Car insurance claim – how to make a claim

Making a car insurance claim needn’t be a complicated or stressful experience. CoverGirl’s experienced claims advisors are on hand to provide help and assistance to ensure your motor insurance claim is dealt with quickly and efficiently.

If you are involved in an accident, and even if you do not intend to make a car insurance claim, you must report the accident to us immediately.

Making a fault accident car insurance claim
If you have been involved in a car accident which you believe was your fault call us on 0800 954 97 56. One of our claims handlers will take down the details of the accident. It will help if you have the following information to hand when you call:

Date, time and place of accident

Name, address, registration number and
insurance details of other people involved

Name, address and phone number of any witnesses

Details of police (if they attended)

Most of this information can be given over the phone to save you having to complete lengthy claims forms and to ensure that your car insurance claim is processed quickly and efficiently. However we may also require you to provide a sketch of the accident scene and a written statement as to what happened (this is usually required then the circumstances of the accident are being disputed by the other party).

If you have third party, or third party fire and theft motor insurance, your policy does not cover you for making claims for damage to your vehicle. Having reported the claim to us, you will then be responsible for making your own arrangements to get your vehicle repaired.

If you have comprehensive motor insurance, having reported the accident to us we will then get your claim underway. This will involve us arranging for a vehicle engineer to inspect your car and produce an estimate for repairs. Provided your car isn’t beyond economical repair (ie: an insurance write-off), your car can then be booked in for repairs. You may be entitled to a replacement vehicle whilst yours is being repaired, under the terms of your policy. Failing that a courtesy car may be available from the bodyshop where your car is being repaired. Once your car has been repaired you will have to pay your policy excess, to the bodyshop when you collect your car.

If your car is deemed a write-off by the vehicle engineer, a pre-accident value will be put on the car and once this figure has been agreed, you will receive a cheque for this amount (less your policy excess) so you can go out and replace your car.

Making a non-fault accident car insurance claim
If you have been involved in a car accident which you believe was not your fault call us on 0800 954 97 56. One of our claims handlers will take down the details of the accident. It will help if you have the following information to hand when you call:

Date, time and place of accident

Name, address, registration number and
insurance details of other people involved

Name, address and phone number of any witnesses

Details of police (if they attended)

Most of this information can be given over the phone to save you having to complete lengthy claims forms and to ensure that your insurance claim is processed quickly and efficiently. However we may also require you to provide a sketch of the accident scene and a written statement as to what happened (this is usually required then the circumstances of the accident are being disputed by the other party).

Having reported the claim to us, your CoverGirl legal expenses insurance policy will help you make a claim for the damage to your car, against the person who caused the accident.

We will liaise with the insurance company of the person who was responsible for the car accident and once they have admitted liability for the accident, we will negotiate a claim settlement with them; either getting your vehicle repaired, or if it is deemed a write-off, recovering the pre-accident value for you.

We can also help you make a claim for any injuries suffered by yourself or your passengers and arrange for a replacement car whilst yours is off the road*.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the full details of the person who caused the accident, we may be able to trace them through the police (if they attended the scene of the accident) or the DVLA database. If the other person can’t be traceable or if they do not have insurance, we may still be able to help you make a claim for personal injury and damage to your vehicle through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), an organisation funded by the motor insurance industry to help people who have been involved in a car accident with a untraced or uninsured driver.

If you would like to speak to a member of our motor team about making a car insurance claim or motor insurance claim, please call us on 0800 954 97 56 or email us at insurance@covergirlcarinsurance.co.uk.

*A replacement car can normally be arranged under one of the following conditions: (1) Comprehensive policyholders – a replacement car may be available under the terms of your insurance policy. Please check your policy details for more information. (2) Non fault accident – where we have the name, car registration number and insurance details of the person who caused the accident, we can supply a replacement car. This is done on a credit hire basis which means the costs for this service will be passed onto the insurance company of the person who caused the accident. We may not be able to arrange a replacement car where we are unable to get an admission of liability from their insurance company, or where the driver is untraceable or uninsured. (3) Repair garage – if your car is booked in for repairs following an accident, the repair garage may be able to provide a replacement car (subject to availability).