You’ve just had an incident at your location where a customer fell and was hurt. Perhaps a product you sold caused an accident. There are many types of general liability insurance claims that can happen. In the moment, the first thing you need to do is to get those who are facing loss the help they need. This may include getting them medical help or helping them through the situation. But, once things settle down, what do you do to file a claim on your business insurance?
Documenting the Incident
As long as there is no need to get emergency help, ask anyone involved to document what occurred. This should include your customer or clients, employees, managers and others involved. The goal is to get as much information as possible. Then consider these tips:
- Take photos of the area. If you have surveillance cameras, record that information to send to your insurance provider.
- Get contact information from everyone involved in the incident. Your insurance provider should want to talk to them about what happened.
- You should never admit guilt. You can say, “I am sorry this happened to you.” However, you should never admit you did something or were in the wrong. That can be worked out with your insurance company.
- In volatile or illegal situations, perhaps get the police involved. Your insurer should want to see the police report as well.
- Try to contact your insurance provider right away. That’s an important step because it can mean that they can offer assistance on what to do right now.
General liability insurance is in place to help you as a business owner or manager to get through these situations. There is no doubt every situation is very different. In some cases, you may be responsible for what occurred. In others, you may not. However, with the help of your business insurance provider, you’ll be able to work through the underlying concerns and have the financial protection you need in place. If you do have to pay out on a claim, your general liability insurance policy is there to potentially cover your costs up to the limit for any type of covered claim. Work closely with your agent to process the entire incident as thoroughly as possible.
We’ll help you get started. Call Coverage Master at (888) 990-6461 for more information on Ohio general liability insurance.