Insurance

Property Damage Claims Process

If your ministry unit has an insurable event and finds itself in the unfortunate position of needing to make a claim due to damages to property:

1. Email advising that you wish to file a claim with an overview of what happened
   • It’s important to file a claim as soon as possible after the event.
   • If you’re are not sure if you should make a claim or not, please email us with the details and we will assist you with that.
2. The Diocesan Office will send you a claim form to complete. Anyone from your vestry can complete and sign the form.
3. The Diocesan Office will notify the broker of the claim. This assists us to keep a central record of our claims history, which is important for future insurance negotiations.
4. Not all insurance claims are equal, therefore the process may differ depending on the damage. However, in all cases:
   • Note relevant details e.g. date and time of incident, people involved including any witnesses, extent of loss or damage (note items if theft involved).
   • Should a third party be involved e.g. a vehicle hits the church fence, obtain their details and include these in your claim application.
   • Take photos and video if possible as this will clarify and substantiate the claim.
   • If necessary, protect the property against further loss or damage, this would include securing doors and windows if they are damaged or arranging for locks/glass to be fixed etc. and remedy any safety hazards e.g. electrical, broken glass.
   • In the case of burglary or theft the Police must be notified, so please obtain formal acknowledgement to support your claim.
   • If your claim has any health and safety implications, please cc .
5. If there is an incident (other than assistance with the claims process, property advice), as usual please be in touch with your archdeacon so they are aware of the situation.
6. Obtain quotes for repair of the damage. If you are waiting for quotes you can advise on the claim and send these in later. If you had to take immediate action to secure the building or attend to matters of immediate safety and you had work completed, please include any invoices paid.
7. Once the claim is filed, the insurer may send an assessor to the site, this will depend on the size of the claim. The ministry unit will need to ensure that a representative is available to meet the assessor on site and answer any questions related to the claim, so they can understand how the damage occurred and the extent of the damage before a decision to accept the claim is made.
8. For straight claims the Diocesan Office will manage the communication between the broker and the ministry unit; where a claim requires an assessor, as it is more complicated and lengthier (this can happen when there is significant damage), the Diocesan Office will link the ministry unit and the insurer together so the process can move as quickly as possible.
9. Ministry units are responsible for the excess on each insurance claim: $10,000 for churches/hall/commercial and $1,000 for residential properties. Excesses are deducted by the insurer before claim settlements are made.
10. As the Anglican Diocese of Auckland is the owner of the insurance policy, claim settlements will be made to the Diocesan Council and will be transferred to the ministry unit by arrangement.