Lähettäkää vahinkoilmoitus viipymättä.

Lähettäkää is the imperative form of lähettää (to send).

More specifically, it is the imperative for:

• you plural (you all, send)
• or a polite singular you in formal situations

So the tone is basically a command or instruction: Send ...

The verb lähettää has the stem lähettä-, and the imperative ending here is -kää.

In Finnish, the imperative ending for 2nd person plural is -kaa / -kää, depending on vowel harmony.

Examples:

• Menkää! = Go! (to several people / polite singular)
• Ottakaa! = Take!
• Lähettäkää! = Send!

Because lähettää contains front vowels like ä, the ending appears as -kää, not -kaa.

So:

• lähettä-
  • kää → lähettäkää

Grammatically, it is the plural imperative, but in real usage it can mean either:

1. a command to several people
2. a polite/formal command to one person

This is similar to how some languages use a plural form for polite address.

In official instructions, notices, and customer service language, Finnish often uses this plural/polite form. So in a sentence like this, it often feels like a formal instruction to the reader rather than a harsh command.

Vahinkoilmoitus is a compound noun:

• vahinko = damage, accident, loss
• ilmoitus = report, notification

Together, vahinkoilmoitus means something like damage report, claim report, or report of loss/damage, depending on context.

Compound nouns are extremely common in Finnish, and the final part usually tells you the basic category of the word. Here:

• the main noun is ilmoitus (report)
• vahinko- specifies what kind of report it is

So literally it is damage-report.

This happens because Finnish compound formation often uses the normal stem form of the first word, and vahinko keeps its final -o before the next part:

• vahinko
  • ilmoitus → vahinkoilmoitus

So the linking is just the natural compound form, not a special extra ending.

Finnish compounds often look long, but they are usually built very straightforwardly:

• henkilöauto = person car = passenger car
• työpaikkailmoitus = job-place announcement = job advertisement
• vahinkoilmoitus = damage report

This is a very common learner question. In Finnish, the object of an imperative can often appear in the nominative basic form.

Here:

• Lähettäkää vahinkoilmoitus = Send the damage report

Even though English would simply call it the direct object, Finnish object marking works differently from English. In commands, the object is often in the nominative singular, especially when it refers to a whole, complete item.

Compare:

• Lue kirja. = Read the book.
• Ottakaa yhteys. = Make contact.
• Lähettäkää vahinkoilmoitus. = Send the damage report.

So this is normal Finnish grammar.

Viipymättä is an adverb meaning without delay, promptly, or immediately.

It comes from the verb viipyä, which means to be delayed, to linger, or to take time.

The form -matta / -mättä often expresses without doing something:

• syömättä = without eating
• sanomatta = without saying
• viipymättä = without delaying

So viipymättä literally has the sense of without delay occurring or without lingering.

In this sentence it tells you how the action should be done:

• Send the damage report without delay.

Yes, usually it is.

Viipymättä is more formal and more urgent than a casual word like soon. It suggests:

• promptly
• without unnecessary delay
• as soon as possible

You often see it in:

• official instructions
• insurance language
• legal or administrative texts
• warnings and notices

So the tone is more formal and directive than everyday spoken language.

This is the most natural neutral order for an instruction:

1. verb first: Lähettäkää
2. object: vahinkoilmoitus
3. adverb: viipymättä

So it follows a very typical pattern for commands:

• Do X Y-way / at Y-time

Examples:

• Ottakaa yhteyttä heti. = Contact us immediately.
• Täyttäkää lomake huolellisesti. = Fill in the form carefully.
• Lähettäkää vahinkoilmoitus viipymättä.

Other word orders are possible in Finnish, but this one is the standard, clear, instructional order.

Not necessarily. In English, commands can sound abrupt, but in Finnish, the imperative is very common in instructions, notices, manuals, and official communication.

So in context, this does not usually sound personally rude. It sounds like:

• a formal instruction
• a standard notice
• a customer-service directive

Especially because lähettäkää is the plural/polite form, it can actually sound more respectful than a direct singular imperative like lähetä.

The informal singular imperative of lähettää is lähetä.

So:

• Lähetä vahinkoilmoitus viipymättä. = Send the damage report without delay.
  
  • said to one person informally

Compare with:

• Lähettäkää vahinkoilmoitus viipymättä.
  
  • to several people, or to one person politely/formally

So the sentence you were given is the more formal or plural version.

In this sentence, lähettää matches English to send very closely. It is the normal verb for sending something:

• a letter
• an email
• a form
• a report
• an application

So lähettäkää vahinkoilmoitus means exactly what you would expect: send the damage report / submit the claim report.

In administrative contexts, English might sometimes use submit where Finnish uses lähettää. So depending on context, a natural translation could be:

• Send the damage report promptly
• Submit the damage report without delay

Both can fit, even though the Finnish verb itself is simply to send.

This kind of sentence is very common in insurance or official claim contexts.

You might see it:

• on an insurance website
• in a claim form
• in a letter from an insurer
• in instructions after an accident or damage event

Because of the word vahinkoilmoitus, the sentence strongly suggests an administrative or insurance-related situation: someone is being told to send in a report about damage, loss, or an accident as quickly as possible.