As much as we wish it didn’t, when something goes wrong, you’ll need to make a claim. This is the moment your insurance either does its job or doesn’t, and it’s exactly where a broker earns their commission. A good broker will manage the whole process for you, deal directly with the insurer and fight your corner if anything is disputed.
Here’s what that actually looks like in practice.
What a broker does when you make a claim
Once you report a claim, your broker will often take over most of the admin. This involves reporting it to the insurer, pulling together the paperwork and estimates, and often even attending any visits alongside you. Castlemead’s claims team, for example, also chases recovery of costs your policy doesn’t automatically cover, which is money that many businesses would otherwise just write off because they don’t know that they have the ability to still pursue it.
A great broker will chase the insurer for updates rather than leaving that to you, and if there’s a payment on the way, they’ll push to get it to you quickly. This can make the difference between a claim that drags on for months and one that actually gets sorted quickly and efficiently.
The first 48 hours: What to do and who to call
If you need to make a claim, it can be wise to call your broker first, not the insurer. Attentive brokers, including Castlemead, will want you speaking to a named contact rather than just somebody in a call centre, and for anything significant, it’s not uncommon for them to come and see you in person.
The sooner your broker is aware, the sooner they can start putting together the right documentation, and if needed, get a loss adjuster involved before details become hazy. You can find the relevant claim forms and process for your type of loss on our claims page.
Claims advocacy – what it means in practice
Claims advocacy means your broker acts for you, instead of the insurer, throughout the process. In reality, that’s things like using case law and market precedent to push back on an unfavourable decision, negotiating settlement figures and making sure the insurer has everything it needs so there’s no reason to delay. Without that, you’re negotiating alone against a company whose commercial interest is keeping the payout as low as possible.
Why claims get declined, and how a good broker prevents this
Claims usually get declined for one of two reasons: something in the wording excluded the loss, or a condition was breached without anyone realising it at the time. Surprisingly, this happens more often than you’d think.
Insurers can offset lower premiums by quietly adding exclusions that make claims harder to settle later, which might not sound important, right up until it’s the reason a genuine claim doesn’t pay out. Castlemead’s cyber risk partner, Fourarmed, sees this up close. Its audits have found at least one issue capable of voiding cover in every single business reviewed. It’s one of the clearest arguments for getting a policy properly checked before you ever need to rely on it.
It’s exactly the kind of gap that our case study on whether your current insurance leaves you exposed explores in more detail. A broker’s job is to catch these issues early so they don’t become an issue further down the line.
What happens if the insurer says no
A decline isn’t necessarily a nail in the coffin for your claim. A broker can challenge the decision using the specific wording of the policy, and where relevant, case law and overall experience, arguing the claim should be paid rather than simply accepting the insurer’s first answer. Sometimes, this advocacy can be enough to get it overturned. However, it sometimes isn’t, and a policy with the wrong wording from the start can’t always be recovered. This is why getting it right early matters so much.
Questions to ask your broker before you ever need to claim
It’s worth asking a few key questions when choosing a broker:
- Who do I actually call?
- Will the person I call be a named contact or a call centre staff member?
- Will you attend loss adjuster visits with me?
- And if my claim gets declined, will you challenge it or is that left to me?
A broker who can answer all of these questions clearly – long before there’s a claim to file – is one worth having. For more on what separates a genuinely good broker from an average one, see our guide to choosing a commercial insurance broker.
We’ve been helping UK businesses through claims, big and small, since 1987. If you’d like to know more about how we handle these situations, give us a call on 0117 945 3907 or get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
How do insurance brokers help with insurance claims?
They manage the process on your behalf rather than leaving you alone to deal with the insurer. That means reporting the claim, pulling together the paperwork, attending loss adjuster visits and chasing the insurer for updates so you’re not left in the dark. If a decision looks wrong, a good broker pushes back on it directly, using the policy wording and case law where relevant, rather than simply passing the decision on to you. Claims handling is where the value of using a broker actually gets tested, more than at any other point in the relationship.
Should my broker handle the claim, or should I deal with the insurer directly?
Your broker, in almost every case. Insurers deal with claims every day and know the process inside out; most business owners don’t, and hopefully won’t need to for years. A broker acts specifically for you, not the insurer, which matters most when there’s a dispute over what’s covered. Dealing with the insurer directly means negotiating alone against a party whose commercial interest is keeping the payout down.
What is claims advocacy?
Claims advocacy is a broker acting for you throughout a claims process instead of just passing information back and forth between you and the insurer. In practice, it means using case law and precedent to challenge a weak decision, negotiating settlement figures and making sure the insurer has everything it needs so there’s no reason for unnecessary delays.
Why do commercial insurance claims get declined?
Usually because of an exclusion in the policy wording, or a condition that was breached without the policyholder realising. Insurers can offset lower premiums by adding extra exclusions to the terms and conditions, which can get lost in the small print and remain unnoticed until it’s the reason a genuine claim doesn’t get paid. This is exactly what a proper review at the start of a policy is meant to catch. A broker’s job is to spot these issues before they matter, not explain them after a claim has already been turned down.
Can a broker challenge a declined claim?
Yes, and this is one of the most useful things a broker does. They can challenge a decline using the specific wording of the policy, case law and real market precedent. They will argue that the claim should be paid, rather than just accepting the insurer’s first offer, which is often lower than what they’re willing to pay. It’s important to note that this doesn’t always work, and a policy with a genuine gap cannot always be rescued after a loss has already happened. However, an unchallenged decline and a properly contested one can have very different outcomes, and it’s worth having someone in your corner to increase the odds of a favourable result.
Does it cost extra to have a broker handle a claim?
No. Claims handling is part of the service a broker is already being paid for through commission, rather than being an extra charge on top. Most brokers, including Castlemead, treat claims handling as central to what they do, since it’s the moment that actually tests whether the cover arranged in the first place does its job adequately. If a broker tries to charge separately for claims support, it’s worth asking why that isn’t already built into the agreement.
