Home insurance: what to do when you have to make a claim

If your home has sustained damage or been burgled, then the first thing you have to do is notify the insurance company, and the police if necessary. Let your insurance agent know roughly what has happened to your property, and then they will talk you through the next steps that you have to take. Keep the name and telephone number of your insurance agent on your person, so that you can contact them at any time.

Keep track of all the communications that you have with your insurer regarding the claim, as this may be useful to you further down the line. Take pictures or video clips of the affected areas of your house using a digital camera, such as the one on your mobile phone, as this may also prove helpful.

1. Keep a bit of paper or a notepad on you at all times so that you can write down anything that you notice is damaged or missing, as this information will be required when you come to make the claim.

2. If your property has sustained any damage, you should take practical steps to ensure that the problem does not get any worse. For example, if a window is broken, you may want to tape a waterproof sheet to the interior of the window to prevent water damage. Make sure that you keep receipts of anything that you have to buy to make temporary repairs, as you will be able to claim the money back later from your insurer.

3. It is your responsibility to prevent any damage to your property from getting worse, so make temporary repairs, such as covering a leaky roof with a tarpaulin, wherever possible. Keep receipts for anything that you have to buy to make these temporary repairs, so that you can be reimbursed for them later.

4. It can take a little bit of time to process an insurance claim, so be patient. If your claim is not serious, it may take quite a long time to process as most insurance firms deal with claims on a priority, rather than a first come first served, basis.

5.Stay in touch with your insurance agent while your claim is being processed to find out how your claim is progressing. If, for one reason or another, you are unhappy with your insurer, you can file a complaint with the financial ombudsman service, an independent consumer rights institution that has the necessary clout to take on the insurance firms if they feel that you have been wronged.

If you are not allowed or are unable to use your home, then you may be entitled to money for alternative accommodation while your claim is being processed if your policy includes loss of use coverage.

Whatever you call home, whether it’s a three-bedroom semi, or a penthouse apartment, Kwik Fit's panel of leading insurers find you the best price for home insurance.

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Installing an alarm system is one of the best ways to prevent your home from being burgled, and can bring down the cost of your home insurance to boot.