How to speed up my claim
“What can I do to speed up my claim?” is the question we get asked most. This page provides all the answers, and our handy Quick Claim Checklist helps you to see at-a-glance exactly what information we require:
- PDF: HELP-checklist
- Microsoft Word: HELP-checklist
First, rest assured, you are in safe hands. CMA is the UK’s oldest loss adjuster specialising in vehicle-related insurance claims. Since 1994, we have managed, investigated and resolved tens of thousands of claims, including complex theft, collision and personal injury cases. What may initially appear suspect can often be quickly reconciled. See ‘Why CMA?‘.
Further helpful links include our approach to customer care and our glossary of industry abbreviations and acronyms. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us – we’re here to help.
Remember, when corresponding with us, please include your Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) and CMA reference number if you have one.
Now, let us go into a bit more detail about each piece of data we might ask for, explain why we need it and, importantly, where you can locate it. Getting a full checklist to us promptly can shave days, even weeks, off your claims settlement timeline.
About you
- Driver Licence
This is an important document – it can assist in verifying identity. It may be used to compare your signature by us, insurers and, for example, the police where we need to seek information from them. Click here to obtain the driver licence information your insurers require.
- Residence
Please provide verification of your residential address, for example, email us a copy of a utility bill dated as near to the date of loss (DoL), but before the DoL, as possible. This will be gas, water or electric i.e. for the property. A mobile phone bill is insufficient.
- Employment
Please email us confirmation of your employment at the date of the loss.
Many people are self-employed or undertake more than one employment i.e. they have a part-time job. For some, their occupation changes during the life of a policy. If you are self-employed, the easiest way to demonstrate this is to supply us with your last annual return. It would also help to be supplied with an advertisement for your services and the last few invoices you issued.
- Criminal Convictions
Do you have criminal conditions and if so, for what and are they spent? Click here for further information.
about the vehicle
- Purchase Receipt
Unavailable? Click here for more information and assistance.
- Registration Documentation
Unavailable? Click here for more information and assistance.
- MoT
We will not dwell on this document. A vehicle’s MoT history can be found online. Please check your MoT – occasionally, surprises are encountered; the MoT may have lapsed, there may be an outstanding recall or even a mileage anomaly.
Look carefully at the history! Is this consistent with your knowledge or the test certificate in your possession? Is there a more recent issue than the document in your possession, or even one before that does not agree with the annual tests you have progressed? If so, please let us know asap.
- Keys
In the event of a theft, please ensure we are sent all the keys for the vehicle by recorded delivery.
We suggest you use a mobile phone or camera to take an image of the keys pre-postage and keep the delivery (tracking) receipt to hand – why not take a picture of that too? Royal Mail Track & Trace can be accessed here.
- Maintenance & Condition
Ideally, your vehicle will have a service ebook, stamped throughout its history, available for submission to us. If you lack this document, please send a copy of the last service invoice. If this has been lost, please approach the party servicing your vehicle for a copy.
If nothing else, whilst we are seldom involved in valuing your vehicle, evidence it has been well maintained will assist your insurers to obtain a fair market price.
- Photographs/images
Where you have taken a picture relevant to your claim, for example, at the scene of a collision, or you have an image of your vehicle pre-theft (possibly in the background of a family shot), please send these to us as an uncompressed attachment – not in the body of an email.
The image is likely to be larger than 2mb
- Finance
If an outstanding finance agreement is associated with your vehicle, please complete and forward to us the following mandate – finance consent mandate *
- Vehicle Movement Monitoring (tracking)
If the vehicle has any tracking decide or app’ associated with it, please provide us with the relevant login/passcode details and forward the following mandate to us – tracking consent mandate
- Vehicle Excise Licence (V.E.L.) or ‘tax’
If your vehicle has not been found – do remember to cancel the tax! Read more here.
about the event
- Witnesses
If another person is associated with the event, for example, they were with you when the vehicle was parked, please ensure we are provided with their full name, address (to include post code), email address and phone number(s).
- Police
To enable us to obtain a copy of the police report associated with the vehicle theft, please complete and forward to us the following mandates – police consent mandates
Unfortunately, the current means to obtain a crime report is arduous, time-consuming and convoluted, with some constabularies taking months to release documentation and one over a year! Read more here.
VeHICLE FOUND?
If you are advised your vehicle has been found, tell us ASAP
- Where is it? The name of the storage agent, their address, phone number and email.
- What is its condition? Driveable, damaged?
- Has it been ‘released’? That is to say, are the police finished with it, can it be collected?
The police will not always inform us or your insurers of the recovery and prompt action is therefore required to ensure delays and storage costs are kept to a minimum.
Thinking of withdrawing your claim? On occasions, we are asked whether cancelling the claim will protect NCB/NCD (No Claims Bonus or Discount). This is not something we can advise about. Do bear in mind that when you obtain a policy of insurance you may not simply be asked ‘Have you made a claim before‘ but could be asked ‘Have you suffered a theft or been involved in a collision before‘. Whilst your existing insurer will be aware of your ‘event’ history, if you move to a new supplier, disclosure of a previous incident is likely to be necessary.
Questions
Is something in the above unclear, have we missed something, do you have a question? Please email us and we will respond just as soon as possible.
Feedback
Please also complete our ‘Customer Service Feedback’ form; we are keen to understand how we met your needs, how we may not have done so and what we can do to improve the service provided.
*Consent mandates
where you have signed a CONSENT mandate enabling us, Claims Management & Adjusting Ltd., to approach a third party, if we consider it necessary, to acquire information pertinent to your claim, we will NOT use this form other than in connection with this claim.
If you subsequently feel that your consent was obtained other than freely, or that you do not wish us to approach a third party in connection with the claim we are handling, please email us in confirmation of this.