Make a claim

It's normal to feel shaken after an accident. But it's important to stay calm and...

1. Check if anyone's hurt. If you need to, call 999.
2. Pull over to the side of the road. Or if your car's undrivable, get out if it's clear and walk to a safe place.
3. Take photos of the accident. If you can, write down what happened while it's fresh in your mind too.
4. Swap details with any other drivers involved. Ideally, you need their name, phone number, address, vehicle registration and insurer.
5. Contact us. If you need immediate assistance at the scene of the accident, call us on 020 3318 9745. In all other circumstances, it's faster to make a claim online.

And while we appreciate accidents are stressful, please don't…

• Stand in the road or put anyone else in danger.
• Lose your temper. Even the best drivers can be involved in an accident.
• Admit responsibility. You might not have all the facts yet.
• Take an on-the-spot cash settlement. It could void your claim.

Please don't go looking for your car. You could put yourself in danger. Instead, stay calm and…

1. Check it's actually been stolen. If you were parked illegally, it might have been towed away.
2. Call 101 to inform the police. Ask them for a crime reference number.
3. Check any security footage. You or a neighbour might have caught the theft on camera.
4. Contact us as soon as possible. You can either call 020 3318 9745 or make a claim online.

You might be offered a credit hire car after an accident that’s not your fault. This is a temporary replacement car for you to use while your own is off the road. It’s paid for by the at-fault driver’s insurance, so you don’t have to claim on your Prima policy.

It’s like a courtesy car, but different. Typically, a courtesy car is a small replacement car provided only during repairs, that’s covered by your own insurance. A credit hire car, on the other hand, is:

• A replacement car that’s a similar size and standard to your own
• Provided if your own car is in for repair or written off
• Paid for by the at-fault driver’s insurance

The credit hire car will be arranged by BDElite, our trusted accident management partner, and not by Prima. Also, it’s worth noting though that, unlike your Prima car insurance, credit hire is not a regulated financial service.

Read more about credit hire cars.

A no claims bonus (NCB) is a discount insurers can give you for not making a claim in previous years.

When you call us to make a claim, we'll explain what will happen to any NCB you've earned.

In most cases:

• If you don’t have NCB protection and you've got five or more years' NCB, we'll reduce it to three years if you make a first claim. For every claim made after that, we'll reduce it by a further two years.
• If you do have NCB protection, you can make up to two claims on your policy without affecting your NCB years.

(It's worth noting that NCB protection doesn't protect the overall price of your policy though. Your premium could still increase after an accident, even if it wasn't your fault.)

There are few exceptions.

Your NCB won't be affected if you have our Prima, Prima Plus or Prima Premier cover and:

• You claim for glass damage only
• You're hit by an uninsured driver

And if you have Prima Plus or Prima Premier cover, you won’t lose your NCB if you make a claim for vandalism damage. This is so long as you provide us with a crime reference number and help the police with their enquiries.

For more information, check out this article.

Our comprehensive car insurance includes a courtesy car as standard.

You'll get a small hatchback, unless you paid for our courtesy car upgrade when you bought your policy.

If you upgraded, you'll get a courtesy car that's just like what you usually drive, up to a Mercedes C Class. That means if you drive a seven-seater, we'll do our best to provide you with a seven-seater.

We work hard to handle every claim as quickly as possible. And when you call us to make a claim, we'll give you an honest estimate of how long it should take to fix your car and get you back on the road.

But factors beyond our control (like Brexit and the Ukraine crisis) mean some repairs are taking slightly longer than usual right now. This isn't just the case for us at Prima. It's a problem for all car insurers and garages in the UK.

Rest assured that if an incident's left you without a car though, we'll prioritise your repair. Plus, we're working closely with industry leaders, like the National Body Repair Association (NBRA), to continuously improve our repair processes.