Can you make a household insurance claim retrospectively?

[HJT40]

A private paying tenant moves out of a house they have rented and it is found that they have damaged the carpets amongst other things. The landlord has these replaced and requests payment for the carpets can the ex tenant request a copy of the receipted invoice so that he can put in an insurance claim even though a) he doesn't live there anymore and b) there is now no damage to be inspected?

[factor-fiction]

What insurance policy could the tenant claim on? Did the tenant take out a contents policy on the property when he lived there and before the date of the accident? What sort of damage was there to the carpet?

[bednobs]

very unlikely - insurance companioes don't just pay out without looking at the damamge - for example, they may have been able to repair more cheply than replace. There is also now no proof, coupled with the fact they can't even go and look because someone else lives there now. Also, when you move out, surely the insurance ceases, what is the point in insuring contents at an address you don't live in?
The tennant CAN request a copy of the invoice if they are paying it. Couldn't the tennant just say "prove it was done while i was there" If the landlord is silly enough not to have inspected before the tennant moved out, or kept a damamges deposit, how can they prove they didn't do it themselves after the tennant was gone?