Nowadays we live in a society where almost everything we own, from houses, to cars, body-parts, even our lives are insured. At some point the average person has to file an insurance claim. This article takes you through the steps, hopefully making your claim a stress-free and easy process to go through.

1. Firstly you need to consider whether or not to go through with a claim and the implication it will have on your insurance policy. For example if you have done a small amount of damage to your car which wont actually cost that much to repair, you should think hard about actually claiming. Some policies state that if you make a claim it could affect your no claims bonus – effectively making your insurance policy higher in the future. Sometimes it is best to fix the problem yourself then pay a premium on your insurance in the long run.

2. File your claim immediately. This is very important as a delay in reporting the incident could affect your insurance claim in the future. This particularly applies to household theft or accidents, as your insurer will inquire as to why you didn’t report the incident sooner.

3. Ensure everything is filled out correctly. If it is regarding theft then you will need to file a police report. If it is an incident involving your car then try to get names and details of witnesses at the scene. Failure to do these things could also cost you your claim.

4. Write down your customer claim number and who you talked to on the phone and keep it somewhere safe. This will be helpful if there are any disputes in the claim at a later date.