No one wants to make a claim on their insurance if they can avoid it as the likely affect is that this will result in increased premiums. However, it is important you report any incident or occurrence likely to give rise to an entitlement to be indemnified under your policy, as soon as possible even if you have no loss or damage to claim yourself, but which could result in a claim being made against you at some later date, regardless of who you consider was at fault or the likelihood a claim will be made against you – as failure to do so may result in your insurer denying cover.
Insurers will often state in their policy that you must notify them of any ‘accident’, ‘circumstance’, ‘incident’, ‘event’, loss or ‘occurrence’, but may not always provide definitions of these words, leaving the interpretation open – usually to your detriment!
Generally speaking, such words mean a sudden, unforeseen and identifiable occurrence / an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure to substantially the same general conditions, which results in injury or damage which is neither intended nor expected by you.
You must check your policy wording and the section relating to ‘Notification / Reporting of claims’ to understand just what the requirements are.
Most policies will require you report such events as soon as possible, others within a certain time frame, but if your policy contains the words ‘Conditions Precedent…’ it is very important to know this means failure to notify your insurer of any claim/occurrence etc as soon as you become aware of it, could and will likely result in any subsequent claim not being covered by your insurance.
A ‘Condition Precedent’ will require you to give notice to your insurer, as soon as practicable, often no later than 14 days after the date that you or your representative knows about any claim or occurrence or any circumstances you become aware of which may result in a claim or occurrence under your insurance. If you breach this condition, your insurer’s position does not need to have been prejudiced; the simple fact of a breach means there is no right to indemnity.
Insurance companies and their policies are not all the same, so always refer to your own insurance documents. We are here to help you and help you understand your insurance. If at any time you are unsure of anything regarding your insurance policy and the cover it provides, please do not hesitate to speak to us.