5 STEPS

TO GETTING YOUR

CLAIM  SETTLED

IN RECORD TIME

If you’ve ever been in a car accident, there’s no question about how traumatic it can be. Whether major or minor, it’s usually totally unexpected and takes a minute before you can process what’s happening. It’s a horrible experience at any level. While preparation for an accident is ill-advised, as its best not to put that energy into the universe, it doesn’t hurt to have some idea of what to expect and how you should handle the process of submitting a claim once you’re past the actual accident. The recovery process doesn’t have to traumatize you like the accident did.

 

1
 
GATHER YOUR INFO

After making sure everyone involved is safe, gather details of the accident scene. The most efficient way to do this is to pull out that smartphone and start snapping. Take photos of the general scene, position of the cars, road markings especially Stop signs/lines, license plate numbers, damages, documents etc. as your brain probably can’t be relied on at that point to retain every detail. You’re in some level of shock, even if you don’t feel it and your brain will only process certain things.

Some insurers offer accident management services so you can call that provider to do this for you, but there is a risk that something important may change during the time you’re waiting for them to get there. Or the other party may not be open to waiting. Best to take your own photos as soon as possible. List of information that will help:


 

In Trinidad, if you have car insurance with Beacon, call Forensys at

866-8888. They’ll send someone to you to document the accident scene, free of charge. This ensures that there is an impartial record of what happened and also starts the Claims process almost immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2
 
REPORT THE ACCIDENT

Report the accident to the Police within 24-hours and obtain a copy of the report for submission with your claim documents. This is critical in moving your claim forward quickly. The Police report advises on liability in the accident and most insurers will not settle a claim until this is provided.

 

Text Box: Report the accident to your Insurer. If you’re Beacon-insured, here’s your best options in order of priority: Call ForenSys at the incident scene and have them do your incident report. Submit an email to claims@beacon.co.tt with your name, policy number, contact info and a short summary of the incident. Someone will contact you for more details and to officially begin the Claim process. You can also submit a claim form yourself, which starts the claim registration process. Beacon’s Claim forms are available online at www.beacon.co.tt as well as at any Beacon office.


3
 
SUBMIT DOCUMENTS

After your claim report is reviewed, you will be notified of the claim process and advised of supporting documents required by a Claim Technician, via email. It’s best to do it this way to maintain a record of all information submitted.

Text Box: Required Documents: (i) Police Report (ii) Estimate for your vehicle repairs (iii) Driver’s permit of insured and other driver (iv) Certified Copy of Vehicle Registration (v) VAT Status as required by T&T Central Bank. A VAT letter is obtained by either: Taking your BIR Number to the VAT Office OR Providing us with your BIR Number for confirmation online (vi) Other documents may be required depending on the type of loss

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4
 
ADJUSTING THE CLAIM

Upon receipt of the estimate, an adjuster will inspect and evaluate the damages and “adjust” the claims as needed in order to propose a settlement figure within 14 business days. Negotiations will be held to discuss the settlement amount.

 

Many people don’t understand this part of the process but it’s necessary as insurance is based on something called Indemnity. Basically, any insurer’s requirement once a claim is valid, is to get the client to the point at which they were at the time of the accident/incident. In other words, if your car is 3 years old and the parts display wear-and-tear for that period of time, then the insurer can’t be expected to provide brand new parts to you because then the asset would be in a better condition, not the 3-year wear-and-tear condition. That is not Indemnity. The adjustment process caters for things like this and would include a depreciation value on the new parts which would be taken from your claim settlement amount. Not the easiest pill to swallow for sure, but insurance everywhere in the world works in this way. Adjusting also protects both the insurer and client from inflated prices for parts and labour as the adjusters are experts in their field and can identify when damages and costs are being exaggerated.

 

 

 

 

5
 
CLAIM SETTLEMENT

Here’s where most people are not happy because the settlement amount is not what they expected….

Based on all of the above, a claim settlement figure is proposed by the insurer. Let’s be realistic here…. If you’ve insured your vehicle for $100,000 and driven it for 2 years before writing it off, you’re not going to get $100,000 back. It’s an unrealistic expectation. The settlement amount is based on the damages incurred, cost to fix the vehicle up to the point of the incident and sum insured. So, ensure your vehicle is adequately insured (don’t over- or under-insure), you drive responsibly and your coverage is suitable for the risks to avoid any messy claims issues here. Ask questions when you purchase insurance and check your invoices to ensure that you get exactly the cover you want/need.

So anyway, the insurer makes an offer to the insured based on all of the info submitted. Upon acceptance of the offer and receipt of all necessary documents, payment will be processed minus the Excess or Deductible. This is another area of contention. “Why should I still pay this after I’ve paid my premium” is what most people lament about. Well, think about it…. If every time you scratch your car or have a minor incident a claim is brought forward, then that would mean a whole lot of time and administrative work for an insurer, yes? Which is doable, but it would increase costs for you the client, and no one wants exceedingly high premiums. The main purpose of the deductible is to ensure a level of personal responsibility for assets. If the value of your claim is less than the deductible, then it’s in your best interest to fix it yourself. Claims are brought for the repairs that you are unable to handle financially in one go.

Text Box: Back to the settlement. A final offer is made to the client via an official letter stating the amount and the client signs acceptance, or says its not good enough and submits a complaint. That’s another conversation for another blog. Once accepted however, a Claim Technician gets in touch to confirm the details for cheque collection or in some cases, ACH payment because you know, we do want to make things easier for you….do note however, that if your asset is mortgaged to a financial institution, the cheque is made payable to them and upon completion of its due diligence process, the institution will release the funds to you. So that’s it. Any questions, just call us at 223 2266. Till next time!