A look into what happens next after a claim is made so you know what to expect after an incident.
If you’re ever involved in an incident that results in an insurance claim, we understand that it can be a difficult time. You may have a lot of questions about what’s going to happen next, especially if it’s the first time that you’re going through the claims process.
At Zego, we know how reassuring it can be for you to know what to expect after an incident has occured. In this post, we’ll explore what happens when a claim is made against your insurance policy, so you can feel prepared if you’re even involved in an incident out on the road.
An incident has occured. What’s next?
Firstly, it’s important to make sure that everyone who has been involved in the incident is safe. If you need to contact the emergency services, don’t hesitate to do so.
However small the incident may seem, you should always collect the following information:
- The circumstances of the incident: what happened?
- The location of the incident: where did it happen?
- The number of people involved in the incident, including any passengers
- Photos of the incident
You should also collect the following details of anyone else who is involved in the incident:
- Their registration plate
- Their name
- Their contact details
- Their insurance details.
You can read some top tips and important advice on what to do in the event of an incident in our handy guide.
Contact your insurer
When it comes to reporting any incident to your insurer, no-matter how small, the sooner you get in touch the better. If you fail to report a claim quickly, you may accidentally violate the terms of your policy. It also makes it more difficult to handle your claim, which can result in your premium going up in the future.
What happens next varies depending on whether you are admitting you were at fault for the incident. If you have reported an incident and informed the claims handlers that you were at fault, they will look after your claim from this point. They will only get in touch if they need anything else from you, and as long as everything checks out, they will pay out for the claim.
What if the incident wasn’t your fault?
If both you and the other driver involved deny full responsibility for the incident, a dedicated team of experts will collect as much evidence as they can to try and work out who was at fault for the incident.
Once these experts have completed a thorough investigation into what happened and have collected all the evidence, they will make a decision to what extent each party is liable. This is where they decide what proportion of the cost should be paid by each person involved in the incident.
What happens if you need to attend court?
When a decision on liability cannot be reached, or the claim otherwise cannot be resolved, it goes to court. You may need to attend court to have your case heard. If you have legal expenses insurance in place, you can get additional protection in place which covers costs not included in your motor policy, such as the cost of solicitors.
Will my No Claims Discount (NCD) be affected?
The answer to whether your NCD will be affected depends on several things. However, the short answer is that unless you have No Claims Discount protection in place, your NCD is likely to be affected after an incident. Zego’s NCD protection covers up to 5 years NCD earned for up to 1 fault claim.
If you have any questions, or if you need help regarding a claim, please get in touch with us by sending an email to [email protected]. We’re available 7 days a week and we’ll be happy to help.