Free · copy, fill in, send
Written badly, at speed, at the worst moment, these decide how a claim goes. Two letters and a checklist, in plain language. Copy them, fill in the brackets, keep to facts.
Send it the same day, before anything is cleared. The line about not disturbing the property is the one that protects the claim.
To, The Branch Manager [Insurer name and branch] Date: [date] Subject: Intimation of claim under policy no. [policy number] Dear Sir or Madam, I intimate a claim under the above policy, which is in force from [start] to [end] in the name of [insured name]. Date and time of loss: [date, approximate time] Place of loss: [full address] Nature of loss: [fire / burglary / transit damage / accident] Brief description: [three or four factual sentences. What happened, in order. No opinion on cause, no estimate of blame.] Estimated loss: [figure, marked as a provisional estimate] Police or fire brigade reference, if any: [FIR or station diary number] The affected property has been left undisturbed and will not be moved, repaired or disposed of until your surveyor has inspected it. Please arrange the inspection at the earliest. I will submit supporting documents on receipt of your list. Please acknowledge this intimation and confirm the claim number. Yours faithfully, [Name] [Designation, if a company] [Phone] [Email]
Serve it within 180 days of the BOOKING date, not the date of the loss. The courts have held a claim bill or voucher is not a valid notice.
BY REGISTERED POST WITH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT DUE AND BY EMAIL To, [Transporter's registered name] [Registered office address] Date: [date] Subject: Notice under section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007, in respect of consignment note no. [LR or GR number] dated [booking date] Dear Sir or Madam, 1. You booked the consignment described below as a common carrier: Consignment note (LR/GR) no.: [number] dated [date of booking] Consignor: [name] Consignee: [name] From: [origin] To: [destination] Goods and quantity: [description] Declared or invoice value: [amount] Vehicle no.: [if known] 2. Cause of action: on [date] the consignment was [lost / not delivered / delivered in damaged condition]. [State plainly what happened and how it came to notice, including the delivery challan remark if any.] 3. Loss and damage: the loss occasioned to us is [amount], being [basis: invoice value / repair cost / assessed shortage]. 4. Relief sought: we call upon you to pay [amount] within 30 days of receipt of this notice, failing which we shall be constrained to initiate proceedings, entirely at your risk as to cost and consequence. 5. This notice is issued within 180 days of the date of booking of the consignment as required by section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007. Copies of the consignment note, invoice, delivery challan and photographs are enclosed. Yours faithfully, [Name and designation] [Company] [Phone] [Email]
A checklist, not a letter. The documents you cannot produce later are the ones that reduce the settlement.
Keep every one of these. The surveyor will ask for most of them and the ones you cannot produce later are the ones that reduce the settlement. AT ONCE, BEFORE ANYTHING IS MOVED Photographs and video of the damage from several angles, wide and close Photographs showing the surroundings, so the scene can be placed Nothing cleared, repaired or sold as scrap until the surveyor has seen it THE POLICY SIDE Policy schedule and the full policy wording, not just the certificate Premium payment proof for the current period Claim intimation letter and the claim number PROVING WHAT WAS LOST Purchase invoices for the affected property Stock register or stock statement as at the date of loss Last stock statement submitted to the bank, if the stock is hypothecated Books of account, GST returns and audited statements for the period Fixed asset register with dates of purchase PROVING WHAT HAPPENED FIR or police station diary entry, for burglary, theft or a vehicle claim Fire brigade report, for a fire Weather or municipal report, for flood or storm Statements of any witnesses or staff present IN TRANSIT CLAIMS, ADDITIONALLY Consignment note (LR/GR) and the invoice Delivery challan carrying the damage or shortage remark, signed at delivery Notice to the carrier under section 16 (see the letter above) Packing list and, for imports or exports, the survey report at destination AFTER THE SURVEY Repair estimates or quotations for replacement Final repair bills and payment proof A copy of everything you send the insurer, with the date it was sent
The intimation letter states facts and no opinion. Speculating about cause in the first letter gives an investigator a theory to test against you, and if your guess turns out wrong it is still on the file. Describe what happened and let the surveyor find the cause.
The carrier notice is laid out as numbered paragraphs because section 16 requires the cause of action, the loss and the relief sought to be identifiable. A letter that merely encloses a bill has been held not to be a notice, and by the time that is discovered the 180 days have usually gone.
Section 16 of the Carriage by Road Act, 2007 requires written notice within 180 days of the date the consignment was booked, and serving it is a pre-condition to suing the carrier at all. The clock runs from booking, not from the day you discovered the loss, which is what catches people out.
No. It has been held that a claim bill or voucher cannot be equated with the notice section 16 requires. The notice has to set out the cause of action, the loss and the relief sought, which is why the template above is laid out that way.
Because the schedule shows the sum insured and premium, while the wording is the contract. Every dispute turns on the wording, and asking for it at claim time rather than at renewal is a bad time to discover you do not have it.
Clearing the site. Once debris is removed or damaged stock is sold as scrap, the surveyor is assessing a description instead of a loss, and the settlement follows the evidence that survives, not the loss that happened.
Yes. They are drafting aids in plain language, not legal advice, and a large claim or a contested one deserves a lawyer. Fill in the brackets, keep to facts, and avoid speculating about cause or blame.