Hello World! Welcome Friends! It’s unfortunate that something misfortunate had to happen to your home. Despite having homeowners insurance, most people never really think they’ll need it because as humans, we all hope for the best. However, it always pays to be prepared for the worst, and the best thing about insurance is that it covers you during the worst.
There are many reasons why you would need to file a home insurance claim going from theft, fire, and water damage. It may have been an injury on your property or a fallen tree. Regardless, you still need to file the claim and get what you deserve.
How to File a Home Insurance Claim
There are several things you must do before you file a home insurance claim. First, you need to go through your homeowners’ insurance policy and ensure you understand your limits, exclusions, as well as add-on provisions. Add-on provisions mean additional coverage for things like floods, large personal items. Check whether there’s a deadline on when to file the claim.
More importantly, you need to ensure you have all the critical documents that will help you receive your claim. This includes your receipts, inventory, and details of the people you’ve talked to. Once you have all that, follow this step-by-step guide and file your home insurance claim.
Report the Incident to the Police
Depending on what type of claim you are filing, the insurance company may require you to have a police report. For instance, if the incident involves theft or vandalism, then you must report the case to the police first before filing a home insurance claim. With the police report in hand, it’ll be easier for the insurance company to accept the claim.
Give Your Insurance Company a Call
You must call your insurance company as soon as the incident happens if you want to file a claim. Ensure you do it during the first 48 hours of the incident. The claims department in the company will assign you a claim number and send an insurance adjuster to evaluate your situation.
The adjuster will assess the damage and give an estimate of the costs, to help the insurance company determine how much you deserve for the repairs or replacements. You must understand that the insurance company is in this for business, and their main aim is always to make a profit.
This means that they may compensate you with less than you deserve. The adjuster will have the company’s interest in mind, which is why hiring a public adjuster is an excellent idea. Public adjusters only get paid after successful settlements, and they don’t settle for less than necessary.
Document Everything
Regardless of what happened, you need to photograph the aftermath. If you can videotape it even better, this will serve as proof of the incident for your insurance company. It will also serve as proof in court if you need to appeal a lower payout than expected.
You need a detailed list of everything that was damaged or stolen, and it should include everything from how old they are to their current value. Include the time and date of the incident so your insurance company can process the claim as fast as possible. If you have to live outside your home during the repair process, you need to include the additional living expenses to the claim for reimbursement.
Make Minor Repairs
If you need to, make some minor repairs that will allow you to continue living in your home. For instance, if you have a leaky roof, then you can have it repaired as long as you are sure it won’t cause further damages. Keep the repair receipts and give them to the adjuster for reimbursement.
What If You’re Filing A Renters Insurance Claim?
The process is quite similar, but you must alert your landlord about structural damage to their house. This must be done immediately because the landlord is usually responsible for structural repairs, which may include leaky roofs, water damage or broken windows.
In case the insurance adjuster discovers that the incident happened due to the landlord’s negligence, you are likely to be denied the claim. In this case, the landlord will have to file a claim to their insurance company and see whether they’ll pay for the damages.
If filing for theft, you may still notify your landlord as a courtesy, and due to the fact that their insurance claim covers damages from theft. Nevertheless, your renter’s insurance should cover you for personal property.
Don’t Wait Too Long and Don’t Discard Items
One of the biggest mistakes you could make is discarding items considered as evidence before you get the payout. Regardless of what it is, just hold on to it until then. Besides that, you should not wait too long to file the home insurance claim.
Do it during the first 48 hours so the insurance adjuster will assess the damages as they are initially. The requirement, however, is to send the claim forms within 30 days.
How Long Will the Process Take?
This process highly depends on the state where you live. For instance, in California, insurance companies have 40 days to accept or deny the home insurance claim. In most states, you’ll find that insurance adjusters are required to visit a home within a given timeframe.
Insurance is usually regulated at the state levels, so it highly depends on what your state states about home insurance claims.
What Happens if Your Claim Is Denied?
If your insurance claim is denied, you might have to undergo an appraisal process to resolve the disagreement. The process may involve three referees. One should be chosen by the policyholder, the other by the insurance company, and the last by the first two referees. Once both sides make their case, the referees make a binding decision.
You need to exhaust the internal appeal process through your home insurer before you file a complaint to the insurance department, file a lawsuit against the company, or file your claim in small claims court.
What You Should Not Do
Certain incidents do not require an insurance claim. For instance, if the damages or repairs do not exceed your deductible, you may have to pay out from your pocket. The thing is, too many claims can affect your insurance policy, especially over a short period of time.
The insurance company has access to CLUE, or Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, which has information about all the home insurance claims you have filed. Multiple claims may lead to policy cancellation, and it’ll be hard to obtain a new home insurance policy. If the losses are below your deductible, then don’t bother with a home insurance claim.
Will a Claim Affect Your Home Insurance Rate?
Your home insurance rate will increase after you file a claim. However, how much it increases will highly depend on your policy, the number of home insurance claims you have filed before, and your reasons for filing the claim.
Pulling It Together!
Regardless of the reasons why you need to file a home insurance claim, these are the steps you need to take. If you are facing significant damages, it’ll help to hire a public adjuster, so you get the full value of the claim.
If you need more information about filing a home insurance claim read more of our articles.
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Toodles,
Filing a home insurance claim needs a lot of assistance. These tips will certainly help me. Thanks for sharing.
Most of the things are not being told before but you must be aware of all the coverage. Thanks for sharing these valuable tips!