My father’s pickup truck was robbed from him. He filed a claim with his insurance provider a week after the incident, and submitted all the requirements. Unfortunately, it has been six months since he filed his claim and it was approved, but the proceeds have not been released to him. The insurance provider is now saying that my father’s truck has been recovered so it will now hold the processing of my father’s insurance claim. We wrote a demand letter to the insurance company, but it said that our complaint has no basis anymore since my father’s truck had been recovered. Is my father really not entitled anymore to the insurance claim because his truck had been recovered?

JR

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Dear JR,

As ruled by the Supreme Court, the subsequent recovery of the vehicle does not negate its loss through theft. The fact that the vehicle was recovered is immaterial. The mere recovery of a stolen vehicle does not and will not erase the fact of theft, which is perfected from the moment of unlawful taking.

Section 249 of the Insurance Code sets a definite time within which payment of the insurance claim must be made:

Section 249. The amount of any loss or damage for which an insurer may be liable, under any policy other than life insurance policy, shall be paid within thirty (30) days after proof of loss is received by the insurer and ascertainment of the loss or damage is made either by agreement between the insured and the insurer or by arbitration; but if such ascertainment is not had or made within sixty (60) days after such receipt by the insurer of the proof of loss, then the loss or damage shall be paid within ninety (90) days after such receipt. Refusal or failure to pay the loss or damage within the time prescribed herein will entitle the assured to collect interest on the proceeds of the policy for the duration of the delay at the rate of twice the ceiling prescribed by the Monetary Board, unless such failure or refusal to pay is based on the ground that the claim is fraudulent. (Emphasis supplied.)

When this 90-day period has elapsed and before the insured vehicle is recovered, payment for the loss of the vehicle is fixed and the insured cannot be compelled to receive the vehicle despite its recovery. The period to indemnify the insured for a lost vehicle is set by law because motor vehicle insurance contracts would be of insignificant value if the insured, who has a theft policy in its favor, should be forced to indefinitely wait on the chance of having the stolen vehicle recovered, or be compelled to incur the expense of buying a new vehicle and thereafter take the old one if recovered.

It appears that your father filed the insurance claim a week after the incident, and it was only around six months after when you were informed that the truck had been recovered. Therefore, your father cannot be compelled to accept the recovered vehicle, as he was informed of its recovery beyond the 90-day period for payment in Section 249 of the Insurance Code.

In view of the foregoing, based solely on your narration, your father may still be entitled to his insurance claim.

(Wilfrido C. Wijangco v. UCPB General Insurance Co., Inc., G.R. No. 257086, 23 April 2025)

Atty. Kathy Larios