Insurance claims

You can submit a claim against us for personal injury or damage to your property if you believe we were at fault.

This includes issues such as:

• personal injury when visiting our premises
• damage to property caused by one of our vehicles

Your claim will only be successful if you can prove that we were at fault.

We are not responsible for repair and maintenance of any public roads or footpaths. If you want to make such a claim, you need to contact Essex County Council. 

You should contact ECC for issues such as:

• damage to a vehicle due to a pothole
• injury from tripping on a footpath

If you want to make a claim against us, you will need to prove that we were at fault in law.

Although something unfortunate may have happened, any injury or damage as a result of an incident doesn’t give you an automatic right to compensation.

You should think carefully before making a claim. The cost of processing unsuccessful claims is a drain on staff time and may divert resources from our front line services.

If you want to discuss a possible claim against us, you can call Insurance Services on 01245 606544.

Once you have discussed it with us and decided to proceed, you can submit a claim online. You will need to include:

• your name
• your contact details (address, telephone number)
• the exact time and date of the accident or incident
• details of how the accident or incident occurred and a description of the nature of the defect
• details of how the damage was caused (if you know)
• photographs of the site (if you have them)
• details of injuries or damage to property
• a location plan (if relevant), showing landmarks such as houses, shops, streetlamps or other large objects

When we receive your claim, we will acknowledge receipt and give you a claim reference number and contact information.

We may also refer your claim to our insurers. If that happens, our insurers will acknowledge you separately and you must then deal with them directly. We will then investigate your claim and the claims handler or insurer will decide if we are at fault.

If the claim is for damage to your property, the claims handler or insurer will ask you for the original receipts, or estimates for replacement. They will also ask for the age of the items. This is because any payment will take into account wear and tear.

If you contact anyone involved with your claim during the process, you will need to quote your claim reference number.