How to investigate, decide, and close a damage claim

Triage incoming damage claims from the inbox, open one to assess it, record an accept-or-deny decision, and close it. You can later reopen, reassign, export the list, or download a claim PDF. This is the store manager's end-to-end resolution workflow.

Before you start

• Where: Store-level (web).
• Permission: The Close Damage Claims permission to open the inbox and decide claims. Reopening a claim needs the Reopen Damage Claims permission; reassigning needs the Reassign Damage Claims permission.
• Available by default to: Owners and Store Managers. (On custom roles, this needs the permission named above.)
• You must have: at least one submitted claim in your store.

Browse and filter the inbox

1. From the store sidebar, open the damage claims Inbox. Status cards (with the accepted / denied outcome breakdown) and a trend chart sit above the claims table.
2. To scope the stats, set the Stats for date range or pick a preset (Last 7d, Last 30d, Last 90d, YTD). Change the chart's granularity from the trend chart's own control.
3. To narrow the table, select Filters and choose a status, outcome, or date range, then apply. A badge on the button shows how many filters are active.
4. To find a specific claim, type a name or claim number in the Search claims box above the table.
5. Optional: select Export CSV to download the current claims list.

Open and read a claim

1. Select any row in the claims table to open the claim detail. The left column has three tabs — Overview, Work the claim, and Resolution — and the right column is the status sidebar.
2. Read Overview for the submitted vehicle, customer, incident, and photos. Use Work the claim to review evidence and the investigation thread (covered in How to gather evidence and communications on a claim).

Assess and decide

1. On the Resolution tab, select Accept claim or Deny claim.
2. Fill in Assessment (your findings) and Resolution (what was decided). Both are required to close. The tab autosaves each field on blur — watch for the Saved indicator.
3. If you accepted, optionally enter a Cost. If you denied, optionally pick a Disclaimer cited (configured in settings).

Close the claim

• Select Close claim, then confirm in the dialog. This finalizes the decision and records the resolution.

Reopen, reassign, or download

• Reopen: open a closed claim and select Reopen in the header. The decision becomes editable again.
• Reassign: in the sidebar, select the pencil next to Assigned To, choose another manager (they must have the Close Damage Claims permission), and select Reassign.
• Download PDF: in the sidebar, select Download PDF for a printable record of the claim.
• View history: in the sidebar, select History to expand the audit log — every submit, edit, reassignment, reopen, and close, with the actor and time.

Expected result

A closed claim shows a Closed status and its outcome (Accepted or Denied) in the sidebar and on the Resolution tab, and the close event appears in the History audit log.

Troubleshooting

• If Close claim stays greyed out: you must pick an outcome and fill both the Assessment and Resolution fields. The button enables once all three are set.
• If the Disclaimer cited list is empty: no disclaimers are configured. Add them in Settings → Damage Claims (see the configuration guide).
• If the inbox shows an access error: your role doesn't include the company-wide damage claims permission needed for the corporate view — ask an owner or manager, or open the claim from your own store instead.

Related guides

• How to gather evidence and communications on a claim
• How to configure your damage claim process
• How to handle repeat-issue customers and linked incidents