages. General damages include loss of amenities, pain and suffering arising out of the injuries sustained. Special damages include expenses incurred eg. hospital bills, purchase of police reports and the like, cost of travelling etc. Consult your lawyer for full items claimable depending on your condition.
How To Make An Insurance Claim
To make an insurance claim, you will need a minimum of the following documents to be submitted to the respective insurers: -
1. Copy of your police report;
2. Copy of your identity card;
3. Copy of your driving license;
4. Copy of registration card of your vehicle (non-medical claims);
5. Your motor insurance policy (comprehensive motor policy claims);
6. Medical report (medical claims).
7. Copies of other party’s police report/s, police sketch plan & key and photographs (third party related claims).
In the next installment of the Road Accident series, I will focus on insurance claims against the insurer of the vehicle found to have been negligent in causing the accident. I will share with you the options available to the victim of a road accident vis a vis the other party’s insurer.
comments
You got something to say?