How To Make A General Property Claim

What to do in the event of loss or damage to your property.

  1. Take immediate action to minimize the extent of the loss or damage and to prevent any further loss or damage. Do not delay repairs of outside windows and doors if security is breached.
  2. If Burglary/Theft or Accidental Loss, the loss must be reported to the Police.
  3. If you estimate your loss to be approximately $1,000.00 above the policy deductible, an Assessor may be required by Insurers – DO NOT DELAY – advise JLT of the details by telephone as soon as possible. Normally, the next working day will suffice but, if you feel that the matter cannot wait until then, JLT can be contacted on the emergency after hours number for advice.
  4. Print the General Property Claim Form, complete & sign it and send it to JLT (or the Assessor, if appointed) together with supporting documentation – this can follow later if it is not yet available.
  5. Supporting documentation can vary from claim to claim but will generally include the following:
    • original purchase invoice(s) or other documentation such as manuals or valuations (this is required to determine the details of the property such as model numbers etc.)
    • quotation for repair or replacement (2 if possible)
    • any other documentation to support the amount being claimed
    • invoice(s) for repairs or replacement (but please note item 6 below)
  6. Invoices will ultimately be required but, unless it is an emergency situation (see 1 above), please seek the Insurers’ (via JLT) or the Assessor's agreement before proceeding.
  7. This avoids the possibility of the amount of the claim being reduced if the cost is considered to be unreasonable. Also, some policies give the Insurers the option to replace and they may be able to do this a lot cheaper than you can by bulk buying.

  8. Please note that the cover under your policy is on a “like for like” basis (in most cases, to a condition as new) but it does not cover the cost of upgrading to a better model. However, if you wish to upgrade, this is usually permitted but you will be responsible for the difference in cost.

    In the event that your model is no longer available in the market, Insurers will generally determine the “like for like” replacement as being the current model that most closely matches the features of the original model – note that, because of rapid changes on some items, this may mean replacing an old top of the range model with a current bottom of the range model but upgrading is permitted as mentioned above.

Be wary of advice from retailers as to the current replacement model as this may be determined by their own stock rather than what is available in the market.