I need to make an insurance claim – now what?

So you’ve chosen your insurance cover, filled out the forms, you pay your premiums and then really, you don’t think much about your insurance at all.

Until you need it.

Do you know what to do if you need to make an insurance claim? The first step is to call your insurance broker, and this is a time when it will become crystal clear that the decision to purchase your cover through a broker was a very good one indeed.

Because your insurance broker knows you, they know your situation and your policy. This means you don’t need to try and find, and read, your policy details at a time which is most likely stressful enough. While the call centre staff at insurance providers are good people, and good at what they do, they don’t have the relationship with you that your broker does.

And speaking of the insurance provider – your broker works with them every day, so has a good relationship with them too and understands the way they and the claim process work. That alone will make the whole process so much smoother and less stressful.

Your insurance broker will immediately have a good idea if your event is claimable and can give you a quick answer before starting the claims process.

They will send you the claims form and provide you with any support you need to get them accurately filled out. There will be a section for your personal details, and a section for any relevant professionals (such as a medical specialist) to fill out as well.

They will also alert the insurance company that a claim is coming.

You need to get the completed form back to your insurance broker as quickly as you can, so they can check it over to make sure it is complete and then deliver it to the insurance provider. The length of time the assessment takes depends on how much information is needed and how quickly the completed claim form gets back to the insurance company. In the case of a death event the insurer aims to have it approved within seven days. Once a claim has been approved, payment will be made overnight.

In the case of medical insurance, there are two ways of going about making a claim; pre-approval or post-approval. If you are having a health scare and have scans or other diagnostics booked in, you can get the ball rolling with your insurance provider and apply for a pre-approval claim before the appointment. This means that everything is ready to go when you get your results back. If everything is okay you don’t need to make the claim, if not, the claim is already under way and is one less thing for you to think about.If you don’t have the opportunity to get this done, you can make a post-approval claim.

Once the claim is with the insurance provider they will get in touch with you directly, however your insurance broker will be kept updated on how your claim is progressing and will be available to support you with any concerns you have. If need be, they will also advocate for you.

It is very rare for a claim to be declined. Claims that are denied are usually the result of non-disclosure by the client – even if the non-disclosure was accidental. This is one of the huge advantages of buying your insurance policy through a broker - our process is so thorough that it is highly unlikely you would forget to disclose anything. Answering all those questions may seem like a pain at the time, but once it is done it is done and it means come claim time there really shouldn’t be any problems.

At Plus4Group we work for you and we value our relationship with you. If you have any questions about a loss or a potential claim do not hesitate to get in touch with your broker.