[k491]

Hey everyone,

I drive a 2022 Polo GT Legend 1.0 TSI and wanted to share my experience with car insurance, both the good and the frustrating, so you can make informed choices.

Choosing the Right Insurance Provider

When we buy insurance, we trust these companies to support us in case of mishaps. While there's plenty of competition in the market, only a few truly stand out in my experience.

Royal Sundaram – Best in my experience.
Tata AIG – Some delays in approvals & settlements but overall good.
IFFCO-Tokio - Good but lacking cashless facilities at many ASCs.
ICICI – I haven’t personally used ICICI, but many close friends vouch for them.

Initially, HDFC bundled my car loan and insurance, which was convenient at the time. I had no claims in the first year.

Year 2: Switching to Royal Sundaram

For the second-year renewal, HDFC's IDV was low, so I switched to Royal Sundaram as they were the only provider offering 10L IDV (on a 10.25L ex-showroom car) at ₹14.5K premium.
Unfortunately, I had to replace the bumper, I registered the claim around 11 AM at VW Singasandra and the surveyor visited the ASC by 1 PM and finished the survey. He approved the claim next day and settlement was also quick.
By the third year, my premium jumped to ₹27K due to the claim history.

I requested a premium reduction, considering the hike was more than the claim amount, but they refused.

Meanwhile, as my renewal date approached, as usual I was bombarded with calls offering various quotes.
I narrowed my choices to:

Tata AIG – ₹19.5K
Reliance – ₹14K
both provided 9L IDV

I wanted to give ACKO a try, but they didn't offer coverage for my car (possibly because it’s a discontinued model). I decided to take a chance with Reliance, assuming they were a reputable company. Big mistake.

The Nightmare Begins – Dealing with Reliance Insurance

My real struggles weren’t with Reliance itself, but with their area surveyor, Mr. Lokesh Sriramulu, who oversees the NH44 Area (South Bangalore). His goal seemed to be saving the company money by approving the lowest possible claim amounts.. He might be highly incentivized to do so.

Claim 1: Windshield Replacement

A stone from a truck’s tire cracked my windshield. Here’s where the problems started:

Service Center Hassles:

My dealership, Ramani Cars, Hosur, has no body shop, meaning I would have to pay for fuel to get repairs done at their Salem branch.

The nearest VW ASC (Singasandra) is mediocre at best, so I opted for a trusted FNG that used OEM parts.

At the time of registering claim my advisor warned me about Mr. Lokesh’s reputation.

The estimated repair cost was ₹12K, final invoice ₹10.5K (VW's official quote was ₹14K).

Approved amount? A laughable ₹3K. I would like to know where he sources VW parts at such low cost. Might not be a bad business idea.

Lokesh claimed the invoice was artifically inflated by the FNG and insisted that a windshield doesn't cost that much at an ASC.

After four weeks of back-and-forth, the FNG gave me a ₹2K discount forgoing the labour charges, bringing the final invoice to ₹8.5K.

Final settlement: ₹5.6K.

Claim 2: Dog Avoidance Incident

Trying to avoid a dog, my left side bumper, fog lamp bracket, fog lamp lock, fog lamp cover, and under lip got damaged.

Initial Estimate:

The FNG estimated ₹25K for repairs.

Mr. Lokesh’s approved amount? ₹5K.

Approved for a VW Polo TSI bumper: ₹1.8K. It was a slap in the face of the customer for trusting such a big company.

More Headaches:

Lokesh asked for dismantled pictures, I was present when they dismantled the parts and sent the pictures to Lokesh while being on call. He had one good look at them and said to the advisor that he'll talk to the customer (me) to get the bumper and other parts repaired by plastic welding and he knows a place where it can be done. At that point just deny the claim instead of insulting the intelligence of the customer.

Frustrated, I tweeted about it, and Reliance’s social media team escalated my complaint to his direct superior, Mr. Praveen. I explained about both my incidents with Lokesh to him and he promptly asked me to complete the work and contact him at the time of settlement.

Final settlement after escalation: ₹12.5K on a ₹17K bill.

Reliance Insurance as a whole is systemically flawed.

My frustrations with Reliance aren’t limited to car insurance. My dad had a Reliance Life Insurance policy, and he was misled about the benefits. He opted for premature settlement in 2019, submitted all required documents including the original policy document, but never received the settlement cheque. The company insisted it was paid. After escalating the issue via Twitter in 2025, we finally got a response, but the letter was addressed to a completely different name!After many angry emails with the department My dad had to submit five years of bank statements multiple times before he finally got his settlement, with zero compensation for the six-year delay.

Final Verdict: AVOID RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE

I waited until my renewal period to post this, so I could warn others. If you’re in an area where Mr. Lokesh Sriramulu operates , stay far away from Reliance General Insurance, avoid it like it's the plague . This person cancelled the tie up of an ASC of a big car company because the ASC owner challenged his claim settlement. Now that particular brand car owners with Reliance insurance won't have cashless facility just because the area surveyor has too big of an ego. I have already stopped two of my friends from opting Relaince Insurace for their cars.

Talk to service advisors at multiple ASCs. They know which providers are easiest to deal with and have good claim settlement history.

At the end of the day, insurance is meant to protect you, not frustrate you. I hope my experience helps you make an informed decision!

I'm going with TATA AIG this time as they provide bumper to bumper insurance up to 7 years.

Thank You

[yedukrishnan199]

Thanks for the information, generally I have found ICICI Lombard to be excellent, they provide almost all necessary covers but are a bit more expensive than the others. I have had a horrible experience with Royal Sundaram in my area with our Renault Kwid, so won't vouch for that. Tata AIG and HDFC Ergo have been good overall as well. Regarding Public insurance companies, New India has been the best for me. SBI General also provides good service.

As rightly mentioned IFFCO TOKIO doesn't have cashless facilities with many ASCs. Considering our ownership of Kia cars, the major options available right now are Reliance General, Digit, ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz, New India Assurance and TATA AIG as only they seem to have cashless tie-up with the authorised service centre garage for Kia in my district.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by k491

Hey everyone,

I drive a 2022 Polo GT Legend 1.0 TSI and wanted to share my experience with car insurance, both the good and the frustrating, so you can make informed choices.

Choosing the Right Insurance Provider

Talk to service advisors at multiple ASCs. They know which providers are easiest to deal with and have good claim settlement history.

At the end of the day, insurance is meant to protect you, not frustrate you. I hope my experience helps you make an informed decision!

I'm going with TATA AIG this time as they provide bumper to bumper insurance up to 7 years.

I am sorry to hear your ordeal. Let me share my thoughts in this regard.

In India, there are 4 state owned (Govt) general insurance companies.
United India Insurance Co.- HO in Chennai. South Flag Co.
National Insurance company - HO in Kolkata. East flag Co
The New India Assurance Company - HO in Mumbai. West Flag Co
The Oriental Insurance Company. - HO in Delhi. North Flag Co.

The insurance industry is overlooked and controlled by IRDA, Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority.
IRDA came into being in the year 2000. Prior to that there was a Controller of Insurance who managed the insurance affairs in India.

As the clamour for private participation in Insurance grew and in an effort to have more players in the field, Govt allowed foreign insurance companies to operate in India, albeit with an Indian partner. And thus
were born all the private insurance companies such as IFFCO TOKYO, Royal Sundaram, TATA AIG, Reliance Etc.

These are private entities in insurance domain and are completely focused on revenue generation. Their priorities are different from the State owner General Insurance companies (mentioned above), who are relatively/ comparatively service oriented.

I am a Surveyor and my strong suggestion is to switch over to any of the State owned insurance company. Probably United India insurance Co as they are the South India Flag Co ( HO in Chennai) as you reside in Bangalore.

I searched for Mr. Lokesh Srinivasulu in our Surveyors Institute list of licenceed / accredited surveyors. His name is not there. Mr. Lokesh Srinivasulu is NOT a surveyor who has been issued licence by IRDA, the insurance regulatory body in India. In all probability, he is a regular staff of Reliance Insurance and not a trained surveyor. Becoming a surveyor is a long and tedious process involving training under senior surveyor for an year, thereafter taking multiple examination on various subjects and then getting the licence as a junior/ Licenciate surveyor who needs 8 years of experience to become an Associate Surveyor and another 8 years of experience to become a Fellow/ Senior Surveyor ( which I am).

So, please do not address Mr. Lokesh as a Surveyor. He is not. The private companies can send any of their regular clerks and you wouldn't know. So, expecting a fair evaluation of your claim is a tall order. And as you rightly said, they just recommend a fraction of your actual loss. Bottom line. Stay away from all private insurance companies.

The state owned insurance companies are better because they are much more accountable and they send licenced surveyors to do the job. They are flexible and can be reasoned with. Of course, they are lethargic and take longer period to settle a claim. The Govt apathy is there. Inspite of it, I am sure, you will not be disappointed with your final settlement amount with them.

Why private insurance companies don't appoint licensed surveyors? An IRDA licensed surveyor's professional fee is high compared to what the private insurers are willing to pay. The State owned companies don't mind as it's Govt organisation whereas the private insurance companies don't have that luxury. They have to carefully manage their profit (premiums) and loss ( claim settlements) and thus they cut corners in multiple places such as sending an office staff to survey instead of a licensed surveyor to save on the surveyor fee ( which is substantial by the way) and also curtail the claim amount giving frivolous reasons. In return you get to pay lesser and attractive premium at the commencement of the insurance policy. You pay less, you receive less and they have to make a profit even with the lesser premium paid by the customer. If they pay you the right claim amount, their math won't work. They won't remain profitable anymore.

As you are unhappy with your claim settlement, you can approach the company ombudsman or even lodge a complaint with IRDA ( visit their website for more information). You can even lodge a consumer complaint and I believe it's not expensive.

I have multiple vehicles and all my insurance are with the Govt owned insurance companies ( United and Oriental) and I wouldn't touch any private player with a barge pole.

Please visit more insurance companies, speak with them and take an informed decision.

[padmrajravi]

Agree about government-owned insurance companies being the best. If your objective is to get a seamless experience during the claim process, the best option is to use a state-owned insurance provider's quote that comes through the dealership. It would be slightly higher than what you can get through the insurance office, but the claim process avoids the lethargic government office experience. The dealer manages everything and I have never had an experience of a claim being rejected or reduced this way.

My sister works with New India Assurance and she can provide me with a much lower quote. But after my first claim experience with them, I stopped going through that route. To their credit, they never reduced or argued about the claim, it is just that the process will be slow with multiple visits. So now, I just take the dealership insurance with a new-india quote under the hood. Almost all dealerships will have tie-ups with at least one state-owned provider. It would be slightly expensive compared to dealer insurance with a private provider, but it is well worth the additional money in my opinion. Government providers are very professional in their claim process and only play by their rule book. That extra amount saves a lot of headaches during the claim process.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by k491

Final Verdict: AVOID RELIANCE GENERAL INSURANCE

Even their corporate insurance is a joke.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by k491

...wanted to share my experience with car insurance, both the good and the frustrating, so you can make informed choices.

It does seem very frustrating. Insurance claim process should be very simple but if the intent is clearly to reduce the disbursement, they will go all their way for it. Reckon that is what you fell in the trap for.

Originally Posted by ashkamath

. Let me share my thoughts in this regard.


These are private entities in insurance domain and are completely focused on revenue generation.

Thanks for the inside point of view of the Industry.

New age insurance companies are, quite frankly, a front to a money grabbing entity which earns immensely from the funds it 'collects' as premium. They are clearly not interested to reduce this money pot.

Guess we all fall in the trap of new age insurance firms due to their low premium without looking under the hood.

Hopefully your guidance gives new buyers the much needed advice.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by k491

Choosing the Right Insurance Provider

Reliance Insurance as a whole is systemically flawed.

I don't know why anyone in the world would choose Reliance General Insurance and then complain. They belong to the ADAG group which are mostly bankrupt.

On the other hand, insurance has the right to fight against and negotiate repair of a part instead of replacing it. There are so many examples of service centers wanting to replace doors and metals for a scratch or a dent that could be repaired by tinkering and painting. Service centers would suggest replacing the panels because they get 3 to 4 times the revenue and profits of repairing it. If insurance companies don't fight it and replacing becomes the norm, service centers have started to do the same for even out of pocket repairs which is common in our country. Imagine paying 40k just because you got into a small accident and the other vehicle got a small dent and owner wants 40k for it because the service center wants to replace a door. This is what a friend did , and the other party suggested filing a FIR and claiming 3rd party insurance. Finally my friend agreed to tinkering and painting the door for 12 k at the service center and the other guy paid it. This sort of unnecessary replacements impose a burden on the society.

Taking that concept to plastic parts further is not correct though. That is where a line to be drawn between reasonable and unreasonable and yours is the latter. But can't expect any better from Reliance.

[sinharishi]

I have never had any complaints with insurance claims so far. I always buy insurance from ASC, the cost is high but no headache during claims.

Edit: I have Relaince health insurance from 3 years now, have taken 2 claims so far and it was smooth, better than our previous insurance company Royal Sundaram who just deserted us after 10+ years of loyalty.

[ike]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

I searched for Mr. Lokesh Srinivasulu in our Surveyors Institute list of licenceed / accredited surveyors. His name is not there. Mr. Lokesh Srinivasulu is NOT a surveyor who has been issued licence by IRDA, the insurance regulatory body in India. In all probability, he is a regular staff of Reliance Insurance and not a trained surveyor.

Is there a regulatory requirement to have an accredited surveyor? Can we ask the surveyor if he is accredited and ask for his credentials(like a certificate or an ID or a license) and are they obligated to share it with the customer?

[The Mechanic]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

I am a Surveyor and my strong suggestion is to switch over to any of the State owned insurance company.

Another Licensed Insurance Surveyor Here,

I would like to add a few more points

1. To check if someone is a surveyor or not, just visit the following website.
https://www.iiisla.co.in/findsurveyornew.php


Some BHPians are also there in that list


2. As per regulations, every Motor claim above 50k and Non Motor claim above 1 Lakhs has to be surveyed by a licensed surveyor, below which a company is permitted to not depute a licensed surveyor. But public sector companies tend to stick with Licensed Insurance Surveyor even for claims within this limit.


3. Public sector companies have recently shifted to claims hub system for processing and thus turnaround times for claim processing has improved a lot.


4. As far as insurance company recommendation, I have it spread across United India, Oriental and New India. I stick with these 3 for Motor and Non Motor Policies. BUT main deciding factor is that my agents are also some of the best in the area. This is one recommendation I give to everyone, get policy from an agent who has some experience and contacts to support you in the event of a claim.

[kunal_0505]

Had a similar experience with Reliance in Mumbai as well. Mine was a claim on my Mercedes Benz GLS. I have decided to never take Reliance insurance even if their quote is lowest in the market. Reliance is the worst followed by SBI. I stay away from these two while renewals.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by ike

Is there a regulatory requirement to have an accredited surveyor? Can we ask the surveyor if he is accredited and ask for his credentials(like a certificate or an ID or a license) and are they obligated to share it with the customer?

As our fellow Bhpian @The_Mechanic has mentioned below, the claimant can visit the surveyor's institute - IIISLA ( Indian Institute of Insurance Surveyors & Loss Assessors) at www.IIISLA.co.in and click on "Find a surveyor" link and after providing your Zone/ State/ Place you will get the list of IRDA licensed Surveyors in that State/ placem The details include the surveyors categories, contact number, email address etc.

You can always ask the surveyor if he is an IRDA licensed Surveyor. The easiest way to find out is to visit the above mentioned IIISLA portal and check for yourself.

Now, IRDA also says that you, the claimant can appoint your own surveyor from the list of licensed surveyor in IIISLA portal.

So, either the insurance company (the insurer) or the loss claimant (the insured) can appoint a licensed surveyor for conducting the survey, assess the loss and submit the survey report to the insurer ( the insurance company). In case, the claimant appoints the surveyor, the survey fee has to be initially paid by the claimant (the insured, the vehicle owner) and the amount will be refunded to him/her subject to the acceptance of liability by the insurer ( the insurance company).

Again as mentioned by @The_Mechanic

<Quote>
1. To check if someone is a surveyor or not, just visit the following website.

https://www.iiisla.co.in/findsurveyornew.php

2. As per regulations, every Motor claim above 50k and Non Motor claim above 1 Lakhs has to be surveyed by a licensed surveyor, below which a company is permitted to not depute a licensed surveyor. But public sector companies tend to stick with Licensed Insurance Surveyor even for claims within this limit.
<Unquote>

Hope that helps..
@The_Mechanic Sir hope you voted today for the new IIISLA council? I just did.

[hemant.kamat]

Adding to this thread my ordeal with Reliance General (Reliance General Insurance rejects claim due to "previous damages" | Approved after IRDAI complaint)

Originally Posted by k491

My real struggles weren’t with Reliance itself, but with their area surveyor, Mr. Lokesh Sriramulu, who oversees the NH44 Area (South Bangalore). His goal seemed to be saving the company money by approving the lowest possible claim amounts.. He might be highly incentivized to do so.

An IRDAI complaint would have set them straight and saved you unnecessary headaches

[The Mechanic]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Now, IRDA also says that you, the claimant can appoint your own surveyor from the list of licensed surveyor in IIISLA portal.

So, either the insurance company (the insurer) or the loss claimant (the insured) can appoint a licensed surveyor for conducting the survey, assess the loss and submit the survey report to the insurer ( the insurance company). In case, the claimant appoints the surveyor, the survey fee has to be initially paid by the claimant (the insured, the vehicle owner) and the amount will be refunded to him/her subject to the acceptance of liability by the insurer ( the insurance company).

Have you ever experienced this Sir?. I haven't .

Originally Posted by ashkamath

@The_Mechanic Sir hope you voted today for the new IIISLA council? I just did.

Yes Sir, on 19th Evening.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by The Mechanic

Have you ever experienced this Sir?. I haven't.

I had the copy of the IRDA circular in that regard with me. It's been many years now and I don't know where I have kept it. The circular is also available on IRDA portal.

No claimant/ insured has exercised his/her right to appoint his/her own surveyor, though it's permitted by IRDA. That's mainly due to the fact that the claimant/ insured is unaware that such a rule exists. The claimant/ insured has very little idea about the surveyor, his role, scope of work and responsibilities. It's a grey area for most people.

Generally it's believed (by loss claimant) that surveyor is an employee of the insurance company. Though it's true for smaller claims and with private insurers, the IRDA licensed surveyor is purported to be totally an independent, 3rd party competent authority who is neither prejudiced towards the insurer not insured, while assessing the loss. (Anyways, Truth can't be far from this statement in many cases).

To answer your question, if I have exercised that option, well, No. I haven't seen any claimant appoint his own surveyor (after informing the insurance company ofcourse).