Claims procedure

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Making a claim against the Council

If you are a third party solicitor:

If you wish to submit a new Employer's Liability (EL), Public Liability (PL) or Road Traffic Accident pre 1st June 2021 (RTA) claim against the council through the claims portal, the council’s portal code is: G01064.

If you are a claimant in person:

If you wish to make a claim against the Council please submit a letter of claim to the Council’s Insurance team:

  • email: [email protected]

  • please note the shared insurance service between City of Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham will remain a remote service for the foreseeable future to enable other services that need to utilise limited office space to do so - therefore please do not send any correspondence to the council's Insurance Service by post until further notice as the team are currently working remotely, in line with GOV.UK coronavirus guidance (this update follows the Prime Minister's announcement of 10 May)

The information needed in a letter of claim is defined in law and should include the following information:

  • claimant’s name and address
  • claimant’s date of birth
  • claimant’s National Insurance number
  • details of the incident such as exact location and date/time it occurred
  • an indication of the injury or damage to property
  • a detailed explanation of how or why you feel the Council has acted negligently

If you have been in a Road traffic accident:

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident on or after the 1st June 2021 with a vehicle owned by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and have been injured and wish to make a claim, you should direct your claim to the Official Injury Claims Portal. Please visit the Official Injury Claims website to make a claim.

Government legislation states that all eligible claims should be submitted through this internet portal site, which has been designed and tested to ensure it is user-friendly and that you do not require legal training to use it.

There is information on the website and a helpline number if you need assistance to register the claim.

Once you have registered the claim, we will be able to investigate your claim and provide a response.

Please note: If you are making a highways claim, it will assist us if you provide a completed highways claim form:

Employer's Liability and Public Liability
Employer's Liability and Public Liability PDF, 197.55 KB, 1 page

This document is not currently accessible, if you need this information in an accessible format please contact [email protected].

Please note: If you are making a housing claim in relation to damage, it will assist us if you provide a completed housing claim form:

Housing claim form
Housing claim form PDF, 253.05 KB, 9 pages

 

Before making a claim for compensation against the Council please note the following:

  • Everybody has the right to make a claim but the Council will only give compensation if the council is legally at fault for the incident.
     
  • For a personal injury claim, once the Council has acknowledged your letter of claim, they have 40 business days (from the date the letter of acknowledgement is sent) to investigate the claim and either admit or deny liability. These time scales adhere to the current Ministry of Justice: Pre-action Protocols. All other claims such as property damage claims are handled in the spirit of these protocols.
     
  • If you are insured privately for the damage or injury sustained, such as motor insurance, you may wish to report the claim to them. If covered they will settle your loss and then pursue recovery against the Council on your behalf, reducing the administrative burden on you.
     
  • Fraudulent claims will be prosecuted and could result in imprisonment.

Please include as much information as possible and include any photographs or maps of the location. It is your responsibility to prove your loss against the Council; vague or incomplete information or failure to identify the exact location of a slip or trip claim will prevent legitimate investigation and will result in your claim not being accepted as meeting the Ministry of Justice: Pre-action Protocols. The more information you provide the council, the easier it will be to investigate and reach a decision of liability.

Please note that failure to provide sufficient information in your letter will result in it not being considered a letter of claim.

If you are a Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea residential leaseholder

If you are a residential leaseholder and wish to make a claim on your buildings insurance, please refer to the Housing Management page.

If you are a Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea commercial property leaseholder

If you are a commercial property leaseholder and wish to make a claim on your building insurance, please call our commercial property insurers, Protector Insurance, quoting policy ref 549806:

Tel: 0161 274 9077

For all other queries please contact the Council's Insurance Section:

  • email: [email protected]
  • telephone: 07739317115 / 07970944475 / 07590883197 / 07970944462 / 07817054650

Please be advised we are currently requesting that all proceedings and communications are sent electronically, either direct to the case handler or if unsure please send to [email protected] for all three Councils of RB Kensington & Chelsea, LB Hammersmith and Fulham and City of Westminster. 

Guidance for solicitors: Please be advised that any proceedings or communications sent via the post to us, due to the possible restrictions on office numbers due to the changeable nature of Covid and other sickness precautions around physical post may not be received and should this lead to an application against us we will be drawing this notice to the attention of the court. 

Last updated: 25 April 2022