“If a claim is reported late, we lose the opportunity to intervene as the third party may already be in a credit hire vehicle, which can result in a significant cost,” says Rhona McGregor, head of claims relationship management at Zurich Global Corporate UK.
“Delays in reporting the incident drastically reduce the opportunity to capture and control the third-party costs and failing to capture the third party can result in an increase in the entire cost of the incident by 965%.”
“We used to have a saying, ‘don’t delay, report the same day’, but now it really is ‘report within the hour’,” says Doug Jenkins, motor risk control manager at AXA Insurance.
If it is safe to do then you should be recording the following details at the scene of the incident:
- Third-party name, address, and contact details.
- Witness/passenger name and contact details – ensuring they take note of the number of passengers in the third-party vehicle.
- Chain of events.
- Vehicle registration(s).
- Smartphone pictures of vehicle positions at the scene, as well as close-up photographs of the damage.
- Whether all vehicles were roadworthy following the incident.
- Road markings
- Weather conditions
- Follow up events- policy attendance, witness assistance at the scene
Anything that you can do to keep the cost of claims down will ultimately help to keep your claims experience looking healthy and keep your premium at an acceptable level.
To begin your claim or to make an enquiry regarding van insurance or a potential claim please contact our team on 01270 758 062 or contact us.
We are here to help you every step of the way.
