Making a car insurance claim

What details do I need to take for a claim?

If your claim follows a road accident, make sure you collect all the details you need from the other driver. Jot down the following:

• name
• address
• vehicle registration
• telephone number
• insurance details.

You'll need to give your car insurance company all the information you can about the accident as soon as possible.

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When should I call my car insurer?

Before you call, make sure you have all the information you'll need to make a claim. After notifying your provider, you'll get a claim form to complete and return. Alternatively, you may be able to submit your form online.

Remember: whether or not you intend to claim, your insurer will expect to be notified.

Do I have to contact my insurer?

You do. Car insurers expect to be notified of any incident that could potentially lead to a claim – even if you don't plan to make one.

Not doing so could risk putting you in breach of your policy's terms and conditions. Even if you don't claim, an affected third party might, so your insurer wants to have as much information as possible about the incident.

It will also consider incidents - whether or not they resulted in a claim - in your recent past when calculating your risk. This is especially the case if the incident is serious.

In addition, damage to your car may have affected its safety, security or value.

Is it worth making a car insurance claim?

Faced with several thousand pounds' worth of damage or theft, the case for making a claim on your insurance is pretty clear cut.

Where it wouldn't break the bank to fund repairs or replacements yourself, you might decide that making a claim isn't worth it. 

Here are the factors to bear in mind:

What effect does a car insurance claim have on premiums?

A major cause for hesitation can be the potential impact on your premiums: recent claims or incidents affect the insurer's view of your level of risk, and so it may increase your price accordingly.

Unfortunately, you can't know in advance what your next renewal premium will be.

Generally speaking, though, minor isolated incidents, such as a chip in the windscreen, are less likely to lead to significant increases than something more serious or complex – a collision with another driver, for example.

Whether or not you choose to claim, be alert at renewal time. If your premium has soared, you might still be able to find a better deal by switching to a new provider or haggling with your current one for a better deal.

• Find out more: How to find cheap car insurance 

What is an excess?

Excesses help keep your premium low, marking a threshold of what you're happy – or required – to pay yourself in the event of a claim.

The closer the claim amount is to your excess, the less benefit there is in claiming.

What impact will a claim have on my no-claims discount?

Check how much a claim will affect your no-claims discount.

This won't give you the entire picture. You'll know how much discount you stand to lose if you claim, but not the underlying premium to which that discount is applied, which may increase regardless.

But if your claim triggers a big reduction in discount, you'll know to expect a sizeable increase in premium – and it may take two or three years to recover the no-claims bonus you had.

Considering a car insurance claim

While you can't anticipate the exact effect a claim will have, some basic information about your policy – such as its excess and no-claims discount – can help you judge whether it's worth making.

How do I complain about my car insurance claim?

When making a claim, your expectation is that your provider will handle your enquiries carefully and pay out according to the terms of your policy.

However, this isn't always the case. If you feel that your claim hasn't been handled fairly – if it's rejected, for example, or the valuation you receive is less than you expected – complain to your insurer in the first instance.

If you've exhausted the insurance company's complaints procedure (set out in your insurance policy) and your claim hasn't been settled, contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) at financial-ombudsman.org.uk or call 0800 023 4567.

You usually have six months from the time you reach deadlock with the insurer to make a complaint. The decision of the FOS is binding on companies but not on the consumer – so you could, if you wish, refer the matter to court.

What about uninsured losses?

Uninsured losses are items that aren't covered by your insurance policy and often occur after a road accident. They could include things like:

• the excess you have to pay for repairs
• the cost of alternative transport while your car is off the road
• compensation for personal injury
• loss of earnings
• loss in value of your car.

Start by writing to the other driver to give details of your uninsured losses, and ask them to pass on your claim to their insurer. If the driver refuses to co-operate, you'll have to take the matter to court.

Claims up to certain values can be taken to the small claims court: £10,000 or less in England or Wales, £5,000 or less in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Check your car insurance policy, though: many policies have motor legal protection, which is a form of legal expenses insurance and will assist in the recovery of your uninsured losses.

If you're claiming for a personal injury as part of the claim, this affects whether it can be brought as a small claim. Always take legal advice where there is a personal injury element to the claim.

Is my car insurance payout fair?

When we surveyed customers about their experiences of claiming, nearly a quarter told us their car was either written off or stolen and not recovered, with most receiving cash settlements. However, a third of these claimants turned down their first settlement offer and went on to accept a revised offer.

Calculating a car's 'market value' (what it would likely have sold for directly before the claim) isn't an exact science. However, some customers have been sold short by insurers making cash offers. 

In 2024, the insurance regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, sounded the alarm that some firms might be offering unreasonably low cash settlements to replace cars that are written off or stolen ‒ known as total loss claims.

If your insurer is making a cash offer, and it seems low, ask it to explain the figure it's arrived at. 

The sum will probably be less than what you paid to buy the car, as depreciation (its change in value during the period you owned it) will be factored in.

However, if you can provide evidence that the car has a higher value than the insurer's estimate, it may be prepared to reconsider. Check trade quotes for similar models in a similar condition to yours, to see how they compare. If you can, getting an expert to value your vehicle can also add weight to your case.

Can insurers give vouchers instead of cash payouts?

If your policy states that your insurer uses a 'preferred supplier', this could mean you'll be issued with vouchers instead of cash when you make a claim. These vouchers have to enable you to replace your item 'like for like'.

Where your policy doesn't say that the insurance company can provide vouchers, you can insist on either a cash payment or replacement items – whichever your policy says the insurer will provide.

Be sure to check with your provider if anything is unclear in your policy wording.

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