# Claims & claim types

In Fleetlane a claim type is not a label. It decides how a claim of that kind is created, what can be changed on it, and what information it must carry. A standard warranty claim, a recall claim and a goodwill claim can behave completely differently with no custom development. You configure this in Settings › Claim Types.

## What a claim type controls

Each claim type is configured in a few sections.

**Identity.** Code, name, display order and description, plus three switches: whether the type is active, whether users can pick it, and whether a claim of this type must be attached to a vehicle.

**Claim policy.** The rules that apply to every claim of this type:

| Setting       | Options                         | Effect                                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------- | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Creation mode | Manual · Template · Campaign    | Which route may create the claim. Other routes are refused.                                                                                                |
| Header policy | Editable · Seeded · Locked      | Locked makes the standard header fields read-only once the claim exists. Seeded records that the header came from a template or import and stays editable. |
| Item policy   | Manual · Seeded · Locked · None | Locked fixes the claim lines. None removes the lines section from the claim entirely.                                                                      |

A set of switches refines this further:

- **Requires template** and **Requires campaign**: the claim can only be created from a template or a recall campaign.
- **Allows partners**: whether business partners can be added to the claim.
- **Allows type change**: whether the claim type can be changed after creation.
- **Add items**, **Add labour**, **Add parts**: which kinds of line can be added.
- **Edit quantity** and **Edit value**: whether existing lines can be changed.

These rules are checked on the server on every change, not only in the screens. A change the claim type does not allow is refused.

**Type data requirements.** For each custom field and text category (such as complaint, cause and correction), you set per claim type whether it is Hidden, Optional or Required. Required data is enforced when the claim is created.

## Templates narrow, never widen

A template is a reusable repair: a claim type, standard header values such as defect and cause codes, and standard lines with quantities and prices. You manage them under Templates.

A template can set its own header and item policy or inherit the claim type's, but it can only tighten the rules. It can lock lines the claim type leaves editable. It can never open up something the claim type has locked.

## How claims are created

- **Manually.** From Claims › New claim, choose Manual, pick a claim type that allows manual creation, the vehicle, mileage and repair date. Users who work for more than one dealership choose which dealership the claim is for.
- **From a template.** From the same dialogue, choose Template. The claim takes its header and lines from the template, within the rules of its claim type.
- **From a recall campaign.** From the vehicle's Recalls section, or for every assigned vehicle at once from the campaign itself. See [Vehicles, warranties & recalls](https://docs.fleetlane.app/functionalities/vehicles-warranties-recalls/).

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  M["Manual"] --> P
  T["Template"] --> P
  C["Recall campaign"] --> P
  S["Service definition"] --> P
  P{"Claim type allows<br/>this creation mode?"} -->|yes| N["Claim created<br/>within the claim type's rules"]
  P -->|no| R["Refused"]
```

If a claim type requires a vehicle, the claim cannot be created without one. Fleetlane numbers each claim automatically.

## Claim lines and pricing

Claim lines carry the money. Each line has a material type, which you define in Settings › Material Types. The material type sets two things:

- **Item class**: Part, Labour, Sublet or Other. The claim type's Add parts and Add labour switches act on this class.
- **Pricing mode**:
  - **Manual**: the user enters the amount.
  - **Local**: prices come from price records held in Fleetlane.
  - **External**: prices come from the catalogue of a connected system, with catalogue search in the line dialogue.

One part line can be marked as **causal**, the part that actually failed. Part lines can also be flagged for **return** when you want the component back. Only parts can be causal or returned, and a claim has at most one causal line.

## Everything around the claim

The claim page keeps everything about the case in one place:

- **Overview and vehicle**: repair date, mileage, repair order and authorisation number, with the vehicle's details.
- **Partners**: organisations linked in a partner function you define (Settings › Partner Functions), the vehicle's current owner, and the people who worked on the claim.
- **Custom fields and notes**: your own fields, and rich-text notes per text category (Settings › Text Types).
- **Attachments**: files with a name and short description.
- **Discussion**: a conversation on the claim, with replies and @mentions.
- **Activity**: every lifecycle action on the claim, who ran it, and the outcome.

Each time a claim's status changes, Fleetlane stores a numbered version of the claim. Status changes are decided by the lifecycle engine; see [How lifecycles work](https://docs.fleetlane.app/functionalities/lifecycles/).

The claim type sets the outer limits. Within them, role, claim status and dealership decide who can see and change each field; see [Access & field control](https://docs.fleetlane.app/functionalities/access-field-control/).