Scenario: a car repair claim with depreciation and a disputed surveyor estimate
Written for policyholders in India · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
This walkthrough follows an invented car-repair claim where the surveyor's assessment is well below the garage's estimate, mostly because of depreciation and disallowed items. It sets out what the rules say about the survey and its timing, how to compare the two figures line by line, and how to raise the difference with the insurer. It forms no view on what the repair should cost and does not say how the dispute ends.
What the rules say about the survey
- When a survey is required: IRDAI's master circular says a reported motor loss of ₹50,000 or more must be surveyed (in its words, a loss that 'exceeds Rs 50,000/- or more').[1]
- Who the surveyor is: The surveyor should be allocated within 24 hours of the claim being reported, and the insurer must tell you immediately who it is and what the surveyor's role, duties and responsibilities are.[1]
- The report: The surveyor must submit the report within 15 days of allocation; for each day of delay beyond that, ₹500 is payable to the claimant.[1]
- The decision: The insurer must decide within seven days of receiving the report, or after 15 days from allocating the claim to the surveyor, whichever is earlier.[1]
- The surveyor assesses; the insurer decides: The circular puts the decision on the insurer, within the timeline above, so a disagreement with the surveyor's figure is raised with the insurer. Questioning a survey report covers the surveyor's side.[1]
Comparing the two figures
| Where the figures differ | Question to ask | Where the answer is |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation on replaced parts | Which rate was applied to each part, by material and by the car's age? | The depreciation clause in the policy wording |
| Repair instead of replacement | Why was the part judged repairable, and on what inspection? | The survey report and its photographs |
| Disallowed items | Which clause excludes each item? | The policy wording and the survey report |
| Labour and paint | Was depreciation applied to labour or paint, and does the wording allow it? | The depreciation clause |
Depreciation rates are set out in the policy wording. One insurer's private car wording, for example, applies 50% to rubber, nylon and plastic parts, tyres, tubes, batteries and airbags, 30% to fibreglass parts and nil to glass, and a separate age-based schedule to all other parts. Your own wording may differ, and a nil-depreciation add-on changes the picture.[2]
Raising the difference
Ask for the survey report
Ask the insurer in writing for a copy of the survey report and the assessment sheet behind its figure.
Write the grievance line by line
One line per difference, with the clause and your evidence: photographs, the garage's note on why a part could not be repaired. IRDAI's master circular says the insurer should resolve a complaint within 14 days.[3]
Watch the dates
Note when the surveyor was allocated and when the insurer received the survey report: the insurer must decide within seven days of receiving the report, or after 15 days from allocation, whichever is earlier.[1]
If it is not resolved
A partial repudiation of a claim is a ground the Insurance Ombudsman hears, once you have complained to the insurer in writing and it has rejected the complaint, replied unsatisfactorily or not replied within one month of receiving it.[4]
Sources
The official documents this page relies on. Rules change: where it matters to your claim, check the current version at the source.
1. IRDAI (scanned copy of the circular, hosted by caalley.com)
Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, 2024 – Ref IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024 dated 5 September 2024 (full scanned text with IRDAI letterhead; OCR text layer)Dated 2024-09-05 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C (Retail General), V.4 para 1 (pp. 45-46); the copy's OCR reads '1 Iakh'; Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C, V.4 para 2 (p. 46); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C, V.4 para 3 (p. 46); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C, V.4 para 4 (p. 46); Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Part C, V.4 para 5 (p. 46)
Read from a copy hosted at caalley.com · Official page
2. The New India Assurance Company Limited
Standard Form for Private Car Package Policy (UIN IRDAN190RP0042V01100001)Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: New India Assurance Private Car Package Policy (UIN IRDAN190RP0042V01100001), Section I, depreciation items 1-3, page 1; New India Assurance Private Car Package Policy, Section I, depreciation item 4 and age table, page 1
3. IRDAI (copy hosted by CAalley.com because irdai.gov.in was unreachable)
Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests, 2024 - IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024 dated 5 September 2024Dated 2024-09-05 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders' Interests 2024 (IRDAI/PP&GR/CIR/MISC/117/9/2024, 5 Sept 2024), Section 1, Parts A/B/C, VI 2(i) (pp. 19, 33, 47)
Read from a copy hosted at caalley.com · Official page
4. Council for Insurance Ombudsmen (hosting the Ministry of Finance rules)
The Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 [updated as on 9.11.2023] - consolidated copyDated 2023-11-09 · Accessed 2026-10-09 · Cited at: Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 13(1)(a)-(b), as substituted in 2021; Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 14(3)(a); Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017 (consolidated as amended to 9 Nov 2023), rule 14(3)(a)(i)-(iii)
ClaimAssure is an independent private platform. It is not an insurer, IRDAI, Bima Bharosa or the Insurance Ombudsman, it never files anything on your behalf, and it cannot promise any outcome. What it does is read your documents and show you what they say.
Read next
- Why was depreciation deducted from my car insurance claim?Why a car claim pays less for replaced parts: depreciation rates in a standard policy, what nil-depreciation cover changes, and how to check the assessment.
- Don't agree with the surveyor's assessment? How to question a motor survey reportDisagree with the surveyor's assessment of your car or bike claim? The survey rules, how to object item by item, a letter outline, and where to escalate it.
- What is zero-depreciation (nil-dep) cover?Zero-depreciation is a motor add-on that stops depreciation on replaced parts. What it changes, the limits to check, and what to do if it is ignored.
- Motor claim stuck after the survey — how long can the insurer take?How long a motor insurer in India can take after the survey: surveyor allocation, report and decision time limits, the late-report payment, and what to do next.
- Car or bike insurance claim rejected — what the reason means and how to respondMotor claim rejected? Match the reason to the clause, test it against IRDAI's limits on rejections, then go to the insurer, Bima Bharosa or the Ombudsman.
- Scenario: a stolen vehicle, a pending police final report, and a long theft claimAn illustrative walkthrough of a car theft claim waiting months for the police's untraced report: the documents asked for and how to keep it moving.