How To Make An Insurance Claim

If you’re reading this, you most likely have taken out some form of tradesman insurance policy. Whether that’s Public Liability Insurance, Tools in Transit cover, Employers’ Liability Insurance or any of our other policies, you may be looking to find out how to make a claim. 

Insurance is something you purchase in the hope that you never really need to use it! However, in an industry rife with risks and hazards, we know only too well that this question will pop into every tradesman’s mind. This article is here to tell you all about the process of making a claim with Rhino Trade Insurance. What you will need to think of before contacting us, and also what if someone is trying to make a claim against you or your business. 

Work out your situation.

When thinking about making a claim, the first thing you should do is to keep calm and think everything through. Ask yourself, has some form of crime been committed? Is it an emergency? 

If you’ve had something stolen or vandalised, your first point of call would be to contact the police and log the incident. They will give you a crime reference number which you can pass on to your insurer. It’s worth pointing out that every claim has a time limit on it. At Rhino, this can differ from policy to policy, so it’s worth reading your documentation to be sure. 

Another situation you could find yourself in is whether it’s an emergency or not. Suppose you’ve taken ill whilst on a job or had a significant incident involving staff members. In that case, your best bet is to contact us for advice.  

Record what happened

Once you have an idea of your situation, you need to record what’s happened and have evidence. The more you have, the more straightforward your claim will be. This can be as simple as taking notes of times and dates of the events, details of what happened, recording videos or photos on your phone, making lists of anything that has been stolen or asking passers-by for their details and stories of what unfolded. 

Making an Insurance claim

When something goes wrong on the job, you’re so glad that you are covered! Once you are comfortable with your information, you may want to do a final check of your insurance documents before giving us a call. That way, you can check if you have any excess to pay on any claim you make and whether your policy has a particular procedure to follow. Don’t worry, though. If you can’t find your documents, Rhino will be on hand to help as we can identify your policy from your details and tell you if you have a valid claim. 

To get in touch with Rhino’s claims department, simply head to our website and click the ‘claims’ button in the top right corner. This will give you the relevant phone number or email to contact. Alternatively, you can call our usual number, 0116 243 7904 and select option 3 for claims.

Great, you’re now speaking to one of our insurance experts. They will go through the details of what happened and details of any companies or people involved. Here, the claims team will go through your statement of fact document and find any details relevant to your claim. Good examples of documents to help your insurance claim are photos of items, receipts, invoices, serial numbers, police reports, medical reports, among others.  

A few usual questions found are how long does it take for your claim to go through? The answer to this is every claim is different and, depending on the complexities of the claim, will depend on the time it takes to settle. Another popular question is when do you pay the excess? This again is stated in your policy documentation.

Do I need to claim on my Insurance?

You don’t have to make a claim on your tradesman insurance policy, even if you can. In some cases, the claim amount may be small, and you may not want to make a claim in case it affects your future premiums. 

Even if you don’t want to make a claim, it’s best to inform Rhino of the event so that it doesn’t lead to problems for you in the future. 

What if someone is making a claim against me?

In the unfortunate event that someone is making a claim against you, you should contact Rhino as soon as possible to inform us of the situation. Here, you should share any paperwork you have received and let us help because the claim is made may not be your fault. 

Final thoughts

Public Liability Insurance is the most common form of tradesman insurance. It is a commodity to any self-employed professional working in the trades. Here at Rhino Trade Insurance, we offer cover at some of the best rates on the market. Through our unique online quote engine, we can provide accurate quotes within just 30 seconds.