If you need to claim, this section explains what you need to do and how to do it.
As soon as you're aware of a claim, please follow the steps below:
1. Gather relevant information to establish the type of claim.
Is there damage to a property, vehicle or another loss?
2. Establish the claim's importance
If the claim is likely to be over £5,000, you can let us know by phone
Claims – general – 0870 241 8050
Claims – motor – 0845 300 1401
- Take action to prevent further loss or damage
- For example, if you have a water leak, fix the problem straightaway to prevent further damage. Remember though, your policy may not cover the cost of this emergency repair.
3. Gathering additional information
Complete the appropriate form or contact the claims department. You will need to provide different information depending on the type of claim but the following information is generally required on all claims:
- Policy number
- Date of loss
- your name and contact details
- Address where the loss occurred
- Cause and circumstances of the incident
- Details of the type of loss – injury or damage
- Any third party details where applicable
Submit your claim
Submit your claim as soon as possible by email, fax or post.
If your claim is for loss or damage to property and the claim's value is likely to exceed £5,000, (or £1,500 for shared owners, leaseholders or factors), you should contact us by phone 0870 241 8050.
What happens next?
Once you've told us about your claim,
we may need to clarify details and will therefore contact you for information
- Depending on the information you supply, we may:
- Ask you for more information
- Investigate further
We'll confirm if the claim is covered
- How much of your claim we'll cover
- If we reject your claim, we'll explain why
Payment
- We'll pay you the agreed amount
This part explains how we deal with your claims, and includes answers to questions frequently directed to our claims handlers.
Guide to your claims departments
The Zurich Municipal claims department is divided into three areas:
- Property Claims
- Motor Claims
- Liability Claims
When should I contact your claims department?
You should contact the department in the event of a loss or potential claim if you need advice or assistance about any claims. Our lines are open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Claims – general – 0870 241 8050
Claims – motor – 0845 300 1401
What type of claims does the Property Claims Unit handle?
The Property Claims Unit handles claims where you have suffered any material loss or damage caused by an insured peril to property, covered by the policy. This will include items such as buildings, contents, money, and works in progress. As an example, you need to call the Property Claims Unit if a block of flats suffers an arson attack and is badly damaged by fire and smoke. For more information, please see parts A to E of your SELECT policy. The Property Claims Unit also handles the following types of claims:
- Business interruption where you are, for example, claiming for the costs of hiring alternative office premises following severe storm damage to your existing office.
- Works in progress such as, claiming for the costs of site materials that were stolen while you were refurbishing housing stock.
- Money, for example, claiming for damage caused to your office safe during an attempted robbery.
- All risks claims such as malicious damage to a sculpture listed on your all risks schedule.
What type of claims does the Motor Claims Unit handle?
The Motor Claims Unit deals with damage caused to your insured vehicles and liability arising from a motor accident involving your insured vehicles. For example, call the Motor Claims Unit if you’re involved in a road traffic accident, someone has alleged that one of your vehicles caused damage to a third party, your insured vehicle suffers damage or is stolen, or you simply require assistance.
For more information, please see Parts J and K of your SELECT policy.
What type of claims does the Liability Claims Unit handle?
The Liability Claims Unit handle claims made against you for loss or damage to property or for personal injuries. For more information, please see parts F and G of your SELECT policy.
If you receive a claim from an employee, this will be dealt with under the employers liability section of your policy.
For example, an employee injures his back while lifting and alleges you’re at fault because you didn’t offer manual handling training. You may also receive claims from another person or organisation, such as a tenant, a contractor, visitor or members of the public and we will handle these under the public liability section of your policy. For example, a pipe bursts in one of your flats, damaging the apartment below, and someone claims you’re responsible for the damage.
- The Liability Claims Unit also handles claims in parts H, I and M to Q in your SELECT policy:
- libel and slander claims, such as, a director making an alleged slanderous remark and the injured party sues for damages.
- Professional negligence claims, for example, another housing association alleging that plans you designed for a fee had errors in them that will cost thousands of pounds in corrective building work.
- Engineering insurance claims, such as electrical or mechanical breakdown of a lift, or a cracked boiler.
- Deterioration of stock claims, including loss of food following a freezer break down.
- Fidelity guarantee claims, where an employee steals cash from your safe.
- Personal accident claims, for example, one of your wardens is physically assaulted while on duty and sustains a fractured kneecap.
- Legal expenses claims, such as an employee alleging unfair dismissal; you have a good (better than 50%) chance of success at tribunal, but you need to claim for the cost of defence in the form of legal expenses. For full details of your policy, please refer to your summary of cover, Policy Schedules and the SELECT policy wording.
Should you wish to discuss any claims, please contact the relevant claims department or your Claims Relationship Consultant.
If you have a query regarding your policy cover, please call 0870 241 8050 and ask for the Underwriting Department.
Stop Loss Monitoring Form
Renewal Declaration
This form collects all the relevant information, often based on your best estimate, to prepare renewal terms.
Annual adjustments
This collects the actual data for the year
Summary of Cover
A simple guide on cover for lessees, shared owners or factors
Hot Work Permit form
A sample permit for use with contractors where hot work (blowlamps, welders etc.) is being carried out.
Sample letter confirming cover
Buildings Insurance Guide
Guide to the policy cover and claims procedure
Processes
Process flow diagrams to help understand how we work
Forms
Claims Forms
The social housing claim forms are available to all our housing customers on CD-rom. If you would like a copy please email your details to zm_enquiries@uk.zurich.com and we will send you a copy free of charge.
Public liability: Protects you from any legal liability to pay compensation for accidental bodily injury or accidental damage to property.
Employer’s liability
Protects you from any legal liability to pay compensation to employees for bodily injury arising from employment.
Libel & slander (known as defamation in Scotland)
Provides cover for damages and claimants’ costs and expenses in respect of claims made against you.
Professional negligence
Protects you from a legal liability to pay claimants’ financial loss damages for a breach of professional duty while providing a service, usually under contract.
A service is where you perform any work – including advice and design – for a fee. Before this cover can start, you must complete a proposal form for each service.
If your circumstances have changed, for example, you've acquired items or sold property, you may need new or additional cover.
Property
Contact your underwriter if you:
- acquire or sell a property worth £2.5m or over at any one time
- need cover for a works in progress contract with a value equal to or over £1m.
- need separate all risk cover - possible temporary - for equipment you own or is on loan or hire to you.
Motor
Contact your underwriter if you:
- acquire or dispose of vehicles, and your fleet has less than five vehicles. If you have more than five vehicles, please keep records of deletions and additions and declare them annually
- acquire any special or unusual vehicle risks.
Engineering
Contact your underwriter if you:
- acquire or dispose of engineering plant including lifts, communal boilers and stair-lifts.
Events and other cover
Contact your underwriter (Link to claims reporting - full contact details) if you:
- are planning any fun days or events
- have any questions about your current policy cover.
Priority
If any of the above details change, please let us know as soon as you can.
What happens next?
If you've asked your underwriter for new or additional cover, here's what usually happens next:
- we'll send you a quotation
- we'll send you an invoice with a cover note or amended schedule - or a certificate, if the law requires it.
Where you have disposed of properties or vehicles we will provide you with an appropriate credit note or refund on request.
Claims reporting – full contact details
Claim reporting:
Contact details for all property-related claims.
Property claims
Property Claims Unit
PO Box 108
Southwood Crescent
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 0XQ
Telephone: 0870 2418050
Fax: 0845 6000083
Email: zmpropertyclaims@uk.zurich.com
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Contact details for all motor related claims.
Motor claims
Motor Claims Centre
Mountbatten House
Grosvenor Square
Southampton
SO15 2RP
Telephone: 0845 300 1401
Fax: 02380 229875
Email: zmmotorclaimsoffice@uk.zurich
Out of office hours claims reprting helpline:
0117 934 2116
Contact details for all other claims.
Liability claims
Liability Claims Unit
PO Box 107
Southwood Crescent
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 0XG
Telephone: 0870 241 8050
Fax: 01252 370237
Email: zmcicclaims@uk.zurich.com
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Underwriting Services
Contact details for existing policy enquiries
Underwriting
Zurich Municipal
Southwood Crescent
Farnborough
Hampshire
GU14 0NJ
Telephone: 0870 241 8050
Fax: 01252 375893 or 01252 375244
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About Risk Management
Why do you need Risk Management
Zurich Municipal has many years of experience working with public-sector organisations and has a full understanding of the risks they face. Our goal is to raise people’s awareness and understanding of the broad scope of injuries, accidents and incidents that can potentially occur to any individual involved with your organisation. These can occur on or off your premises unless adequate measures are taken to assess, and control, the risks which day to day activities inevitably pose.
What is Risk Management?
Numerous definitions of risk management exist. One describes it as “a management discipline aimed at saving money, increasing productivity and improving the quality of service delivery.” In this respect the purpose of risk management can be viewed as quite simply to identify and manage those things that could prevent your organisation from achieving its objectives.
By practising good risk management, an organisation -- has the chance to reduce the amount of time and money it spends on handling losses associated with accidents, incidents and personal injuries.
One benefit of effective risk management is therefore loss control, achieved through the adoption of preventive measures such as more frequent workplace inspections, better equipment maintenance and closer supervision of on-site contractors.
Another potential benefit is actually using the process of assessing risks as an excellent opportunity to improve your organisation, to bring about new initiatives like developing better health and safety procedures or instituting an arson-prevention scheme for the first time.
In short, loss prevention and business improvement are different sides of the same risk management coin.
It’s important because:
- Reported incidents and public awareness of rights to compensation appear to be on the increase.
- Companies sometimes referred to as “claims farmers” or “ambulance chasers” are encouraging people to make claims for compensation.
- Damaging legal actions can lumber organisations with increased costs of administration and insurance while detrimentally affecting their reputations.
- Employees can be adversely affected in terms of the stress or guilt they may feel following an incident in which they have been involved.
- And of course, major incidents can cause serious injury or death to employees, members of the public and others involved with an organisation in some way.
In the case of liability risk, we mean the risk relating to potential hazards, which could cause personal injury as opposed to damage to property. For you this covers the risks posed to individuals as the result of their presence on or association with the premises and plant your organisation operates and manages or the programmes and activities it runs.
In reality, organisations face a wide range of liability risks and purchasing insurance alone is neither the most viable nor necessarily the most practical way to address their potential for causing harm.
For example, take the simple case of an employee who cuts their hand in your premises as a result of an unguarded piece of equipment. You will have to give them first aid and then call for someone to pick them up.
Then, you’ll have to complete your first aid book and incident report form which may well be sent off to someone else who then requests more information about all the incidents which have taken place on your premises. Your Health & Safety Advisor will need a copy of the report. An investigation may be required which could result in a visit from the Health & Safety Executive and even prosecution.
At the end of the day the employee may not bother to make a claim. However, the incident may already have cost your organisation a substantial amount of money in terms of the non-productive time (or “downtime”) devoted to preparing the required documentation.
In fact, statistics indicate that the actual cost of “downtime” can be as much as 8 times the cost of normal incidents, rising to something like 36 times if a court case follows. Adding these costs to the price of your existing insurance policies starts to give some indication of the “true cost of risk”.
Moreover, even if the employee does make a claim, none of the costs of the time you and your colleagues have spent recording the incident is recoverable from your insurers. This is why putting risk assessment and risk management processes into practise should always be a first consideration to “insure” your organisation against unforeseen events.
Tips for good risk management
- Be proactive and complete assessments of risk for your premises and activities.
- Adopt Risk Management practices and control (preventive) measures.
- Assess your own “on-costs” for potential incident handling, i.e. those costs not covered by insurance, and try to project how could these could affect your own budgets in the event of a loss..
- Take into account the upside potential of risk management, i.e. the discipline provides opportunities to closely scrutinise what you’re doing thus providing bases for making improvements in policies, procedures and/or processes for doing things more efficiently, effectively and/or safely than before.
Get your risk management right and you won’t have to cancel or restrict initiatives just because elements of risk are involved.
Useful to have
We use this to establish the correct costs applied to solicitors on the claim.
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/ - Supreme Courts Costs Office
General legal advice in lay terms, proceedings etc.
http://www.dca.gov.uk/ - Department for Constitutional Affairs
Legislation acts and links in relation.
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ - Office of Public Sector Information
JSB guidelines in relation to injury values, caselaw etc
http://www.lawtel.com/ (Lawtel - needs subscription to use)
Caselaw and links to other sites.
www.venables.co.uk/caselaw.htm - Free case law resources
Information relating to everything for trees, planting distances very useful for tree root claims etc.
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/ - Garden law
Caselaws
http://www.swarb.co.uk/ - Swarb
Allow letters to be translated if unable to write in English or unable to understand English.
http://www.freetranslation.com/ - Free translation
Helps to identify incident locations.
http://maps.google.co.uk/ - Google maps
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