You have van insurance for a reason – it’s there to protect you if something goes wrong. The nature of your insurance claim depends on what has occured beforehand.

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You naturally want the process to be straightforward, so here are a few steps to take should you need to make a claim in the event of an accident or theft.

If you’ve been involved in an accident in your van, here’s what you should do:

  • At the scene of the accident, you should always stop, Check any damage to property and assess any injuries to you, or to others. Always be careful when dealing with injuries
  • If necessary, call the emergency services
  • Assuming no major damage is done, you should get the details of the other driver involved – phone number, name, address, their insurance policy number
  • Also take the details of the vehicle involved (the registration plate)
  • Take pictures of the incident – any damage to your van, other vehicles or property
  • Call your insurance company as soon as possible – you’ll remember more details when the event has just happened
  • Don’t accept responsibility until you have spoken to your insurers – tell them the facts and detail events as it happened

What if your van or its contents have been stolen? Here are a few steps to take:

  • Upon noticing the theft of either the vehicle or contents, call the Gardai
  • Then call your insurer – they will be able to tell you what you are covered for in the circumstances
  • If the Gardai give you a case number, you should also relay this to your insurer
  • Remember – any content stolen should be either an addition to your van insurance, or a separate policy. You may also need overnight cover if tools are left in your van all night
  • Tell your insurer everything you know about what took place – but they will ask you questions to guide you through the process

Of course, not all incidents happen during office hours, so there will be an emergency contact number in your policy. You should contact your insurer as soon as possible.

You should also make sure all information given is accurate, both at the time of getting your van insurance and at the time of making a claim. There are reasons that insurers could refuse your claim:

  • If it is suspected you have exaggerated incident details, or if you are making a fraudulent claim
  • Submitting false documents or statements
  • If you are suspected of being at fault by negligence, both for accident and theft claims
  • Driving without a valid licence
  • If you have not disclosed changes in circumstances (such as health conditions)
  • If you are underinsured for the incident, or have not kept up payments
  • If your insurance was not in place or valid at the time of the incident

An accident or theft incident are not pleasant to go through and it’s understandable that you may be confused about how to make a claim. That’s why Britton Insurance works hard to make your quotation and claims process as simple as possible.

We compare what additional benefits are available from the different insurers, to get you these optional benefits, including no claims discount protection, audio cover, medical expenses, personal accident, specified/unspecified trailer cover and more