Making a claim

• Before you get on the phone to your insurer you should find your policy details to make sure you have the appropriate cover for the loss or damage. Different policies provide different levels of cover.
• If you have more than one insurance policy that you may be able to claim under, check which has the lowest excess. Note, though, that you can only claim once.
• Check your excess against the cost of replacement or repair. Remember that if you make a claim, your future premiums will most likely increase, so if the excess is £50 but you want to claim £100, it’s probably still not worth making a claim, as your future premium may increase by more than £50.
• Once you’ve decided which policy you’re going to claim on, then it’s time to contact your insurer to tell them you want to make a claim. They will then take you through a claim form or send it to you through the post. Note, though, that if you’re just asking them questions rather than making a claim, make sure they know this, otherwise they may note down that you’ve asked about making a claim, and this may still adversely affect your future premiums.
• Fill in the claim form as soon as you can. Bear in mind, you may also need to get cost estimates, so keep any receipts or invoices that you’ve already paid, as you may need these as part of your claim.
• Keep brief notes of all telephone conversations with your insurers, so you can refer back to them if you need to.
• If you’ve been a victim of a crime you should also get in touch with the police as soon as possible (and you may need a letter from your tour operator or hotel if this happened abroad).
• Don't exaggerate. False information on a claim can lead to the whole claim being rejected.