How to Make a Successful Car Insurance Claim

Making a successful car insurance claim can be a stressful experience, particularly as your insurance provider will try to shave as much money as they can off of your claim.

If you’re stuck on what steps to take to make sure your claim is dealt with swiftly and fairly, you should follow the steps laid out below.

What is the first thing I should do when making a claim?

Inform the insurance company as soon as you can after the damage to your car has occurred. It is sometimes a good idea to write the details of the event as soon as you can and then use that as a reference to make the written insurance claim. Be consistent and remember, it will be awkward if you want to change your story later on. Keep safe all documents that are relevant to the claim, and make sure the staff of the insurance company can get in touch with you when necessary.

Don't take your car in for repairs and hope it will be paid for. Your insurance company will most likely recommend to you a garage, and you should consider taking your car there. The whole claims procedure will be much quicker and simpler if you follow your insurer's recommendations fully, and they can deal with the car repairer directly. Your insurance company may also provide a courtesy car while your vehicle is being repaired, subject to your level of cover. At the very least your insurer needs to approve an estimate from a car repairer they didn't recommend before they start working on it.

What if my claim is rejected?

There are circumstances where you may in fact have the legal right to be reimbursed for your loss even though the insurance company refused to pay the claim. Although you can sometimes make this judgement yourself, it is sometimes a good idea to get legal advice.

Is it worth claiming?

Many types of contracts will have an excess. This is common in a car insurance contract, or similarly you may lose part of the no claims bonus. Some companies now reward ‘rating one’ car drivers with a lifetime rating one guarantee. At times you will have to decide whether the amount of the insurance claim is worth the long term loss that results from the effect on rating or no claims bonuses, especially after taking into account the amount of the excess.

Excess must be paid no matter what damage occurs to your car, or for whatever reason the claim is made. You have to pay it because you have entered in to a legal contract where you have agreed to pay the initial amount of any insurance claim. If you were not at fault though, you can claim it back from the other party’s company.