How to Claim

What to Expect When Making a Claim

1. Information – Before you call, please ensure that you have as much information as possible to hand. You will be asked for your broker reference number, details of the claim and whether any other parties were involved. It's always a good idea to write down what has happened as we all forget small details that could be important.
2. Call us – Our claims team is available between 8:30am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday to take detail of your claim and answer any questions or queries. If you have an emergency and are calling outside of these times, we have a dedicated out of hours service contactable on the same number.
3. Registering the claim – The claims team will register your claim with the insurer and give you an indication of time scales and any further steps.
4. Keeping you up to date – The claims team will make sure that you receive regular updates regarding your claim by your preferred method of contact.
5. Confirmed settlement of claim.

Motor Claims
In the event of a road traffic accident:

1. Contact the emergency services if anyone is injured.
2. Collect details of the other driver(s) and vehicle(s) involved.
3. Collect details of any independent witnesses.
4. Take a picture of the accident scene, the damage to your vehicle and any other parties involved, if it's safe to do so.
5. Do not discuss or admit responsibility either verbally or in writing.
6. Please report all accidents to us as soon as practically possible and when it is safe to do so on 0844 412 2416 so we can advise what to do next.

Fault Claims
In the event of a claim where you consider that you are the responsible party we will:

1. If your vehicle is not drivable and you are comprehensively insured, we will arrange for the vehicle to be collected from the scene of the accident and for it to be delivered to a preferred repairer.
2. A courtesy vehicle will be provided, subject to availability, and will usually be a Class A vehicle. In respect of commercial vehicles, a small van can be provided. Our in-house claims department, based in East Anglia, will report the claim to your insurers saving you any inconvenience.
3. We will liaise with the Saffron Insurance preferred repairer to ensure that your repairs are dealt with as swiftly as possible.

Non Fault Claims
In the event of a claim where you consider the third party to be fully or partially to blame we will:

1. If your vehicle is not drivable and you are comprehensively insured, we will arrange for the vehicle to be collected from the scene of the accident and delivered to a preferred repairer.
2. A courtesy vehicle will be provided, subject to availability, in all cases where a preferred repairer is used. The courtesy vehicle will usually be a Class A vehicle. In respect of commercial vehicles, a small van can be provided.
3. Our in-house claims department, based in East Anglia, will report the claim to your insurers saving you any inconvenience.
4. We will liaise with the Saffron Insurance preferred repairer to ensure that your repairs are dealt with as swiftly as possible.
5. Specialist claims handlers will deal with the attempted recovery of any uninsured losses that you may have incurred. These losses may include your policy excess, loss of earning, travel expenses etc.
6. Should the insured driver and/or any passenger have suffered personal injury as a result of the accident, we can arrange for any claim in this respect to be dealt with by a specialist personal injury solicitor at no cost to yourself or the passengers.
7. In some circumstances, we may be able to arrange for you to be put into a similar replacement vehicle, whilst yours is in for repair. Saffron Loss Recovery will then recover the cost direct from the third party, or their insurers. Saffron Loss Recovery are a registered credit hire provider and deal with claims in accordance with the ABI GTA, which is a voluntary code of practice to which we adhere. Many of the large insurers such as Aviva and Zurich are signatories to the ABI GTA code of practice. Providing the information you supply to us in relation to the claim is correct to the best of your knowledge and that no information about the accident is held back, we would not look to you for reimbursement of the hire costs.

How to make a windscreen claim:
Call us on 0844 412 2416

Home Claims
Saffron Insurance benefits from the in-house handling claims for a number of well known house hold insurers, under a delegated authority scheme. This enables us to deal with your claim more quickly and efficiently when the claim falls within the agreed authority level. If your claim is not handled under this scheme, then we will still take ownership of your claim and report the details to your insurer who will deal with your claim directly, providing you with regular updates and piece of mind.

We will continue to monitor your claim to ensure that you are happy with its progress and to assist you towards settlement. Your dedicated claim handler is available by phone between business hours, which are 8:30am to 5:30pm Monday to Friday, should you have any queries or concerns. Accidents happen at any time of the day or night. If you have an emergency and need to contact us outside of our business hours, please dial the usual claims number 0844 412 2416 and your call will be directed to the Saffron Out of Hours Emergency Helpline. A fully trained handler. will give you advice and assistance in securing your property, stopping a water leak or carrying out temporary repairs. The helpline will be unable to confirm cover under your policy and there may be initial costs for you to incur. The details of your emergency will be communicated to the Saffron Insurance Claims team and you will be contacted as a priority during business hours.

Commercial Claims
Claims against our commercial clients present themselves in all manner of ways and there is no strict model of reporting. Generally, the most efficient way of letting Saffron Insurance know about your loss in the first instance is to call the dedicated in-house commercial team, who will direct you to the commercial handler.

Your dedicated handler will then discuss the nature of your loss and will take report ) the matter to your insurer, whether this is by assisting you in the completion of a specialist claim form to gather all of the required information, or simply a professional conversation over the telephone. The handler will also be in a position to give expert advice on where cover lies under your policy and the requesting of specific information to support the losses. The handler will also liaise with your insurer on a regular basis to maintain a high level of interest in your claim so that they can give you periodical updates on their progression and whether any further assistance is required.

In some circumstances, we can also offer a personal visit from the handler to discuss your claim in more detail and to provide advice on any settlement terms proposed by your insurer.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I make a claim?
   Call us on 0844 412 2416 or visit your local office.
2. What is an excess?
   In the event of a claim on your policy you will be required to pay an agreed figure. This is known as the insurance excess and will be clearly outlined in your policy documentation. This can be made up of a voluntary and a compulsory amount.
3. When do I pay my excess?
   The excess is paid to the repairing garage or contractor upon completion of repairs or deducted from an agreed settlement figure. Should your vehicle be a total loss or stolen, the excess will be deducted from the settlement.
4. I'm not at fault – someone hit me, what do I do? Or, I have been approached by a Third party what do I do?
   Firstly call us, Saffron Insurance on 0844 412 2416. It is highly recommended that you do not accept any services from anyone other than Saffron Insurance without calling us first.
5. I had an accident, but there is no damage to my car, do I need to call you?
   Yes, you have a duty to report any accident to your insurers. Failure to do so could leave you liable to costs in the future.
6. Will I get a courtesy car if I have an accident?
   Providing you use a Saffron preferred repairer, you will be supplied with a courtesy car or van for the duration of repairs. For our terms and conditions, please refer to your claims management service wording or a copy will be issued to you upon request.

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