An insurance claim is when you ask your insurer to deal with a loss, subject to your policy terms, exclusions, and excess.
An insurance claim is a request for your insurer to help after something happens that may be covered by your policy. This could include a car accident, theft, fire, flood, storm damage, escape of water, vandalism, or another insured loss.
A claim is not a guarantee that your insurer will pay. The result depends on your policy wording, your level of cover, the cause of the loss, any exclusions, the evidence you provide, and any excess that applies. MoneyHelper explains that when you make a car insurance claim, the insurer will check what happened and decide whether the policy covers it.
In most cases, you should contact your insurer or claims line as soon as you can. The insurer may ask for the date of the incident, what happened, who was involved, photos, receipts, repair estimates, police references, or other proof.
For home claims, the ABI says you should read your policy, speak to your insurer before arranging repairs where possible, keep receipts, and avoid throwing damaged items away unless they are a health risk. Its guide to making a home insurance claim gives more detail on the steps to take.
A claim may be settled by repair, replacement, or a cash payment. For home claims, the Financial Ombudsman Service says policies often aim to put the customer back in the position they were in before the loss, subject to the policy terms. This is explained in its guidance on settling home insurance claims.
The FCA says insurers must handle claims promptly and fairly. They must also give reasonable guidance to help customers make a claim, keep customers updated, avoid rejecting claims unreasonably, and settle promptly once terms are agreed. These rules are set out in ICOBS 8 claims handling.
The information you give to your insurer also matters. The ABI says consumer insurance customers must take reasonable care not to give information that is untrue or misleading. You should also check renewal details and tell your insurer if anything has changed. This is covered in the ABI guide to what the Consumer Insurance Act means for customers.
If there is a dispute about missing or wrong information, the Financial Ombudsman Service may look at what questions the insurer asked, what answers were given, and whether the information affected the policy. Its guide to misrepresentation and non-disclosure explains how these cases are considered.
Take reasonable care to answer the insurer’s questions accurately and comply with any policy requirement to report incidents. The effect of inaccurate information will depend on the circumstances and what the insurer would have done if given the correct information.
Your excess can also affect how much you receive. An excess is the amount you pay towards a claim. MoneyHelper explains that some policies have compulsory and voluntary excesses, and that some home claims, such as flood or subsidence, may have higher excesses.
Insurers may ask about your claims history when you get a quote. This can include claim dates, claim costs, whether the claim was fault or non-fault, whether it is settled, and whether your no-claims bonus was affected. The details needed can vary by insurer and policy type.
At Got You Covered, we know that claims can make insurance feel more complex. Our make a claim page gives claims contact details and explains where home customers can find their insurer’s claims number.
We may also be able to help if claims history makes it harder to find cover. Our car insurance service can help drivers in non-standard situations, including drivers with previous claims. Our home insurance service can help with homes that may be harder to insure, such as homes with flood risk, subsidence history, previous claims, or periods of unoccupancy.
We arrange insurance through insurers. This means cover, price, excesses, exclusions, acceptance, and claims decisions depend on the insurer, the policy, and the full details you give.
An insurance claim is the process of asking your insurer to deal with a covered loss. It can lead to repair, replacement, or a cash settlement, but this depends on your policy and the evidence. A claim can also affect your excess, no-claims bonus, and future quotes, so it is important to give clear and accurate information.
