How to Prepare for an Insurance Claim
Making an insurance claim is an absolutely huge deal. This is in part down to the fact that if you get things wrong then your claim may fail. On this page I want to walk you through the basics of making an insurance claim. This is not a complete guide; but it will at least help you get the preparation part ‘down’.
Firstly; you are going to need to check whether you actually qualify to make a claim on your insurance. This means having a read through the terms and the conditions of your insurance policy. This is incredibly important as it will just be a waste of your time to submit a claim only to find that it fails. You may also wish to think about the value of your claim. If you are tempted to make an insurance claim for just a small amount of cash then don’t. This is because an insurance claim will push up your premiums in the future and it may end up costing you more in the long run. You may also wish to think about whether there is a deductible on your insurance or not. If there is; make sure you have the deductible handy.
Some insurance providers will actually pay pack some of your premiums if you don’t claim for a certain amount of time. This is to prevent you from claiming for every little thing. Obviously if your car gets stolen, you can’t skip the claim to retain you “no claim bonus”. But if you get a chipped windscreen, it might be worth fixing it out of your pocket.
The next step of an insurance claim is to start collecting evidence. After all; if you have zero evidence that you have suffered a loss then you will not be successful with your claim. Remember; insurance companies really do not like paying out money. It eats into their profits. They will therefore do absolutely everything in their power to ensure that they do not do so. You will want to make sure that your evidence is solid. For example; if you are the victim of an accident then you may want police reports and medical reports. If you are the victim of a burglary then you may also want police reports. If you are looking to make a claim on your retrenchment insurance policy then you will also want to think about that. In short; know what you are claiming for and try to get as much evidence as possible.
Luckily, we represent only the best providers in South Africa. This should give you the peace of mind that they are not out to get you. The companies we represent are successful for a reason. They understand the business and the importance of settling claims.
It is also important that you think about the value of your claim. This can be difficult to quantify in some situations, but in others it should be fairly easy (i.e. if you have suffered damage to your property). Do not lie about the value of your claim. The insurance company will see straight through it and you will stand much less of a chance of being successful.
Finally; get in touch with the insurance company. Talk to them about the claims process. You will most likely be assigned a claims agent at this time who will be there beside you every single step of the way. The smaller the value that you are claiming for, and the more evidence you have related to your claim, the more chance you have of being successful. Always bear that in mind!
