Making a home insurance claim often comes at an already stressful time. Whether you’ve been burgled, or your home has suffered damage in a fire, storm, flooding or malicious damage, you will want to know you have the correct level of buildings and contents insurance in place.
What’s first? Deal with the emergency!
We provide a 24-hour Emergency Home Assist helpline, which can connect you to an approved network of tradespersons. This is particularly useful when damage is discovered suddenly, especially outside of normal office hours. The initial cost of this service must be paid by you, however if the event is covered within your home insurance, we will reimburse you. Don’t forget to keep your receipts!
Report the Incident
If you’ve been burgled, or your property has been maliciously damaged, you must inform the Police as soon as possible. Not only will they have to come and take statements and finger prints, they will also need to complete an incident report form to evidence that the matter was reported.
Contact your Home Insurer
To notify us of a claim, you should locate your policy number and contact us as soon as possible. It’s best to start this process as soon as possible to get any damage repaired promptly. Our home insurance claims team are available 24/7 and our staff will be glad to help and advise you on how to proceed.
Submitting The Claim
After notification of a home insurance claim, a claims form will be emailed to you. This will need to be completed and returned as soon as possible along with any estimates for repairs.
Be prepared to send as much evidence as you can. That could be in the form of:
- Receipts for damaged or stolen items you are claiming for
- Bank statements to show you bought the items
- Photos as evidence to show the damage caused
- CCTV footage if you’ve been the victim of a burglary
For larger claims or claims with extensive damage, we may send a loss adjustor to inspect your property, to assess the damage and what repairs are needed. In the event of burglary, the loss adjustor will want to see evidence of forced entry and that your home meets the minimum security and other clauses as outlined in your home insurance. Without this evidence, your claim could be rejected.
Home Insurance claims excess?
You’ll have to pay your excess when you make a claim – that’s the amount you agreed to pay towards a claim when you took out the policy. Please check your policy documents to confirm the excess for your claim.
How long do home insurance claims take?
Every insurance claim is different and the more complicated the claim, the longer it will take to complete. Some claims for more extensive damage could take much longer depending on the type of damage being claimed for.
Is it always worth making a home insurance claim?
The point of home insurance is to claim on it when you need it, but for lower-value items, consider whether it’s worth making a claim or just cover the cost yourself if the value is lower than your excess, especially if you have built up a healthy no claims discount.
Should you have any queries on home contents/buildings insurance, give us a Call on 0861 696 999, send us a Whatsapp on 079 228 7816 or drop us an Email us abbrokers@abbrokers.co.za – Our consultants will be more than happy to assist!