Stolen Vehicles

In the unfortunate event of your vehicle being stolen from you, you need to understand that merely informing the police is not enough. If you sit quiet, you are only adding to the loss of the vehicle. Instead, you need to follow up with your insurance company and get compensation as much as possible.

What do I need to know and do when my vehicle is stolen?

The first thing that you must do once you understand that your vehicle is stolen is to call the police and inform them of your loss. When you talk to them, give them every bit of information pertaining to the car including the license plate number, the color, the make, the model, the VIN number, the year of the car and of course, all details regarding the location from where your car was stolen. The second thing you need to do is to call your insurance company and give them the same information all over again. Then, find out from your insurance company about the policy coverage and how the insurance company will handle your claim.

What do I need to understand about my car insurance policy cover?

It is good to know about your car insurance policy and understand what the details are all about. In general, you will find

  • Your insurance policy has a ‘wait’ clause that asks for duration of time in which you need to wait after your car is stolen for the insurance company to take any action.
  • You can apply for a rental vehicle to be issued to you
  • The insurance company starts the process of settling your claim and begins by scrutinizing your expenses towards the rental vehicle, and use of other vehicles if any.
  • Your vehicle may be written off as lost and the insurance company will give you a settlement check. It may also happen that your vehicle may be found in a damaged condition for which repair expenses will be looked over by an insurance adjuster. He will compare these expenses with the present day value of the car and decide if the vehicle is to be totaled or repair expenses are to be paid.
  • If there seems no possibility of the missing vehicle ever being traced back, the insurance company will issue a settlement check in your favor keeping in mind the present day value of the stolen car.


What should I do if the wait clause limit is over and then my car was found…?

If you have already got your check from the insurance company and then you are informed by the police that they have found your car, the first thing to do is to inspect the car and also get your insurance adjuster to inspect the car. If the car is reparable, you may have to return the check and proceed further with the car repair for which the adjuster will now recalculate the claim. If you have already used up the money that you received as the settlement, there is nothing really that you can do about it.