How soon can you claim on home insurance? Your guide

There are two scenarios where you might ask, “How soon can you claim on home insurance?” 

1. You have a new insurance policy, and you want to know if there’s something in your contract to stop you making a claim in the first few weeks or months. 
2. Something has happened to your home or its contents, and you need to know how long you have to make an insurance claim. 

We’ll tackle both these questions in this post so you know when you’re covered and what to do if something goes wrong.

How quickly can you claim on home insurance policy?

In most cases, you can make a claim on your home insurance at any time on or after the policy start date. This applies to damage to both the building and your contents. So if you’re wondering “How soon can you claim on contents insurance?”, the answer is the same. Your policy’s start date will usually be your guide. This date should be written in the policy documents you get from your insurer. 

This means home insurance policies can give you immediate peace of mind. For example, if you take out a new policy and then a storm damages your roof three days later, your insurer should treat your claim the same as one from someone they’ve been insuring for years. 

This being said, there are a couple of situations to be aware of, because they can make claims from brand-new policyholders a little more complicated. 

First, if the start date of your insurance policy comes after the date you make your first payment, you may not be covered for the intervening period.

For example, you might transfer the first payment to your insurer on the 27th of the month, with the agreement that your cover will kick off on the 1st of the following month. If a pan caught fire in your kitchen on the 29th, your insurer wouldn’t cover the cost of the repairs. It’s important to be aware of this possibility when you get a new insurance policy, so you can make the gap in your cover as short as possible.

Second, your home insurance only covers theft or damage that happened after the start date, making it harder to claim for existing issues.

If you’re close to the beginning of your policy, this can make it more challenging to claim for a problem that might have developed over time. So, “Can I claim for a leak on home insurance?” becomes a bit of a difficult question. Because, while you can be certain that a pipe froze, burst, and flooded your ground floor on a certain day, it can be harder to say when water damage from a leaking pipe first started. This makes it harder to have your insurance claim accepted.

In this instance, speak to your insurer. They’ll be able to guide you on the next steps.

What’s an exclusion period for home insurance?

If your policy has an exclusion period, your insurer might not pay out for claims made within the first weeks after the start date. 

Say your home insurance has a four-week exclusion period. In this case, you wouldn’t be able to claim until you’d already been insured for 28 days. In these circumstances, if your home was broken into two weeks after your policy started, you would have to cover the costs of the repairs and replacement items yourself. 

Exclusion periods are designed to prevent fraud, but they can leave you in a difficult position. When you’re renewing your home insurance or shopping around, it’s a good idea to check whether the policy has an exclusion period and weigh up the risks before you finalise the contract.

How soon after something is damaged can you make a home insurance claim?

If you have an active home insurance policy, you can make an insurance claim as soon as your home or its contents are damaged (although you’ll have to weigh the benefits of making a claim against the excess you’d have to pay first).

Depending on the type of policy you have, you could claim for issues like: 

• Theft through forced entry
• Damage from smoke and fire
• Extreme weather events like storms and floods
• Malicious damage or vandalism 
• Subsidence
• Damage from leaks, including water and heating oil

Read more: What does home insurance cover? 

If your home or possessions are damaged in any of these circumstances, you can start the insurance claim process as soon as you notice something’s gone wrong. In fact, it’s best to act as soon as you can. 

Wherever possible, best practice is to contact your insurer within 24 hours of the theft or damage. It’s also important to contact your insurer first instead of attempting your own repairs. You can invalidate your insurance if you cause further damage or if you interfere with something that needs to be assessed by a professional as part of the claims process. 

Some insurers and some policies might give you between 30 days and 12 months to claim on your home or contents insurance, which is good to know for non-emergencies. But the sooner you tell them, the faster your claim can be processed and the more likely it is that it will be accepted.

How do you make a claim on your home insurance?

When something happens to your home or its contents, it can be difficult to know where to start. Tackling the problem in the order below can help your insurance claims process run more smoothly. 

• Safety first. Call the fire brigade if there’s been a fire and the National Gas Emergency Service if you smell a gas leak. Likewise, if there’s been a break-in or your home has been vandalised, contact the police before you do anything else. They can take measures to keep you safe, and they’ll give you a crime reference number, which your insurer will ask for later. 

• Call your insurer. Your insurer might have a 24/7 helpline, especially if you have home emergency cover for issues that need a quick fix. Otherwise, you can contact your insurer during their opening hours. Remember that notifying your insurer is not the same as making a claim. You can decide how to proceed after they’ve assessed the damage. 

• Have the damage inspected. Your insurer will need to have the damage assessed so they can process your claim. They may ask you to contact someone on an approved list, but if you have a contractor you prefer to work with, you can also ask your insurer if they would cover an assessment and repairs done by someone else. Once the inspector has assessed the damage, they send the report to your insurer. 

             Note: It’s important to hold onto the damaged items and take pictures wherever possible, as your insurer might need to test them as part of your claim. 

• Claim the money back. Finally, you have the damage fixed or the item replaced, and work with your insurer to have the money reimbursed. For extensive repairs, your insurer will make arrangements with the tradesperson and pay the money directly to them. 

If you’re wondering, “Does your premium go up if you claim on your home insurance?” The answer is yes, it probably will. Claiming on your home insurance will likely increase your premiums for the following year, even if it’s only for minor damage.

How soon will your insurance pay out?

Although you should start the insurance process as soon as you can, it can take a while for the money to arrive in your account. 

This is because there are several stages to the claims process, and a lot is determined by the schedules of the inspectors and repair contractors. This can be especially true if you have to wait for someone approved by your insurer to perform the inspection rather than choosing the first local tradesperson with availability. 

There’s no fixed timeframe for your insurance claim to be assessed and processed. However, it’s best to reckon with at least a 30-day wait for straightforward claims and up to 12 months for more complex situations or expensive repairs.

When can you claim home insurance? Final word

Being in a position where you have to make a home insurance claim is always stressful. But as long as you’re claiming after your policy’s start date and after the end of any exclusion period, your insurer will be able to assess your claim and — hopefully — reimburse the costs of putting things right. 

Once you’re safe and you’ve contacted the emergency services if necessary, call your insurer within 24 hours, have the damage inspected, organise the repairs, and claim the money back. 

Looking for comprehensive cover and a great deal on your home insurance? 51% of Howden’s new home insurance customers saved an average of £179. Contact our customer service team, and make finding the right insurance cover a little bit easier today. 

Also read:

• How much is contents insurance?
• How do you get insurance when you buy a new-build home?
• What’s the average home insurance cost?

READ MORE HOME INSURANCE GUIDES