Skip to main content

How Do I Make A Claim


Article on How do I make a claim by adam

Adam Weaver adam@allrisk.com.au
15-06-2017

Disaster! How do I make a claim?

Things can go wrong on even the most meticulous of owner-builder projects, and that's why you should have comprehensive owner builder insurance. 
Damage from theft or vandalism is possibly the most heartbreaking, but (other than Public Liability claims) storm damage is one of the most costly things to go wrong.
Lodging a claim doesn't have to be hard. The best advice is just to ask yourself what you yourself would do if you weren't insured. If it's common sense and reasonable, you can be pretty sure that that's what your insurer would ask you to do anyway. 

Step 1 - Don't Panic!

Don't panic, you have insurance covering damage to your project and public liability insurance protecting you if you're sued for accidental injury or damage to others.

Step 2 - Grab your camera and take some photographs

A picture is worth a thousand words - so early photographs of the damage or the injury site will help explain exactly what's gone wrong. Take some photographs of the damage and the surrounding area so it's plain exactly what has happened. If you've been keeping a development diary (an excellent idea to document your progress), make a note of the date and time the damage occurred and the date and time you discovered the loss.

Step 3 - Make it safe

If the project site could cause further damage or is a hazard to others, remove the dangerous parts and cordon it off. The last thing you'd want is for something else to go wrong and make a disaster even worse. 

Step 4 - Let us know

Claims for damage to your own property: Grab a claim form here and send it to us by e-mail, give us a call, or send an e-mail letting us know what's happened. Most times your insurers will ask you to provide a quote for repair (since you're a builder, you should be well placed to have your tradesmen give you an urgent quote), and they'll assess the claim based on your claim form and the repair quote. If the claim is very large, the insurer may wish to appoint an assessor to help work through the claim process.
Claims for public liability or injury to others: Don't admit any responsibility (even if you think it really is your fault). The injured party will have to put their claim in writing - just say that you're referring the matter to your insurers, and any demands for compensation have to be in writing, so you can pass them on. 

Step 5 - Tell us the dollar value of the loss

Make sure you tell us how much you need to make good the claim and put your project back on track. If you leave the dollar amount claimed off your claim form, the insurer can't possibly know how much they need to compensate you!

Step 6 - Keep records of the repair

Keep receipts and invoices related to the repair - we'll need to provide those receipts to show the insurer what costs you've incurred. If you don't have invoices or receipts, it'll be very difficult to prove your loss and how much the insurer needs to pay in order to reimburse you.

Step 7 - Repair your project

Unless the insurer says otherwise, for most damage to your own project claims you should proceed with the best price quote for repair. Insurers don't normally repair the project for you - since you're the builder with your own tradespeople on site, you are absolutely the best person to get the project back up and running. 
If you'd rather wait for 100% confirmation from the insurer that your claim has been accepted, that's ok too. However insurers usually need a few days to assess the claim and work through their processes, so if anything's urgent you may need to get work done underway.

Step 8 - That's it!

Once the claim has been finalised, the insurer will reimburse you for the costs you incurred less the excess (deductible).

For more information about How Do I Make A Claim, visit our website.
Table of Contents Main Site
Social Platforms
Insights
Table of Contents



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Best Owner Builder Insurance Australia

All around Australia, many people use owner builder loans to acquire a house for their family. This is one of the popular options for Aussies especially those who are trying to save money. However, others choose this because they have enough time to do a construction project while others just do this because they have the skill for building and this is also what they do for a living. Whatever their reasons are, they all need insurance for this undertaking. Regardless of who will be doing the actual works, applicants must produce insurance first for the building along with other required documents for the local city council’s approval.     Some tips for a secure deal and quality service             Check for the best mortgage companies to work with Do a research about the different insurance companies in Australia Learn extensively about their products and terms. Ask them important questions. Select your company of choice, know ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Insuring Owner Builders

Adam Weaver  adam@allrisk.com.au 21-01-2018 What is owner builder insurance? Owner builder insurance is  construction insurance  - covering a non-professional-builder working on his/her own residential building job against damage during the build, and for public liability. Construction insurance refers to protecting the  works  (the "contract works") against damage - e.g. fire , storm, earthquake, vandalism, theft of building materials, and other perils. Public liability insurance refers to protecting the  builder  (the "owner builder") against claims of personal injury or property damage - e.g. a visitor on site being injured, or the neighbouring property being accidentally damaged by the build. Other types of owner builder insurance Include  existing structures , your own  tools ,  volunteers'  loss of income following injury on site, and  workers compensation . These are all optional, and you s...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Does Insurable Interest Mean?

Adam Weaver  adam@allrisk.com.au What is an insurable interest? A key term in insurance is "insurable interest" - it's a key requirement for you to be able to insure something.Yet this is one of the most misunderstood concepts, so let's look at what it means. Interest "Interest" means an asset or responsibility belonging to you (the policyholder). Something that affects you personally, and for which you're responsible. So your car, for example, or your home under construction. Or the building materials you've purchased and sitting on site . Think of these financially - if they were damaged, lost, or stolen, you would suffer a financial loss. You would have to pay to repair or replace the items. Intangibles can be interests too Another type of "interest" is more intangible - like legal liabilities or responsibilities. Like being sued for personal injury to a person or a worker in your care, or someone's...
Post a Comment
Read more