How to claim on your car insurance
From contacting your insurance company and paying the surfeit to dealing with a car finance company and paying for repairs, here is everything you need to know about the car policy claim process .
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How to file a car insurance claim
The worst has happened and you ’ ve been in an accident, or your car has been damaged or stolen. now you need to contact your car insurance company and make a claim on your car insurance policy .
You don ’ t need to call your insurance company straight off, but most require you to get in touch within 24 hours of the incident .
It may be possible to report the car accident insurance title online if your insurance company allows it .
Most normally require you to get on the earphone and tell them precisely what has happened though .
This ’ ll start the claims march and you should be told precisely what you need to provide and how the claim will be handled .
When you do speak to your insurance company, you ’ ll need to have certain documents to hand so try to get these ready. They include the following :
- The registration details of both vehicles
- The name and address of the registered owner of the car (if they aren’t driving it)
- The date and time of the incident
- Crime reference numbers if the police have been involved
- Your policy number
- The name/s and contact details of the other driver, any passengers and witnesses
- Photos of the damage to your car and any others involved (if you’ve taken any)
- The location, including road or street names, and the nearest house or business numbers
- Any other relevant information such as road or weather conditions
Car insurance claims process
Each insurance company will have its own way of handling a claim but on the whole they normally follow a alike radiation pattern. here we look at some of the most common questions relating to the car insurance claims serve .
What happens when you make a claim
You will speak to your insurance company, normally on the earphone, and it ’ ll ask for details about what has happened .
You ’ ll need to tell it in adenine much detail as possible what has happened to your cable car. You ’ ll besides need to provide information such as any early drivers contact details and addresses .
The insurance company will tell you how much you ’ ll need to pay for the excess and how much it ’ ll give you to repair or replace the car. It ’ ll arrange for this to be transferred to you or it may pay person to make the repairs directly .
If you need repairs how does that work?
You may need to get your car repaired before you can drive it again after an accident. Your insurance company will tell you how to do this. normally you ’ ll go to one of your insurers approved garages or you might have to arrange for the work to be done yourself .
In some cases, insurers will insist on you going to a garage it has a kinship with in rate to claim for the cost of repairs. You may besides need to get quotes for the repair work before it is carried out .
While your car is being repaired, your insurance company may provide you with a courtesy cable car to drive if your policy allows it. This normally won ’ triiodothyronine happen if it ’ second stolen or written-off though .
What happens if your car is stolen?
If your car is stolen, you ’ ll need to contact the police and get a crime reference point number. Your insurance company will then normally pay you the total of money equal to the market value of the car .
There ’ ll normally be a short-circuit period in which an insurance company will wait from it being stolen to making a claim. If the cable car is then found after you ’ ve been paid for it, the insurance company will keep it .
Can you still claim if hit by an uninsured driver?
If you ’ re in an accident with person without insurance, you ’ ll be able to claim from your own insurance company if you have comprehensive cover .
Some insurers will let you claim and keep your no-claims bonus, and won ’ metric ton necessitate you to pay your excess, if the early driver is uninsured .
But this depends on the insurance company and not all follow this process. This is why it ’ second crucial to shop around when you buy cable car indemnity and compare the costs of these types of extras .
If you don ’ t have comprehensive cover, you could claim from the Motor Insurers ’ Bureau for compensation relate to personal injuries and other losses .
Any payments from the MIB are capable to a £300 excess .
If I damage my own car can I claim on my insurance?
This depends on the type of indemnity you have. If you have comprehensive examination indemnity, it should cover you for damage by anyone else or yourself .
If you have third-party only, or third-party alone with displace and larceny, you might not be covered if you ’ ve damaged your cable car .
however, always check the policy first or speak to your insurance company for car insurance claim advice, as it will tell you precisely what you can claim for .
If my car is written off what happens to my insurance?
If your cable car is a publish off and it can ’ t be driven, you should be given the sum of the cable car ’ s market respect by your insurance company .
normally the vehicle is taken by the insurance company but in some cases you may be able to hang onto it. If you do keep it, you ’ ll indigence to prove that it is possible to repair the car to make it roadworthy again .
If this happens the insurance company will take some money off your overall pay out to cover the cost of the cable car .
How long do you have to report a car accident to your insurance company?
Most insurers will specify a time frame for reporting an incident and this is normally 24 hours .
You won ’ triiodothyronine have to call them immediately after it ’ s happened but it ’ sulfur deserving doing deoxyadenosine monophosphate soon as you can. Your policy terms and conditions should state when you ’ ll need to tell your insurance company by .
What happens if my car is written off and it’s on finance?
If you have bought your car with a cable car finance contract, the means an insurance company settles a call is slenderly different .
If your car is a write-off or stolen, your insurance company will pay you the car ‘s market rate. This is normally less than the original cost of the cable car, because it will have depreciated .
For cars bought on finance, the amount is probably to be a lot less than your great finance agreement .
so you ’ ll silent have to pay the dispute between the sum you owe to the finance company and the amount you ’ ve been given by your insurance company. potentially leaving you out of pocket .
One way to protect yourself against this is with gap insurance. It ‘s a policy that covers the deficit between your payout and what you owe the finance caller .
When do you pay the excess on car insurance?
If you make a claim on your car indemnity, you ’ ll normally need to pay an overindulgence. This is an come of money you have agreed to pay, and this is set when you buy the policy .
The higher the excess, the lower your premiums will be. however, this means if you do make a claim and you ’ ve set your overindulgence at a high total, you may have to pay a big surfeit to start the process .
You might have to pay the excess straight away, to start the claim. Some insurers will besides take the excess off the cost of repairs .
If your surfeit is £250, for case, and the cost of repairs is £500, it will take the £250 off this sum and give you £250 back. Check the minor print of your policy to find out how your insurance company handles claims and when it requires the overindulgence .
If the car entirely has minor damage and it ’ s less to repair than your overindulgence, it makes common sense to arrange and repair the car yourself. This saves you money but besides means you ’ re not claiming on your policy and losing your no-claims bonus .
Can I keep my no claims bonus if I make a claim?
Every year you don ’ t make a claim on your car insurance, you build up a no-claims bonus. This can cut the cost of your future year ’ south indemnity premiums .
If you do make a claim, you ’ ll normally lose the bonus or at least some of it .
Is it worth claiming on car insurance?
cable car indemnity costs rise all the time and it ’ s hard to predict when they might go up. The price of policy is pendent on lots of unlike things including your old age and driving experience .
It besides depends on how previous your car is and what discipline it ’ randomness in .
If you do make a claim on your car insurance, the insurance company might put your premiums up, although this doesn ’ thyroxine constantly happen .
If you ’ ve had an accident, for model, the insurance company may see you as more of a gamble and therefore it may increase your premium to cover this .
however, you should n’t avoid making a claim just because your premium is going to go up .
It all comes down to how you want to repair the car, the extent of the damage, and the monetary value of repairs .
If claim will save you money, because the cost of repairs is far higher than your excess, it ’ sulfur deserving doing .
But if it ’ ll cost you money to claim, because the price of repairs is less than your surfeit, you might want to hold off from making a call .
For more data read our guide on whether it ’ s always worth claiming on car insurance .
What if I don’t agree with the other party’s claim?
The insurers, both yours and any other vehicles involved in an accident, will handle any disputes over who is at fault in an accident .
This is why it ’ mho authoritative to give as much detail as potential and to hand over liaison details for the other driver but besides any witnesses .
If you don ’ t agree with your insurance company ’ s final decision you can complain. You can do this by making a courtly ailment to your insurance company, and then giving it eight weeks to come back to you .
If after this fourth dimension you haven ’ t hear from your insurance company, or the decision is the lapp, you can escalate your charge to the Financial Ombudsman Service ( FOS ) .
It ’ s a complimentary and autonomous overhaul for dealing with complaints towards fiscal services companies, including insurers.
If the FOS decides your insurance company is in the wrong, it can demand it correct its decision and pay you any money for any expenses incurred .
however, if it decides your insurance company is correct, you then have the choice of taking the insurance company to the belittled claims motor hotel .