Frequently asked questions about ouR claims process

You can report an incident 24 hours a day 365 days a year on our dedicated number 0330 024 8050.

Should you need to speak to a claims handler, you may do so between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. You will be provided with the name of your dedicated claims handler and a direct contact number when we first write to you within 2 working days of the first notification of your claim.

You may email us at any time, although we will only respond between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday

For full contact details please click here.

Call costs may vary depending on your service provider. If phoning from a mobile please check with your mobile operator. All our calls are recorded for training purposes.

If your vehicle is recovered and repairable, it will be recovered to an approved repairer or repairer of your choosing and repaired in accordance with the terms and conditions of your policy.

If your vehicle is not recovered or is damaged beyond repair, we will require you to complete a claim form and send us the following documents:

Vehicle registration document
Purchase receipt
Evidence of payment
Vehicle photographs
We will require original documentation, which we recommend is sent to us by recorded delivery. Copy documentation can be sent by email or uploaded to our website to speed up the process. We will send you a link if you wish to upload documents directly to our website.

Please do not send the vehicle keys to us. We will collect these from you in the event that we need them. Do, however, keep them safe for inspection as we may refuse to deal with your claim if you are unable to provide us with these.

It is likely that we will then need to interview you at your home address and take a statement from you about the circumstances leading up to and including the discovery of the theft. If we intend to do this, we will write to you with the name of the investigation company carrying out the interview.

If you are a genuine claimant, you have no reason to be concerned about this. Subject to your availability, we would expect this to take anything between one and two weeks.

Once our investigation has finished we will pay you the market value of your vehicle at the time of the theft. If there is finance secured on your vehicle, we will need to pay the finance company first and any balance will be paid directly to you. You will be responsible for the balance of any finance agreement if the amount owed is higher than the value of the vehicle. If you have purchase GAP insurance from the dealer that sold the vehicle to you, you will need to ask them about the operation of that policy.

When we settle your claim, the vehicle becomes our property and you must notify us immediately if it is recovered.

If your vehicle is a total loss, the vehicle will be assessed by an independent qualified engineer. This may involve a physical inspection of the vehicle or it may be undertaken remotely using images of the vehicle taken by the approved repairer. The vehicle is valued by reference to Glass’s Guide and other trader publications. The condition of the vehicle will be taken into consideration, as will any pre-existing damage and vehicle mileage. The vehicle is valued on the assumption that it has a valid MOT certificate where one is required and that it has been serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.

The amount that we offer you will be based upon the engineer’s valuation. It is intended to be a sum of money that will put you in a position to purchase a replacement vehicle with one of similar make, model, year, specification, mileage and condition from the market in which you are likely to purchase the replacement. Whilst certain insurers may have had a reputation for making low offers, we offer the full amount of the valuation. Although we are happy to review any valuation on request, you should not expect this to result in an increase in the offer, as every care is taken to ensure that we get it right first time.

If you are not happy with the valuation, you should do some research to see whether vehicles advertised for sale in your local area support your view. If you still think that our valuation is low, telephone your dedicated claim handler and ask for the valuation to be reviewed.

If we can identify suitable vehicles offered locally for a similar amount than we have offered, we will not increase the valuation.

If similar vehicles cannot be found advertised in your locality, a nationwide search will be undertaken to identify the likely sale value of the vehicle if one were available in your area.

If the advertisements cause the handler to believe that the valuation is inadequate, the matter will be discussed with an engineer and you can expect a decision within 48 hours.

If you remain unsatisfied with the valuation, we will refer the matter to an alternative engineering firm who will contact you within a week to discuss and agree the valuation with you. We will also issue an interim payment in the sum offered. Please note that you are free to bank any payments that we make to you in respect of your vehicle and continue to escalate the matter further. We will send you an additional payment in the event that an increased settlement is agreed.

If you are still unhappy with the valuation you have the right to pursue the matter through our complaint procedure which is described in your policy documents and on our website. The matter will then be reviewed at a senior level and a final decision relayed to you, which you may then refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you choose to.

If you choose to use one of our approved repairers, you will be provided with a small courtesy vehicle for the duration of the repairs. This will typically be a small manual vehicle. It should be presented to you in a clean and tidy condition and should be less than 3 years old. The vehicle will be fully insured under your own policy of motor insurance held with us at no additional expense to you and will be subject to the same terms and conditions of that policy.

You should exercise the same degree of care when using the vehicle as you would with your own and you should return the vehicle on completion of the repairs in the same condition and with the same amount of fuel as it had when you got it.

Whilst specific requests, e.g. automatics, will be considered, we cannot guarantee that it will be possible to meet the request. If you are disabled and require particular assistance, please contact your dedicated handler who will be able to make the necessary arrangements for you.

All courtesy vehicles are provided by the approved repairer under the agreement that we have with them. If you choose to use a different repairer, you will need to speak to them directly about courtesy vehicles.

A courtesy vehicle is not available if your own vehicle is a total loss. If it is a borderline decision, the repairer might not provide you with a courtesy vehicle until the work has been estimated and it is determined that they will be undertaking the repair.

A courtesy vehicle is provided as a convenience for social domestic and pleasure purpose only. If it is covered by your policy, you may also use it to travel to and from a permanent place of work. You may not use the courtesy vehicle in connection with any business and you may not take the vehicle out of the country.

If you are involved in an accident that you do not consider was your fault and you require a vehicle of similar specification to your own damaged vehicle, we will refer you to our business partner, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, to see whether they can assist you. If they agree to accept your case, you will be provided with a hire vehicle for the duration of any repairs and the hire costs will be recovered from the responsible driver’s motor insurer. They will also consider providing you with a vehicle if your own vehicle is a total loss and is not driveable following an accident.

Please note that a vehicle will only be provided in the event that Enterprise considers that you have reasonable prospects of recovering the costs of hire from the third party. If Enterprise will not accept your case, they will explain why and you will remain entitled to a courtesy vehicle as described above.

When you report an accident, we give careful consideration to the information you provide and we aim to give you an early indication of the likely outcome.

Some accidents are easier to determine responsibility for than others. It is important, therefore, that you provide us with as much detail of the accident as you can. This might include your statement, a sketch, photographs or video evidence. The more factual information that you are able to provide, the better.

Where you provide us with details of witnesses to the accident, we will write to them and ask for a statement if necessary. In certain circumstances, we may need to interview you. We might also interview witnesses or visit the scene of the accident to prepare diagrams and take further photographs.

Where it is felt that it is necessary we might also obtain a copy of the police report, if they attended the scene of the accident.

Once we have gathered together all of the evidence that we consider is needed, we will make a decision and settle the claim on that basis.

If you make any claim where we make a payment that we are unable to recover, your NCB will be lost. If you have chosen to protect your NCB, you are permitted a maximum of two losses in any consecutive period of 5 years without loss of your NCB.

NCB is not lost where a claim is made under any windscreen cover that may be available under the terms of your policy.

The policy excess is the first amount of any claim for damage to your vehicle that you are required to pay.

Policy excesses are applied by insurers to encourage care on the part of the customer regarding property covered under the policy and to dissuade trivial claims and thereby reduce the premium that you pay.

If an accident is not your fault, your excess will be your responsibility until we are satisfied that we will be able to recover the full costs from the responsible party’s insurer. In the event that we are unable to recover the full costs, you will remain liable for the policy excess.

A straightforward claim where no other party is involved will most probably be settled within a very short period of time. Claims with multiple parties involving liability disputes may take considerably longer. Claims involving significant injury can take many years to settle.

We will endeavour to settle your claim as quickly as possible and to update you where necessary.

In certain circumstances, we will instruct a professional firm to arrange for somebody to come and see you and possibly take a statement from you. We only instruct reputable firms who we take through a rigorous vetting process before they are appointed. Once appointed, they are subject to regular review to ensure that they are performing professionally and to an acceptable standard.

Where such a firm is instructed, you will be notified by us beforehand. Do not allow anybody into your home unless we have told you of their appointment. The appointed firm will contact you by telephone or letter and identify who they are. They will make an appointment convenient to you and you can expect the representative to be professional, polite and courteous throughout.

The representative is there to help us understand your claim so that we deal with it in the most appropriate way and as efficiently as possible, so it is in your interests to meet with our representative as soon as you can and provide your fullest cooperation.

We will arrange an inspection of your vehicle if you are claiming for repair or for the total loss value of the vehicle. Inspections are routinely carried out whether the repair is undertaken by one of our approved repairers, or a repairer of your choosing.

Depending on the nature of the inspection and the extent of any damage, the inspection may be a physical inspection or it may take place remotely by digital imaging.

In all cases, where an inspection is necessary, we would normally expect this to take place within 3 working days of the engineer being instructed.

Any incident that might give rise to a claim under your policy must be notified, whether you intend to make a claim or not. This includes all accidents or other incidents such as theft, fire, storm, vandalism or any other cause of damage to your vehicle.

It is of particular importance that you report any accident or incident that results in injury or alleged injury to any vehicle passenger, cyclist, motorcyclist or pedestrian, even if you believe that the accident was not your responsibility. It will serve to protect your interests if we are given the opportunity to investigate such claims as early as possible to ensure that the evidence is fresh and still available. Claims can be brought against you for up to three years after an accident, or longer still where children are injured or the claimant is without capacity.

You may prejudice our position if you do not report these claims as soon as you can and, if this occurs, you might not be entitled to the protection of your policy.

If you report a claim for information purposes only, it will be recorded as such and your No Claim Bonus (NCB) will not be affected if we are not ultimately required to make a payment. The costs that we incur in investigating any claim will not in themselves affect your NCB.

No, breakdown cover isn’t included in the policy itself, but we’ve teamed up with the RAC so that you can purchase cover as an additional product if you require. To find out which level of cover is suitable for you, please visit our Policy Features and Benefits page.

Firstly, you should make certain that you and everybody else involved in the accident are not injured and are safe. You should also consider the safety of other road users and, where necessary and possible, and only if it does not place you in a position of danger, move the vehicles to a position of safety.

If anybody is injured or you are causing or likely to cause danger to other road users, the emergency services should be contacted immediately by dialling 999.

If you are unable to move your vehicle and it is presenting a danger to other road users, consider whether any action is possible to warn approaching motorists of the danger without placing yourself or others at risk.

Once you have dealt with any immediate emergency, you should exchange details with the third party. Please obtain as much information as possible to include the name and address and contact details (telephone numbers/email address) of the driver, the make, model, colour and registration number of the third party vehicle and the number of passengers carried in any other vehicles involved.

If the accident was not your fault, please obtain the name, address and contact numbers of any independent witnesses.

If the accident was your fault and there were no serious injuries, please provide the third party with our name and your policy number and invite him/her to contact us on 0330 024 8000. As soon as you report the accident to us, we will be able to assist the third party with vehicle repairs and a replacement vehicle whilst theirs is off the road. We will in any event contact the third party within 24 hours of your report of the accident to offer these services if he/she has not already made contact.

In all case, please take any photographs that might assist in the determination of liability and photographs of damage to the vehicles. If you were at fault, this may protect you against claims for additional damage at a later date or claims from passengers that were not there.