There are many benefits of owning a bike. They make travel easier and more affordable for most of the Indian population. However, there is a potential risk in owning a bike. That is, due to its small size, it can be stolen. Unlike a car, it does not need to be unlocked to be stolen. Therefore, it is important to make sure your bike is safe from theft. There are some things you can do to protect your bike from being stolen. But you have to be ready for all possibilities. If your bike is stolen, it can be very helpful if you buy protection for it in the form of comprehensive bike insurance with theft coverage. Once, you have this coverage, all you have to do is claim if your bike has ever been stolen. Here are the steps you can take to claim insurance for bike theft:
- Register an FIR
It is the job of the police to recover any thing that has been stolen. In any instance of theft, the first advice you will ever receive is to seek help from the police. Hence, that is exactly what you need to do. The first step after having you bike stolen is filing an FIR or First Information Report at your nearest police station. The police will ask for various information about your bike. These include manufacturing, model, color, registration number, etc. It is important to complete this step because without this the theft claim on your bike insurance will not be processed.
- Inform your insurance provider
The next step is to inform your insurance provider about the theft and the fact that you will file a claim. Do this as soon as the FIR is registered. These two steps are the first and the most important in the process. Ensuring timely reporting means that the most urgent part of the process is complete. Notifying your insurance provider on time can prevent any delay in the process. During the time you complete other aspects of reporting, the insurance company will have enough time to complete some formalities of their own. Therefore, notifying them as soon as possible can reduce the total time it takes to process a claim. You should do so preferably through the insurance provider’s bike insurance app. This ensures faster and smoother reporting.
- Inform the local RTO
Any vehicle theft should be reported to the local regional transportation office. It is your responsibility as a vehicle owner to report the theft of your bike to the local RTO. The legal formalities of your insurance claim will not be completed until you have completed this step. Doing so ensures that if your registered bike is spotted by any traffic authority anywhere, the necessary steps can be taken to recover it. Moreover, if you stolen bike is involved in an accident, none of the liability of the incident can be assigned to you.
- Submit required documents
Different types of documents are required for the claim process. You will need to submit these along with the form provided by your insurance company. Generally, the following documents are required:
- Properly filled Bike Insurance Theft Claim Form
- Insurance policy document
- Original bike keys
- Self attested photocopy of the driving license
- Self-certified photocopy of the RC Book
- FIR (Original)
- Forms 28, 29, 30 and 35 from the RTO
File the No-Trace Report Application
This is also known as the Untraceable Vehicle Report. The reports clarifies that the incident was reported to the police and the vehicle could not be located during the investigation. This usually happens one month after the FIR was filed. If your bike is recovered, you will not receive compensation from the insurance company. If your bike is not recovered, this report will confirm that the vehicle was stolen beyond recovery to the insurance provider.
Please note that you will not receive any policy benefits if your plan is not valid. So, with a bike insurance renewal, you need to make sure you are on time. You can also use various insurance apps to renew or check bike insurance.
