When your car gets stolen and you do not recover it, you may have to go through stressful experiences. You would have brought your favorite model and kept many valuable things inside the car. Suddenly when you find your car missing, you tend to get very dejected. In some cases stolen cars are recovered in due course of time. Having your car totaled is another upsetting happening. If you have the right types of coverage and limits in your car insurance policy it can act as your safety net against these untoward incidents.
Filing a police complaint in case of stolen cars
When you find that your car has been stolen, the most important thing to do is to check for all the valuable things lost and collect the necessary information. This information should be provided to the police while filing a police complaint.
After filing a police complaint, you need to approach your insurance agent or insurance company and report the losses to them. In order to process your insurance claim, a copy of the police report is very essential.
When the vehicle is said to a write-off case
There are instances where you car may not be in a working condition or you are not able to drive the car at all. When the cost for repair of the vehicle exceeds its current market value, a vehicle is said to be a total loss or write off. Once you find that your car is not in a working condition, it is better to inform your insurance company or insurance agent. The repairer or salvage agent will come and collect your car.
Before allowing the repairer to collect your car, it is important to remove all personal belongings from the vehicle. The condition of the vehicle is assessed and if it is considered that the car can not be repaired, the insurance company will inform you about it. The wreck will then be removed and insurance company will ask for the original vehicle documents in addition to your car insurance policy details. The insurance company checks if they have the right model of the car and they will ensure that the claim is not fraudulent.
Documents and payments for write-off/stolen vehicles
In case the insurance company has certified that the car is a write-off, documents like MOT Certificate, V5 registration document, keys, purchase receipts and insurance certificate have to be surrendered. Once the documents are given, the insurance company arranges to issue payment within 5 working days.
In case of stolen cars and not finding it, the insurer of your car arranges to call you and have a discussion. They do the evaluation. Once all the valuations are done, an amount is derived to settle your claim. If you the find the amount reasonable you should surrender the documents relating to your car like Vehicle Registration Document, MOT Certificate, the Service Documents, Keys and Finance Documents, if any. The claim is usually settled within 5 working days.