Legal
Insurance broking and claims
Documentation arriving at the worst moment, on deadlines that do not wait.
A claim arrives without warning, with an upset client and deadlines running from the event, not from when you find out. Everything you can have ready beforehand is worth double at that moment.
What to have before anything happens
Important
The last point fails most often. A claim surfacing today may correspond to cover in force two years ago, and answering that requires the dated history — not the current policy.
When it happens
- 1
Document the event as soon as possible
Certified photos the same day. Damage photographed three weeks later is no longer the same damage.
- 2
Gather what the insurer asks for
As a process, not an email chain: the client is upset and will not send five things in a row.
- 3
Record every communication
With dates. Notification deadlines are the most disputed point afterwards.
Watch out
Claim notification has deadlines and missing them can affect cover. Certifying when and what was communicated protects your client, and protects you from the claim that follows if something goes wrong.
What an insurer disputes
| What is questioned | What closes it |
|---|---|
| When it happened | Photos and communication with a trusted date |
| What condition it was in before | Prior documentation, if it existed |
| When it was notified | The communication record |
| Which cover applied | The policy history with its dates |
Worth knowing
If you handle claims often, build document collection as a recurring process. The client and the event change; the insurer's list changes little.
›Can I give the client access to their file?
Yes, scoped, and during a claim it is very reassuring.
›And the insurer?
Scoped access or an export, depending what they accept.
›How long do I keep a closed claim?
Limitation periods are long; check with your adviser.
A real case
The situation
A broker handles a claim whose cover belonged to a policy from two years earlier.
What you do
- Retrieves the policy history with its effective dates
What you get
Evidences the cover applicable at the time of the event, rather than arguing with the current policy in hand.
The situation
A claim arrives and the client's documentation is missing.
What you do
- Requests what is missing from day one
What you get
The file moves while it is being worked.
The situation
Claim documentation arrives through several channels.
What you do
- Gathers everything in the claim's file
What you get
What is there and what is missing is visible at once.
The situation
The client asks how it is going and it has to be looked up.
What you do
- Checks the file's status
What you get
You answer there and then.
The situation
A policy expires and the client does not know.
What you do
- Records expiries per client
What you get
The warning arrives before renewal.
The situation
Months later how it was handled must be explained.
What you do
- Keeps the file's history
What you get
The explanation comes from the file.
This article answers
- claim documentation
- broker client document management
- claim notification deadlines
- gathering documents for an insurer