How to Make a Home Insurance Claim

Here's how to get your claim started

At Saga we use a group of underwriters to provide our cover.

The underwriter that insures your buildings and/or contents is the one that gave you the best price out of our specially chosen group of providers.

It's important your claim is dealt with as soon as possible. This is why your policy documents show your underwriter's name and claims phone number so you can get straight through to them.

Step 1: Check you're covered

Before making a claim, take a look at your policy documents to see if you're covered. For example, some claims can be rejected if they're caused by accidental damage and you don't have accidental damage cover on your policy. It's an optional extra with Saga Select, and it's included with Saga Plus.

You will need to check what type of cover you have, which could be:

Buildings-only, for the structure of your home such as walls, ceilings, doors and fitted items like kitchen units.
Contents-only, for carpets and the items you move into your home, such as furniture, TVs and rugs.
Combined, which is having both buildings and contents insurance.

Your policy documents will also specify the excess you have to pay when making a claim. If your claim is for both your buildings and contents, you will pay both excesses listed in the documents.

Can't find your policy documents?

If you gave us an email address when buying your policy, you can find a copy of your documents online at MySaga. Just enter your email address and create a password to sign in.

Step 2: Call your insurer

Once you've got your policy documents, ring the claims number. Claims lines for all Saga's insurers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Keep the document to hand to tell them your policy number.
There are usually no forms to fill in and you'll go through what's happened and what you're claiming for over the phone.
Get your claim started as soon as possible even if you are unsure of the extent of the damage. The important thing is to have your claim on record and further details can be added or confirmed later.

Do you have a combined policy with two different insurers?

If you have combined buildings and contents cover, you could have one insurer for your buildings and another insurer for your contents.

If your claim is for both buildings and contents damage, you will need to contact each insurer separately. The phone number to call for buildings claims and contents claims is shown on your documents.

You will have to pay the excess for buildings and contents sections for combined policy claims, even if you have the same insurer for both.

Step 3: What will happen next

Every claim is different. If you're claiming for just one damaged item, it might be simple enough just to find out the cost of a replacement and transfer the money to you.

More complex claims might need photographs of the damage or a visit from an independent loss adjuster before repairs can be approved.

Once your claim has been reviewed, you'll hear from your insurer. Depending on your type of claim, there could be a number of things that could happen next:

Your claim is settled and and your payment is sent to you
More information is needed and then you'll be kept updated on your claim's progress
Your claim is passed on to a specialist if it's complex or there's significant damage caused by fire, flood, subsidence or escape of water.