Car insurance claims

When contacting us please make sure you quote your policy to help us deal with your enquiry more effectively.

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

We hope you’ll find our service fast, efficient and friendly.

Call Claimline on 0870 240 1895 (or 0XXX XX 92205450 if you are phoning from outside the United Kingdom) as soon as possible. You can do this at any time of the day. (Calls from a BT landline cost no more than 8p a minute. Charges from other suppliers maybe different.)

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 staff 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

For full details of this scheme, please read section 11 of your policy.

If your car is a total loss

If:

• your car cannot be repaired;
• 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. You must send us its registration document (V5 or V5C).

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.

Documents you must send us to claim for a total loss

Before we can deal with your claim, you must send us:

• 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.

We will contact you to agree the market value of your car. From this value we will take off the amount of:

• any excess;
• any money you owe; and
• any premium you have not yet paid. You must still pay the full yearly premium because we have met all our
  responsibilities to you under the policy.

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.

Broken windscreens and glass

If you need to claim for a broken windscreen or broken glass, phone Glassline on 0800 854 454 (0XXX XX 9220 5450 if you are phoning from outside the United Kingdom) and show the repairer your current certificate of motor insurance when they repair the glass.

If you claim for a broken windscreen or broken glass, this will not affect your no claim discount as long as there is no other damage to your car (apart from any scratches on the bodywork caused by broken glass) and none of your belongings have been stolen from your car.

Glass damage can often be repaired but you need to phone Glassline as soon as possible. If you do not get the damage repaired as soon as possible, the damage is likely to spread until a much more expensive and time-consuming replacement is needed.

If your policy does not cover windscreen damage, by calling Glassline you may still qualify for a discount for standard items. However, you will need to pay the windscreen company in full when you get the windscreen repaired or replaced.

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.