I too am in the same boat ie i have never ever had a claim in over 10 years of driving..
But my question is (because i dont know how it works either) do they not come out and assess the damage when yuo ring up and tell them what is wrong/happened..
Ie lets say in this collision/crash if a intercooler pipe came off and after driving home, wondering why it wasnt boosting right, the turbos are then knackered coz somat got sucked up chipped a blade etc, would they fix it and the car without checking it over to see if the story tallys up??
I am just as curious as well...