Insured event

What it means

An insured event is the occurrence the policy ties a payout to: a fire, a crash, a theft, harm to a third party. Not every loss is automatically an insured event.

What matters is whether it falls inside cover and is not excluded. Exclusions are part of the policy wording and are read before signing, not after the loss.

Several losses from one cause, such as water from a burst pipe in three rooms, are usually treated as a single insured event. One excess is paid and one limit of the sum insured is used. A series of thefts on different days, by contrast, counts as separate events, each with its own excess.

How it works in practice

The routine is always the same: document the state, notify without delay, repair nothing before inspection, gather evidence of value. For theft and road accidents, call the police.

In the books the loss and the payout are recorded separately. The repair cost and the indemnity are not netted, so the accounts show both.

If the loss destroys the value of a fixed asset, we dispose of it in the books and its net book value becomes an expense. We therefore ask the client for the loss report or the inspection record, as they also support the disposal and any stocktake difference.

What to watch out for

On a small loss, do the arithmetic before reporting: after the excess and a worse bonus, the payout can be less than the future premium increase.

The insured must stop the loss from growing: shut off the water, board up a broken window, move goods somewhere dry. Damage that grew because nothing was done may not be paid in full. The cost of such measures, on the other hand, is usually reimbursed if backed by documents.