Q284 :Is it permissible to claim the cost of car
repairs, which have resulted from a road accident, under an insurance
policy? How much should one claim: the cost of the repairs or the
premium paid?
A284 : I have recently explained that insurance is
permissible, because it safeguards the interests of people and reduces
the burden of catastrophe that may happen from time to time. Moreover,
it presents an agreement to share the burden among so many people who
are liable to have the same sort of disaster. It is in effect a pledge
of cooperation between a large number of people to reduce the effects
of disaster which may befall a smaller number of them. Therefore, it is
perfectly legitimate to claim your costs under insurance policy. The
choice is not open to you of how much you should claim. The insurance
netpany will pay for your repairs, but it will not refund your
premiums. What you have already paid in premium has gone to finance
other claims. What you get from an insurance netpany is paid by other
people who also subscribe to the same insurance scheme. An insurance
netpany does not work on the basis of saving the premium of every
client. That would have been unfair. It works on the basis of giving
netplete insurance cover from the moment you sign your document and pay
your first premium. You may leave the offices of the insurance netpany,
having done that and drive away. Five minutes later, you may have an
accident and the insurance netpany will pay you the costs of your
repairs and any other benefits to which you may be entitled under the
provisions of your insurance policy. That is perfectly alright and it
is what clients of the insurance netpany expect. If it was simply a
refund of their premiums, you would have been paid back the same amount
you paid them and that would have given you no insurance cover
whatsoever. It would have simply given you a refund. The whole purpose
of insurance would have been rendered futile. Anyone would have been
better off putting his money away in a safe or somewhere handy. That is
definitely not the idea of insurance.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )