Insurance Claim Process: What are the Various Steps to Claim an Insurance Policy?

Insurance Claim Process: How does it Work?

Whenever you are going through a financial, medical, or vehicle loss, an insurance claim can help you get things on the right track. It works like a safety net for your savings. The money required for medical or mechanical expenses can be acquired from claim insurance. As a result, you won't have to worry about using your savings during hard times. 

The funds can help you cover your medical bills, and they can also act as an income replacement in order for your family to meet their living costs. On the other hand, with the use of insurance claims, one can claim payouts that work as a lifeline of your family's loss, so it comes to support in place of your income. 

Guide On How to Avail Insurance Claim

There are five main stages that are typically used for processing any claim insurance, which involve the moment you make the report to the resolution of your claim. During this time, you need to gather your documents, such as receipts, original invoices, proof of ownership, and more. Given below, we have provided you with a clear step-by-step process for an insurance claim. 

Step - 1 Connect With The Insurance Company 

The first person whom you are going to contact when you are in need of an insurance claim is the broker from whom you have purchased the insurance policy. If that person is not picking up the call, you can then call the company's customer care and let them know about the situation at hand and which insurance policy you have taken from them as well once you have given the person a detailed list of the whole accident scenario, or the damaged done on property or loss of the articles. 

You need to take photos and videos if necessary to create proof or evidence of your loss. Now someone from the company, which is usually known as an adjuster, will connect with you via phone call or meet you in person to continue the claim process and get all the necessary documentation and video or photo proofs from you. 

Step - 2 Claim Investigation Begins 

Once the claim has been reported, an adjuster from the company will investigate the damages and then come up with the amount which can be covered by the insurance policy. In addition to this, if there are any liable parties, the adjuster will also identify them and help the process of claiming the insurance by finding out any witness information which you are not able to attain on your own. 

Step - 3 Insurance Policy Review

 After the investigation process is done, the insurance company will take a look at your policy for review. Here the company will check what is covered in your insurance policy and what isn't. Also, you will be notified about any deductibles which may apply in your case. 

Step - 4 Evaluation 

The adjuster, in this step, will contact doctors, engineers, mechanics, and contractors to give their expert advice on the scenario. This is done to evaluate how much damage has been done, and in this step, an adjuster will provide you with the list of hospitals, vendors, and mechanics from which you can go for medical aid and repairs, respectively. Keep in mind that it is not compulsory for you to get yourself treated or hire these vendors to get the work done. But doing so will help you save a lot of your time in research. 

Step - 5 Arranging Payment 

After you are given medical aid or your vehicle gets repaired, the adjuster will connect with you regarding the settlement of your claim and how you will relieve the payment. Here the amount you will get from the insurance company depends on the complexity and severity of your situation. 

Documents Required For Insurance Claim

Given below are the details you need to provide to the insurance claim company to start the process of claim. 

Vehicle Insurance Car And Two-Wheeler

•  Policy number
•  Engine and chassis number
•  Contact details
•  Details of the insured person
•  Details of the accident/theft (date, time, place, etc.)
•  Details of the motor vehicle (number, model, class, manufacture year, registration details, etc.)
•  Approximate loss figure
•  Description of the event (theft, accident, etc.)
•  Details of the other vehicle involved, in case of an accident
•  Declaration and contact details of witnesses
•  Claim/reference number

Medical Insurance 

• The original claim form of your insurance policy. 
• Policy number, name of the insured, address, and disease for which the insurance claim is required for the treatment. 
• Identity proof.
• The doctor's prescription suggests treatment in the hospital
• Doctor's prescription advising diagnostic tests, medicines, and consultation
• Indoor case papers
• Ambulance receipt
• Original pharmacy bills
• First Information Report(FIR), as required
• Any other additional documentation which may be required makes the insurance claiming process easier. 

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Conclusion

The truth is every single claim is different from the other, but the claim process only varies slightly from one another. The settlement time also depends on how much time the adjustor is given to resolve a particular case. So there are a number of things that insurance company does from their end to give you the best of the benefits from the insurance claim. 

Apart from this, there is one more thing we would like you to know, before signing up for the insurance policy, make sure you check the settlement ratio of that company. Is it better to take insurance from a company with a higher settlement ratio as they are more inclined towards providing customers the best settlement amount out of their insurance policy, and does the whole process in a shorter time?