How to make a business insurance claim

Make sure you and your employees are safe

Your safety is the most important thing in an emergency or after an incident, such as a fire or burglary. Relocate to a safe place and don’t re-enter your building if it is dangerous to do so.

If you need emergency help, or if someone is injured, call Triple Zero (000). If you need help during a flood or storm, call the State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500.

If safe to do so, prevent further damage by turning off affected utilities like water, gas or electricity. Secure the area to prevent further loss.

How to make a business insurance claim

Check your policy coverage with RACV Business Insurance

Make sure that you're covered for the incident that occurred in your business.

Your RACV Business Insurance Policy contains 12 sections of cover. To see if you're covered for an incident that occurred to your business, please read your RACV Business Insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and your Certificate of Insurance, which shows the coverage you have chosen.

Document the damage to your business

Make sure you photograph destroyed or damaged items. These photos may be necessary in a business insurance claim. You should also document any damage to your building if you have buildings coverage included in your policy.

Submit a claim to RACV Business Insurance

To submit an RACV Business Insurance claim, call 13 19 03 to make a claim over the phone.

You will be asked a series of questions, including your full name and address, your policy number, the time of the incident, a description of what happened, and any photographs you’ve taken of the damage.

Manage your claim

The claims team might contact you to ask for some additional information to progress your claim, depending on what you’re claiming for, such as proof of ownership, a damage report, or a police or fire brigade report.

You can provide proof of ownership with:

• Account and other business books
  
• Computer records
• Vouchers
• Invoices
• Balance sheets
• Other evidence together with a statutory declaration as may be reasonably required for the purpose of investigating or verifying a claim.

You will be contacted when your claim is assessed.

Pay any insurance excess due

You may need to pay an excess on your claim before the claim is finalised. When taking out your business insurance policy, you would have had to choose the amount of excess payable on a claim. You may have chosen a higher basic excess, so that the premium you paid was lower.

Work with the claims team to repair or replace what you have lost

Contents claims are highly dependent upon the type of items you are claiming for. If you have selected contents cover, the claims team will talk with you about what’s needed to remediate or support your loss after assessing your claim. Where possible, your item may be repaired or restored. Any replacements will be organised through a network of suppliers; otherwise, you may be given a store credit.

If your building claim is settled with a repair or rebuild, the claims team will allocate a builder, who will contact you with the work to review and approve before arranging a time with you to start repairs.

^{The information provided is general advice only and does not take into account your personal circumstances. Before making any decisions please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies, visit racv.com.au. As a referrer, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product(s) issued by Insurance Australia Ltd, ABN 11000 016 722, AFS Licence No. 227681.}