For All Vehicle Claims
 

Claim Help

How to speed up my claim

“What can I do to speed up my claim?” is the question we get asked most.

  • 2026 update: Please see the ‘Police’ section below. The provision of a police report is currently the most common cause of claim delay. Police disclosure processes vary between forces and can take significant time, particularly where departments are under-resourced or prioritising statutory requests.

This page provides all the answers, and our handy Quick Claim Checklist helps you to see at-a-glance exactly what information we  require

First, rest assured, you are in safe hands. CMA is the UK’s oldest loss adjuster specialising in vehicle-related insurance claims. Since 1994, we have managed, investigated and resolved tens of thousands of claims, including complex theft, collision and personal injury cases. What may initially appear suspect can often be quickly reconciled.  See ‘Why CMA?‘.

Further helpful links include our approach to customer care and our glossary of industry abbreviations and acronyms. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us – we’re here to help.

Remember, when corresponding with us, please include your Vehicle Registration Mark (VRM) and CMA reference number if you have one.

Now, let us go into a bit more detail about each piece of data we might ask for, explain why we need it and, importantly, where you can locate it. Getting a full checklist to us promptly can shave days, even weeks, off your claims settlement timeline.


About you

 

  • Driver Licence

This is an important document – it can assist in verifying identity. It may be used to compare your signature by us, insurers and, for example, the police where we need to seek information from them. Click here to obtain the driver licence information your insurers require.

  • Proof of Identity

Please verify your identity.  The means by which to do so include

  • a copy of your driver’s license
  • a copy of your passport
  • in some circumstances, the DVLA licence code – see ‘driver licence’ above.
  • Residence

Please verify your residential address, for example, email us a copy of a utility bill dated as near to the date of loss (DoL), but before the DoL, as possible.  This will be gas, water or electric i.e. for the property.  A mobile phone bill is insufficient.

  • Employment 

Please email us confirmation of your employment at the date of the loss.

Many people are self-employed or undertake more than one employment i.e. they have a part-time job.  For some, their occupation changes during the life of a policy. If you are self-employed, the easiest way to demonstrate this is to supply us with your last annual return.  It would also help to be supplied with an advertisement for your services and the last few invoices you issued.

  • Criminal Convictions

Do you have any criminal convictions and, if so, for what offences, and are they ‘spent’?  Click here for further information.


about the vehicle

 

 

  • Purchase Receipt

Unavailable?  Click here for more information and assistance.

  • Registration Documentation

Unavailable?  Click here for more information and assistance.

  • MoT

We will not usually dwell on this document. A vehicle’s MoT history can be found online.

Please review your MoT history carefully. Occasionally, discrepancies arise — lapsed tests, mileage inconsistencies, or recalls. If anything appears inconsistent with your knowledge or documentation, notify us promptly.

  • Keys

In theft claims, please send all keys by tracked delivery.  Royal Mail Track & Trace can be accessed here.

Photograph the keys before posting and retain your tracking receipt. A simple image can prevent an avoidable dispute later

  • Maintenance & Condition

Ideally, your vehicle will have a service ebook, stamped throughout its history, available for submission to us.  If you lack this document, please send a copy of the last service invoice.  If this has been lost, please approach the party servicing your vehicle for a copy.

If nothing else, whilst we are seldom involved in valuing your vehicle, evidence it has been well maintained will assist your insurers to obtain a fair market price.

  • Photographs/images

Where you have taken a picture relevant to your claim, for example, at the scene of a collision, or you have an image of your vehicle pre-theft (possibly in the background of a family shot), please send these to us as an uncompressed attachment – not in the body of an email.

The image is likely to be larger than 2Mb.

  • Finance

If an outstanding finance agreement is associated with your vehicle, please complete and forward to us the following mandate – finance consent mandate *

  • Vehicle Movement Monitoring (tracking)

If the vehicle has any tracking decide or app’ associated with it, please provide us with the relevant login/passcode details and forward the following mandate to us – tracking consent mandate

  • Vehicle Excise Licence (V.E.L.) or ‘tax’

If your vehicle has not been found – remember to cancel the tax!  Read more here. 


about the event 

 

  • Witnesses

If another person is associated with the event, for example, they were with you when the vehicle was parked, please ensure we are provided with their full name, address (to include post code), email address and phone number(s).

  • Police

To enable us to obtain a copy of the police report associated with the vehicle theft, please complete and forward to us the following mandates – police consent mandates

You are also entitled to a copy of the information held about you and arguably, this extends to the police report.  Please consider:

  • advising the constabulary concerned that you ‘consent’ to us being provided with a copy of the report
  • asking the police to provide you with a copy of the report
  • making a Subject Access Enquiry (SAR) for the information – you are not required to complete any specific form, simply notify the associated officer by email you are making a SAR.  You will likely be asked to provide proof of identity (driver’s licence) and proof of address (utility bill).  The process is FREE – there is no cost and the law requires the disclosure of the police report within a calendar month.

Current disclosure mechanisms can be time-consuming and inconsistent between forces.  Read more here.  The process, described in the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) correspondence, sets no time frame within which disclosure will, or should occur.

  • Why Police Reports Can Cause Delay 

Some constabularies:

  • are underresourced, resulting in delays
  • cease providing reports due to resource issues, only addressing requests subject to legal requirements – such as SAR
  • only release to specific insurers, not all

Further reading:

 

VeHICLE FOUND?

If you are advised your vehicle has been found, tell us ASAP

  1. Where is it?  The name of the storage agent, their address, phone number and email.
  2. What is its condition? Driveable, damaged?
  3. Has it been ‘released’?  That is to say, are the police finished with it, can it be collected?  

The police will not always inform us or your insurers of the recovery and prompt action is therefore required to ensure delays and storage costs are kept to a minimum.

Thinking of withdrawing your claim?  While cancelling a claim may appear attractive, insurers and future insurers may ask not only whether you have made a claim, but whether you have suffered a loss event (theft or collision). Disclosure obligations may therefore remain.

Questions

Is something in the above unclear, have we missed something, do you have a question?  Please email us and we will respond just as soon as possible. 

Feedback

Please also complete our ‘Customer Service Feedback’ form; we are keen to understand how we met your needs, how we may not have done so and what we can do to improve the service provided.

*Consent mandates

Where you sign a consent mandate authorising Claims Management & Adjusting Ltd. to obtain information from third parties, this authority will only be used in connection with your claim.

You may withdraw consent at any time by emailing us.