[sunilrs]

I am sure many of us have heard the old adage - Penny Wise and Pound Foolish. Acko re-iterated this lesson to me again over frustrating and fruitless two weeks.

I had insured one of my primary cars (2015 City) with Acko for 2 years and was overall quite happy with the prompt service and the attractive pricing. So when my father passed away suddenly and I got his car (2019 Baleno) transferred to my name, I shifted the insurance for that car as well to Acko and to be fair they were really helpful and fast in getting the policy issued, Maruti insurance was not at all helpful at that time.

I am a fairly safe and cautious driver and have not filed claims since 2019 or so However while I was out of town on a trip, two issues happened with the second car which is parked in the complex road (I only have 2 parking slots which I already use for my own cars). Someone had brushed my car on the way with scratch marks towards the rear and there was a small hole in my headlight which lead to water accumulation in the light during car wash, which is when my car washer noticed the hole.

I called up Acko and they offered to pick up the car the next day, promptly. Then started the painful saga - they only said they will pay for the side swipe and refused to pay for the headlight repair (despite taking a zero insurance policy) without police complaint against unknown persons.

I have made insurance claims in the past with other insurers and when no person is injured no insurance company has insisted on police complaints. My work involves constant travel. I escalated this issue on social media and to their teams which was my biggest mistake since under the pretext of investigating they have now held on to my car for 2 weeks without doing any work on the same beyond the minor scratch repair. I completely fail to see the point of insisting on police complaints for a hole in the headlight (which might have been caused by a falling stone).

The escalations team has been singularly unhelpful but unfailingly polite. Finally have given up and asked for the car to be returned, I will change the light at my own cost later rather than keep the car parked with Acko garage. To cut the long story short, If a deal sounds too good to be true, be wary and thats my big lesson with Acko, yes I saved a couple of thousands on insurance but when it comes to solving the issue, I ended up spending a lot more time, energy and cold hard cash.

Thankfully earlier this year, I had already shifted the City from Acko since they refused to offer zero depreciation cover (despite having made zero claims during the 2 years that the car was insured with them). With this lesson, I will also shift the Baleno back to Maruti insurance, even if it costs a bit more.

If you are tempted to go for Acko to save some money like me, do consider my experience before you make a decision.

[SS80]

Although I feel bad about what happened, are you referring to a cracked headlight? Or an actual hole. Because unless it's a damage, insurance won't pay for it. Since we don't have a photo to view, I am only guessing.

[sunilrs]

It is a hole in the headlight through which water seeped inside the light while the car was being washed. It is definitely damage since there are some scratches near the hole. I had checked with my Maruti ASS, who said that this would be covered under insurance (especially a zero depreciation policy) but Acko insists that the car go to their preferred garage or pay a deductible of 5000. Given that it was cosmetic damage, I sent it to the Acko recommended garage. I still have not received my car back after 2 weeks with them so unable to share pictures at the moment.

[Amsdoc]

The problem here is they have to be certain that this happened in the same incident. You cannot claim for insurance despite your zero dep for 2 different incidents. I guess you are trying to say that this happened in same incident but they aren't sure. Anyways, insurance companies are all scam artists who will try their best to skimp and give you a smaller claim. Best of luck!

[sunilrs]

Originally Posted by Amsdoc

The problem here is they have to be certain that this happened in the same incident. You cannot claim for insurance despite your zero dep for 2 different incidents. I guess you are trying to say that this happened in same incident but they aren't sure. Anyways, insurance companies are all scam artists who will try their best to skimp and give you a smaller claim. Best of luck!

Thanks, this is helpful and if I go by this premise, shouldn't Acko check which damage should be repaired with me even if there are 2 incidents (which i do not know for sure) and give me the choice of repairing any 1 of the 2 incidents? They have happily passed the minor sum and left the bigger sum hanging. I guess Scam Artists does feel like an appropriate description.

I guess it is a bit naive of me to expect a brand to be ethical in dealing with its customers . I will consider this as downpayment for a valuable lesson and move on. Hopefully somebody else will take this learning before deciding to go for a 'cheaper' insurance option.

[Lalvaz]

I think Acko is perfectly correct in denying the claim. In my opinion, they have inspected the vehicle and probably come to the conclusion that the headlamp crack is not due to the accident at the rear and hence denied the claim. I would think that this thread title is misleading and unfair to Acko.

Request the mods to step in and modify the thread title if they agree.

[Omkar]

I believe it is established that covering 2 incidents in one insurance claim isn't possible. No insurance company will do that.

All this hassle could've been avoided if the garage or the insurance company had given you the option of using 2 claims from your policy for the 2 incidents. At least this way you'd get to use your zero dep policy and get the free headlight. You can also do that now BTW.

Regarding the headlight - They've probably asked for an FIR - First Information Report and not a police complaint. You just have to mention that you found the car that way with a hole in the headlight. The surveyor and his seniors might have doubted that the hole was pre-existing due to the water inside the headlamp. Hence to safeguard themselves during an audit, they'd require an FIR. This way, there's a document proving the date of the incident, that's all there is to it. It's a pretty standard procedure.

Also have noticed that most companies are moving towards digitization of the claim process to avoid insurance fraud which was a very common practice back in the day. Nowadays, since everything is on record, most insurance companies are following standard procedures for small claims.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by sunilrs

will consider this as downpayment for a valuable lesson and move on. Hopefully somebody else will take this learning before deciding to go for a 'cheaper' insurance option.

Unlikely that any insurance will cover two different damages in same claim.
Legally they have to go by what has been written in claim. E.g.: if consumer has written that there was an accident where someone hit the car on side; headlight damage can't be part of same claim.

A service advisor can provide opinion to contrary, but Insurance surveyor is going to reject this eventually.

In theory, a different claim can be raised for headlight.

[sunilrs]

Originally Posted by Omkar

I believe it is established that covering 2 incidents in one insurance claim isn't possible. No insurance company will do that.

All this hassle could've been avoided if the garage or the insurance company had given you the option of using 2 claims from your policy for the 2 incidents. At least this way you'd get to use your zero dep policy and get the free headlight. You can also do that now BTW.

Regarding the headlight - They've probably asked for an FIR - First Information Report and not a police complaint. You just have to mention that you found the car that way with a hole in the headlight. The surveyor and his seniors might have doubted that the hole was pre-existing due to the water inside the headlamp. Hence to safeguard themselves during an audit, they'd require an FIR. This way, there's a document proving the date of the incident, that's all there is to it. It's a pretty standard procedure.

Sure, However, the car was fully examined by Acko a few months ago when the ownership was transferred from my father's name to my name only when they were satisfied it was in perfect condition before they issued the policy. Also since I was traveling and happy to provide them air tickets to confirm, how can I specify date of incident? Perhaps my ignorance but have never faced a demand for police before in claims registration.

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

I think Acko is perfectly correct in denying the claim. In my opinion, they have inspected the vehicle and probably come to the conclusion that the headlamp crack is not due to the accident at the rear and hence denied the claim. I would think that this thread title is misleading and unfair to Acko.

Request the mods to step in and modify the thread title if they agree.

I am unsure what you find objectionable in the title. I have stated that I learnt a lesson by opting for Acko and have laid out what happened. I have not accused Acko of cheating or malfeasance. I feel that this could have been handled better by them and this is contrary to my experience with other insurers. You are of course free to draw your own conclusions as a reader on my ignorance or on the company's approach. I have only stated that I will not opt for or trust Acko again and that is my right as a consumer.

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Unlikely that any insurance will cover two different damages in same claim.
Legally they have to go by what has been written in claim. E.g.: if consumer has written that there was an accident where someone hit the car on side; headlight damage can't be part of same claim.

A service advisor can provide opinion to contrary, but Insurance surveyor is going to reject this eventually.

In theory, a different claim can be raised for headlight.

I did not write anything there claims surveyor called me and asked me what happened, I told him up front that I did not know except to come back from holiday and find the car in this condition. Any way I am done with the claims process for now, will get the headlight repaired at the ASS and choose a service centre recommended insurer in the future.

[neerajku]

Really sad to hear this. May be that is how these companies show a solid bottomline before they get listed. I see a lot of comments about eligibility or admissibility of claims and about the process. Why could Acko not tell you this, what is payable and what is not. If forum members know so much and can share, what stopped Acko from telling you this? Would have been far simpler and less agonizing for you and them !

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by sunilrs

I am unsure what you find objectionable in the title. I have stated that I learnt a lesson by opting for Acko and have laid out what happened. I have not accused Acko of cheating or malfeasance. I feel that this could have been handled better by them and this is contrary to my experience with other insurers. You are of course free to draw your own conclusions as a reader on my ignorance or on the company's approach. I have only stated that I will not opt for or trust Acko again and that is my right as a consumer.

Just that if you replace Acko by any insurer, the expected outcome by the book would be same. In your post, I see no negative actions by them. They are going by the book; the police complaint (or FIR) is official acknowledgement of someone else being responsible for the damage for their underwriters to approve the claim.

You are obviously free to make your future insurance provider decisions basis this experience; but the clear view as observed by the numerous posts above is that Acko is pretty much in the correct. And co-incidentally, this thread (Acko & Digit, the new insurance firms. Any reviews?) has also showcased Acko services being good by several bhpians. Maybe you could take up the advice given by many and sort out the pending issues with the Acko guys, but it's up to you.

I personally have never availed Acko so far; sticking to old established firms like Tata AIG or Bajaj Allianz. But threads like these are giving me a decent view on considering Acko in the selection set going forward.

[2nd_gear_7krpm]

Quite apart from the claim settlement debate, the acko's pricing is ridiculous to say the least. Premium of ~ Rs. 1 lakh for a 3 year old Honda City, that too for an IDV of 8 lakhs!! What are they smoking? Someone from Acko called me after I had posted this screenshot on Twitter and she was justifying the premium! I got the comprehensive cover for one year (zero dep + engine cover + return to invoice + 3rd party+ miscellaneous minor add ons) for Rs. 20k from Kotak, that too for an IDV of Rs. 11 lakhs.

[the_joker]

Originally Posted by 2nd_gear_7krpm

...Premium of ~ Rs. 1 lakh for a 3 year old Honda City, that too for an IDV of 8 lakhs!! ... I got the comprehensive cover for one year (zero dep + engine cover + return to invoice + 3rd party+ miscellaneous minor add ons) for Rs. 20k from Kotak, that too for an IDV of Rs. 11 lakhs.

That is surprising. I have insurance from Acko for my Ecosport. I think I paid 25k for 9 lakh IDV a year back. I don't have Extra Car protect and Paid driver, have the rest. But those two are very minor.

[Jekyl87]

While I agree with you that a police report should not be required for a headlight, this can be solved by doing two claims in parallel. I did this on my dzire last to last year. Allmost all the panels were scratched/minor dents through years of driving without any panel work. I had never claimed insurance yet but had a running tata aig zero dep since purchase of the car. Took it to Maruti Service Masters, the service advisor said he would handle everything. Made two claims, for two sides, and most of the work incliding broken taillight got done. I felt that he definitely inflated the bill a little bit which was submitted to the insurance, but I got charged just the claim charges on the two claims. Since these were a result of 10s of different incidents from across years, I just told them that the car got hit while parked from one side, and another incident two days later where someone scratched on the other side on a traffic signal and took off. Not sure whether it was that I was a NCB customer for so many years or is it because of the company, but tata aig advisor was most polite and helpful in passing both claims even though the damage did not clearly match the stories. I have trusted tata aig for all my cars since beginning and it has always served me well.

[sunilrs]

So there has been a resolution with Acko after following up with the Escalations team again and a mail to someone in the leadership (cannot share names). Acko has agreed to resolve this and replace the headlight under the insurance policy yesterday. Hopefully I will receive car in the following week.

It has been a learning experience for sure.

On some of the points raised by ninjatalli -

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Just that if you replace Acko by any insurer, the expected outcome by the book would be same. In your post, I see no negative actions by them. They are going by the book; the police complaint (or FIR) is official acknowledgement of someone else being responsible for the damage for their underwriters to approve the claim.

You are obviously free to make your future insurance provider decisions basis this experience; but the clear view as observed by the numerous posts above is that Acko is pretty much in the correct. And co-incidentally, this thread (Acko & Digit, the new insurance firms. Any reviews?) has also showcased Acko services being good by several bhpians. Maybe you could take up the advice given by many and sort out the pending issues with the Acko guys, but it's up to you.

I personally have never availed Acko so far; sticking to old established firms like Tata AIG or Bajaj Allianz. But threads like these are giving me a decent view on considering Acko in the selection set going forward.

On the points you raised,

1) That has not been my experience in the past. However all of us have different experiences which guide our decisions. I will go with the benefit of my understanding. Separately, I again point out that I laid down my experience and have not accused Acko of doing anything illegal.

2) I tried for over a week to resolve this with Acko directly. So that advice was a bit gratuitous.

3) The mods seem to have agreed with your position on the thread name.

4) Whom you insure with is entirely your call. I hope your experience is positive with your preferred insurer.


However I will say this, at the end of the day, I have paid a reasonable amount for a service and If I do not fight for the value due to me, who will? It takes time to earn the money spent on the premium (whether an hour or a day or a month depends on our individual finances) and the reason we take insurance is to avoid worrying, if and when an unfortunate instance strikes and at that time, it is not unreasonable that I expect the insurer to help (and not throw rulebooks at me).