Make a Claim

If you need to make a claim, please get in touch as soon as possible. Your policy will explain exactly how to do this – dedicated phone numbers will take you directly to the right team at your insurance company.

Even if the claim is not your fault, or you do not intend to make a claim under the policy, we do still need to know about it. If you have taken out our Motor Legal Insurance, you can also get assistance with recovering your uninsured losses from the responsible party.

AXA Claims line:  0370 900 1753

Accident checklist
  • Do not admit liability – even if you think you may be at fault.
  • Take the names, addresses and phone numbers of all parties and any witnesses. Try and make a record of all passengers in the vehicles, even if they are not apparently injured.
  • Ensure you have details of all vehicles involved in the accident, including make, model and registration number if possible.
  • If possible, try and sketch details of the accident location and include any information you can about the direction of travel and speed of vehicles involved.
  • If you have a smartphone, try and take some photos of the accident and any damage to the vehicles involved.
  • Call your insurer as soon as possible.

The Enterprise Act 2016 came into effect on 4 May 2016 and applies to all insurance policies that are incepted or renewed on or after 4 May 2017, where the policy is subject to the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The new legislation will impose a duty on insurers to make prompt payment of claims, and will mean that policyholders will be able to claim damages in the event of breach of that duty.

The premise of the new Act is to ensure that payments of valid claims are made within a ‘reasonable time’, which although not defined takes into account:

  • The time spent to investigate and assess a claim
  • The size and complexity of a claim
  • The type of insurance
  • Any compliance/regulatory/statutory rules, or other causes outside of the insurer's control

The Act makes provision within it for an insurer not to be in breach of ‘late payment’ if the insurer can show that there were ‘reasonable grounds’ for any delays.

Once a claim has been settled in full, the insured has a year in which to lodge a claim for additional damages due to late payment of the original claim.

Insurers do have the option to opt-out of the Enterprise Act, but they are required to fulfill set requirements under the Act to ensure that prior to any contract being entered into, the customer is fully aware that they have no recourse from the insurer under the late claims payment legislation. However, the ability to opt-out is not available for consumer contracts and commercial contracts which under the Act the insurer has acted in a ‘reckless or deliberate’ way.

If you have any questions, are unsure of any aspect of the new Enterprise Act or need more information about how your claim is handled, please contact us and we will be pleased to help.