03 November, 2011

Having to make a claim on your insurance can be a very stressful and drawn-out experience, even more so if your insurance company does not keep you informed of how they are handling your claim and the progress they are making with it. At Cornish Mutual we pride ourselves on a straightforward and fair claims process, therefore we have put together this short guide for our Members to explain how we currently deal with claims and what you can expect from us should you have to make a claim.

The first thing we need in the case of any type of claim (except for windscreens) is a completed claim form. Our claim forms can be downloaded from our website, or can be posted out to Members if they would prefer to call the office or  their local Inspector to request one. The second thing we need from you, the Member, is an estimate for the damage caused. Once we are in receipt of this we can establish whether an engineer or loss adjuster needs to be appointed. Unfortunately until we have received both the claim form and estimate we cannot authorise repairs to proceed.

Should we appoint an assessor or loss adjustor to your claim, they will contact you and arrange to visit you at your earliest convenience. After the visit, the assessor/loss adjustor will write a report and decide upon a settlement figure or best course of action. The report details all the information we need in order to take the claim forward - for example the time and date of the incident, exactly what happened, the extent of the damage caused, and the costs involved in repairing the damage caused.  However, a payment can only be made once you have sent in a completed claim form.

Once the estimate/settlement figure has been approved by our Member Services team, they will authorise the work to be carried out. In straightforward cases, the whole claims process can take just 48 hours, although each claim is treated individually and is assessed on its own merits.

The claim forms ask for all the information we require in order to process a claim. In our experience, however, claim forms which have been sent in with missing information are the most common cause of delay to the process. It is always worth double checking - should you need to make a claim - that you have filled out every last detail.  If you are unsure of the answer to any given question, our Member Services team will be more than happy to advise you.

It is our aim to treat all claims fairly and to settle them promptly. Should a claim be rejected or not settled in full, we always offer a full explanation as to why this is.

For more information about our claims process, or to speak to someone regarding an existing claim you might have, please call Member Services on 01872 277151 or email claims@cornishmutual.co.uk.