How quickly a legal protection claim moves largely depends on preparation: a case that starts with a complete package moves forward without rounds of requests for missing documents. This list breaks down what's worth gathering before you call the insurer's line or open the online portal. Print it out, tick the boxes – in a dispute, being organised is your friend.
- Four blocks: identifying details, the case documents, the timeline, and a concise summary of your claim.
- You report a case through the insurer's own line or portal – this list is built for that route.
- If the case stalls: a documented history is worth its weight in gold for help from the broker too.
Block 1: identifying details
□ Policy number (on the policy document or in your insurer account) · □ The policyholder's name and details · □ The name of the insured person affected, if different from the policyholder (for family packages!) · □ Contact details where you expect the insurer's response · □ The insurer's contact point for reporting a legal protection claim – if you saved this when you signed up, you'll be grateful now.
Block 2: the case documents
□ The contract, order, employment contract or tenancy agreement the dispute is based on · □ Invoices, payment demands, statements · □ The full correspondence relating to the dispute – emails, messages, official letters · □ Reports and certificates (an accident report, a handover record, medical papers, if relevant) · □ Photos and other evidence – following the collection routine · □ If you've already received one: a letter from the other side's lawyer, an official document, a statement of claim – for these, you'll also need the date you received them!
Block 3: the timeline
□ The dispute's key dates, in order: when the contract was signed, when the disputed event happened, when and how you raised it, what came back in response · □ Your dispute log, if you kept one – that's the finished timeline right there · □ Flagged separately: the earliest point when the dispute "started to show" – that's what the cover assessment will be looking for.
Block 4: your claim in brief
□ A three-to-five-sentence summary: who you're in dispute with, what happened, what you want to achieve · □ The disputed amount or claim, if it can be quantified · □ Your questions for the insurer – for example, about the process for involving a lawyer. A concise, factual account isn't just good manners – it speeds things up: the assessor sees exactly what they're dealing with. The full map of the reporting process is in the reporting article – and if the case gets stuck, the help article describes how I step in.
Good to know: if something's missing from the list
Completeness is the goal of this list, not a precondition – and it's worth saying plainly: an incomplete package is no reason to delay reporting. If a document is missing – the contract stayed with the other party, an old email won't turn up – say so in the report: what's missing, why, and how you're trying to track it down. The insurer's process handles requests for missing documents, and plenty of papers can be obtained later from the other party or a third place (a bank, a service provider, an authority) – your lawyer will help with this too. The opposite mistake is the more dangerous one: waiting weeks to report while you wait for "everything to be ready" – meanwhile the deadlines keep running, and the cooperation rules also call for an early heads-up. The rule of thumb: start with what you have; flag what's missing and fill it in as you go. A perfect file is a nice goal – a case reported in good time matters more.
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