Claims · On Your Side

Making a business insurance claim: the first 48 hours, and everything after

In short: When something goes wrong — a fire, a flood, a theft, a letter from someone’s solicitor — the first 48 hours shape the whole claim. Notify your insurer promptly, because prompt notification is usually a condition of the cover. Take reasonable steps to stop the damage getting worse. Photograph and document everything, and don’t throw damaged property away. From there, a claim is a process with known stages and known people: a claims handler, often a loss adjuster, and — if you use one — a broker to keep it moving in your direction. This page explains how it works and where it tends to stick.

The first 48 hours

Almost every commercial policy contains claims conditions, and some of them bite hard if ignored. The good news is that what the policy wants you to do in the first two days is mostly what common sense wants you to do anyway.

Notify promptly

Tell your insurer — or your broker, who will do it for you — as soon as reasonably possible. Most policies make notification within a stated time, or “as soon as practicable”, a condition of cover, and late notification is one of the more common grounds on which claims are disputed or declined. If in doubt, notify anyway; you can decide later not to pursue it, but you cannot un-miss a deadline.

Mitigate the loss

Policies expect you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage: make the building safe and weather-tight, isolate the water or the power, move undamaged stock out of harm’s way. Reasonable emergency costs are generally recoverable, so keep every invoice for boarding-up, drying and emergency trades.

Document everything

Photograph and video the damage before anything is moved or cleaned, keep a dated log of what happened and what was agreed with whom, and start a single file for every claim-related document. Months later, when the conversation turns to figures, that file is worth a great deal.

Don’t dispose of damaged property

The insurer is entitled to inspect what it is being asked to pay for. Skipping damaged stock or machinery before anyone has seen it makes the claim harder to prove and can put you in breach of the policy conditions. If something must be moved for safety, photograph it thoroughly first and keep it available for inspection.

On liability claims: don’t admit anything

If the claim is someone else’s injury or loss — a customer hurt on your premises, an allegation of negligent work — do not admit fault, apologise in terms that accept blame, or offer payment. Liability policies almost always require this, because the insurer takes over the defence and an early admission ties its hands. Pass every letter, email and claim form to the insurer unanswered, promptly, and let it respond.

Who’s who in a claim

A straightforward claim may only ever involve you and a claims handler. A larger one gathers a cast, and it helps to know who is acting for whom.

The claims handler works for the insurer, manages the file, applies the policy terms and authorises payments. On smaller claims they may settle directly from your documents.

The loss adjuster is appointed and paid by the insurer on larger or more complex losses to investigate the circumstances and quantify the damage. Adjusters are professionals doing a defined job — not your opponent, but not your representative either. We’ve written a full page on what a loss adjuster does and how to prepare for a visit.

A loss assessor, by contrast, acts for you. Policyholders sometimes appoint one on major losses to prepare and negotiate the claim, for a fee — often a percentage of the settlement.

Your broker sits on your side of the table throughout: notifying the claim properly, helping you assemble the evidence, translating the policy wording, chasing the insurer, and pushing back where a decision or a figure doesn’t look right. It is a large part of what you pay a broker for, and it costs nothing extra when you need it.

How the settlement figure gets agreed

The burden of proving the loss sits with the policyholder, which sounds daunting but mostly means paperwork: purchase invoices, stock records, asset registers, repair estimates and — for business interruption — accounts showing what the business would have earned. The insurer or its adjuster reviews the evidence, applies the policy’s basis of settlement (for example reinstatement — new for old — versus indemnity, which deducts wear and tear), checks the sums insured, and puts forward a figure.

That figure is a position, not a verdict. If the evidence supports more, say so and show why. Quantum on a substantial claim is routinely negotiated, and this is where a broker or, on major losses, a loss assessor and your accountant earn their keep. And if the sum insured is below the true value at risk, many policies scale the payment down proportionately — the average clause, explained on our underinsurance page.

Interim payments: ask

On larger claims you do not have to wait for final settlement before any money moves. Interim payments on account — towards stripping-out costs, replacement stock, or lost income under a BI section — are a normal feature of substantial claims, and can be the difference between a business that survives and one that doesn’t. If cash flow is tightening, ask early and put a figure on what you need and why.

Where claims get stuck

Most claims settle without drama. The ones that stall usually stall for one of a handful of reasons: thin documentation that can’t support the figures claimed; disagreement about the cause of the damage and whether it’s an insured peril; underinsurance surfacing mid-claim; a wording argument over an exclusion or condition; or simply a communication chain nobody is chasing. The first three are best prevented before the claim — good records, good sums insured. The last two are what an engaged broker is for. If a claim has been formally declined or you’ve reached deadlock, there is a defined escalation route, including the Financial Ombudsman Service for eligible smaller businesses.

Frequently asked questions

Should I notify a claim even if I might not pursue it?

Generally, yes. Notification protects your position under the policy conditions; pursuing the claim is a separate decision you can make later, once you know the excess, the likely figures and any effect on future premiums.

Can I start repairs straight away?

Do what is needed to make things safe and stop further damage, and keep the receipts. Beyond that, wait until the insurer or its adjuster has inspected or confirmed you can proceed — permanent repairs started early can complicate the claim.

Will the excess be deducted from my payment?

Yes — the policy excess is the first part of each claim that you bear yourself, and settlements are calculated net of it. Check the schedule, because different sections of a commercial policy often carry different excesses.

Do I have to accept the first offer?

No. An offer is the insurer’s assessment on the evidence it has seen. If you believe the figure is short, respond with the evidence that supports a higher one. Many settlements move materially between first offer and final agreement.

What does a broker actually do during a claim?

Notifies it correctly, helps you present the evidence, explains what the wording does and doesn’t require, chases the insurer and adjuster, challenges positions that look wrong, and escalates formally if it comes to that. If your current broker goes quiet when you claim, that tells you something worth knowing at renewal.

In a claim and need help? Call us

Whether we placed the policy or not, we’re happy to talk through where a claim has got to and what to do next. Bristol-based, FCA-regulated, on the policyholder’s side.

Call 0117 325 0027 Get a broker in your corner →

Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.