Making a claim without losing the policy or the settlement

Aug 29
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

Something happens on a Friday afternoon. The premises are made safe, the mess is cleared over the weekend so trading can resume on Monday, and the insurer is contacted the following week once somebody has time.

Every one of those decisions is understandable and several of them damage the claim. The scene was cleared before it was recorded, notification was late, and the business has already started spending without authority. Claims are frequently reduced or refused because of how the first day was handled rather than because of the loss itself. The loss was insured; the handling was not.

1. Making a claim without losing the policy starts with notifying immediately

Almost always a policy condition.

Policies require prompt notification, and delay can prejudice the insurer's position and your cover. Notify before you know the full extent, before you have decided whether to claim, and before you tidy anything.

2. Record the scene before you clear it

The evidence disappears fastest.

Photographs and video from several angles, including the cause if it is visible, damaged items, and the general condition. Once the site is cleared this cannot be recreated, and the burden of proving the loss sits with you.

3. Take only the steps needed to prevent further damage

The obligation and its limit.

You are generally required to protect the property from further loss, and permitted to spend on that. Going beyond it — full repairs, replacement purchases, disposal of damaged items — before the insurer has responded can compromise the claim.

4. Do not dispose of damaged items

They are the evidence.

Loss adjusters need to see what was damaged. Businesses routinely skip damaged stock and equipment in the clean-up and are then unable to substantiate the value of what they are claiming for.

5. Keep every cost you incur

Including the small ones.

Emergency repairs, temporary equipment, additional labour, transport, and anything spent to keep trading. Many of these are recoverable under the policy and none of them are recoverable without receipts.

6. Be accurate rather than optimistic

The area where claims are lost entirely.

Inflating a figure, including items that were not damaged, or overstating the interruption compromises the whole claim, not just the exaggerated part. An honest claim well documented settles better than an ambitious one.

7. Understand what the loss adjuster is for

Neither an opponent nor your representative.

They are appointed by the insurer to assess the loss. Being cooperative, organised and factual makes the process faster; being obstructive or vague extends it considerably.

8. Consider your own representation on a large claim

Where the amounts justify it.

For a significant claim a loss assessor acting for you can be worth their fee, particularly where the business has no experience of the process. On a modest claim they usually are not.

9. Expect the effect on renewal and plan for it

The commercial reality.

A claim generally affects premium and sometimes terms at the next renewal. That is not a reason to avoid claiming for a substantial loss, and it is a reason to think carefully about claiming for a small one that sits near the excess.

Keep the policy number, the claims telephone number and the broker's contact on one page that somebody can find without opening a filing cabinet. Incidents happen outside office hours, and the delay while a business works out who to call is entirely avoidable.

Conclusion

Handle the first day properly, because that is where most claims are damaged.

Notify immediately rather than once you know the extent, photograph everything before clearing anything, limit your own action to preventing further damage, retain damaged items for inspection, keep receipts for every cost incurred, present the claim accurately rather than optimistically, cooperate with the loss adjuster while understanding who they act for, consider your own representation on a large claim, plan for the renewal consequences, and keep the emergency contact details somewhere findable.