Car claims

If your car is involved in an accident or has been damaged or stolen, here’s what to do.

Contact us

If you need to make a motor insurance claim call Claimline on 0870 240 1895 (or 00 44 23 92205450 if you are phoning from outside the United Kingdom) as soon as possible. You can do this at any time of the day.

You will need to tell us:

• your policy number or the number shown on your certificate of motor insurance;
• your personal details;
• the driver’s personal details, if you were not driving your car; and
• full details of what happened, including the details of any other people or vehicles involved and any witnesses’
  names and addresses.

There is no need for you to fill in a claim form. Our claims handlers will do this over the phone when you call Claimline. However, we may send you the claim form so you can check the information we have recorded is correct.

We may arrange for one of our representatives to visit you to help us investigate your claim.

Getting your car repaired

If your car needs to be repaired, we have a network of partnership repairers across the United Kingdom who can arrange to start work on your damaged car as soon as possible. Simply call Claimline and we will contact the nearest repairer to you. You do not need to get estimates for the repair because we already have agreements in place with our repairers.

We can arrange to collect your car from your home and return it to you once it has been repaired. When your car has been repaired, you will need to pay the repairer the excess and any contribution that may apply.

We have chosen repairers carefully to make sure you receive the highest standard of repairs and service. All repairs carried out by repairers we approve are backed by a three-year warranty.

If you want, you can arrange for a repairer you choose to carry out the repairs. If you want to do this, you must send us a detailed repair estimate and full details of the accident before your repairer starts any work.

Temporary replacement car

If a Groupama Partnership repairer is repairing your car, we can give you a courtesy car. This may not be the same size or type as your own car. It is likely to be a small car, such as a Vauxhall Corsa or Ford Ka. If you have made a claim and your car can be driven safely and legally, we will only give you a courtesy car for the time your car is being repaired. If your car cannot be repaired, we will not give you a courtesy car. Full details of this scheme can be found in your policy.

Settling your claim

If your car cannot be repaired or the cost of the repair is more than the market value of the car and its accessories or your car is stolen and not found we will call it a total loss and it will become our property. 

If it is possible to do so, we will immediately move your car to a place it can be stored, so please make sure you remove all your belongings from the car. 

We will send you an offer of a settlement amount based on the current value of your car. If you need to pay an excess, this will be deducted from the settlement amount as well as any premium you have not yet paid. If you have any outstanding loan payments left on the car, these will be paid and if there is a balance left after this it will be paid to you.

If your car is a total loss, before we can deal with your claim, you will need to send us the following documents:

• your certificate of motor insurance;
• the vehicle registration document (V5 or V5C);
• the MOT test certificate (if applies);
• all sets of car keys;
• details of any money you still owe for the car; and
• any other documents you may want us to take into account when valuing your car (such as the car's service
  history).

If possible, please also send us the receipt for your car. This will help us deal with your claim faster.

Please send the documents to us direct so we can pay your claim as soon as possible.

If a third party is involved

DO NOT ADMIT LIABILITY, even if you consider yourself responsible for the accident.

 Obtain names, addresses and telephone numbers of those involved (eg. drivers, passengers, pedestrians and witnesses). Please also obtain insurance details for any vehicle(s) involved and offer your insurance details to anyone involved in the accident. Forward any third party correspondence to ourselves unanswered.

Do not attempt to deal with any claim yourself unless agreed by us.

If your car is stolen

If your car is stolen and is found, but it has been damaged, we will either repair it or treat it as a total loss as described above.

If the car is not found we will treat it as a total loss.

We place all claims for a total loss on a register shared by a range of insurance companies. This is to protect us against fraud.

Personalised number plates

If your car is stolen and not found, or declared a total loss, you should contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) as soon as possible to transfer your number plate to a replacement car.

If you fail to do this, we may not be able to pay your claim as quickly as we normally would.

Claiming for 'uninsured losses'

When you make a claim, any costs which are not included under your policy (such as your policy excess) are known as ‘uninsured losses’.

If you have an accident and it is not your fault, you may be able to claim these costs back from the other driver.

Before you contact the other driver or their insurers direct you must tell us that this is what you plan to do.

You may have separate insurance that pays the costs of claiming for your uninsured losses. Please check your policy documents or speak to the Broker who sold you the policy.