General Insurance: Bhargav Dasgupta

I have taken a comprehensive insurance policy for my car. It was stolen sometime back and I had followed all the procedures to claim insurance. But before I could get the settlement amount, the police informed me that the vehicle has been traced. The vehicle is in an extremely bad shape with some parts missing. I haven’t taken the possession yet. What should I do?
A comprehensive Motor policy typically covers three categories of risks — accidental damages, vehicle theft and third-party liabilities arising/ caused by the insured motor vehicle.

In case of vehicle theft, the insured person can claim the total amount of insured declared value (IDV) of the vehicle as insurance compensation. If the stolen vehicle is recovered, one is not eligible for theft compensation, but still have the right to be indemnified against accidental losses.

Many stolen vehicles are recovered with external damage and auto parts such as tyres, battery, accessories, etc missing. Such losses are reimbursed by the insurance company as per the provisions of the India Motor Tariff.

Hence, in your case, you can lodge a claim with the insurance company demanding the cost incurred on repairs. It is advisable to inform the insurance company about the loss as early as possible, and get the damage to the vehicle surveyed before taking possession of the vehicle.

What is the meaning of ‘any one illness’ with reference to health insurance policies?
‘Any one illness’ means the continuous period of illness, including relapse within a defined period of time, from the last consultation with the hospital where the treatment was undertaken. The period of time is specifically mentioned in the policy and may vary from insurer to insurer. Thus, if the defined period of time is 45 days and there is hospitalisation for an illness on Day 1 followed by another hospitalisation for the same illness on Day 35, then both of them would be treated as ‘one illness’. Often, such repeat hospitalisations are caused due to relapse of a disease. However, the definition of ‘any one illness’ is not limited to relapse of diseases, but includes all hospitalisation within the defined period.

This term may be used in the context of defining limits of sum insured payable for one illness or defining the deductibles. Thus, if there is a limit of sum insured defined for ‘any one illness’, then the expenses incurred during multiple hospitalisations pertaining to the same illness within the defined period would be aggregated for the purpose of determining whether the sum insured has been exceeded.

Bhargav Dasgupta is the MD & CEO of ICICI Lombard General Insurance.
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