Home insurance claims are common throughout the United States. Around one in 20 homes makes a claim each year, with around one in 50 making a claim because of adverse weather. Completing your claim correctly can mean the difference between one that’s simple and successful and one that’s difficult and stressful. At The Claims Room, we’re here to provide you with some tips for making sure yours is successful so you can settle your claim and restore your property in a timely manner with little stress as possible.
Select the right policy
When comparing the prices of different policies it’s easy to become distracted by the lowest price. Although paying less each month is tempting, you need to read the policy to make sure it covers everything as you need it to. For example, is it suitable for the types of weather in your locale, does your policy cover secondary loss due to discontinued material not matching existing material on your home, additional cost due to building code compliance and does it cover all your household items?
A knowledgeable insurance agent is a huge benefit when selecting a policy. Having the right policy in place can become the foundation for ensuring you will be able to recover the actual cost to repair or replace your property. In addition to selecting the right type from Day One, make sure you update yours when you make changes to your house or its contents.
Make contact with your insurance provider straight away
Don’t allow too much time to elapse between the event that’s resulted in your claim and making the claim itself. Doing so may result in your insurance company questioning whether some of the items or damage you’re making a claim for encountered the damage during the event. When contacting your insurance company, make sure you have your policy number handy and provide them with as much detail as possible.
If you’re making a claim due to someone breaking into your property, it’s wise to contact the police as well. Making rapid contact with the police gives them a chance to analyze the crime scene fully.
Avoid disposing of damaged items
It’s highly unlikely that any insurance company will issue your insurance claim check without assessing items properly. Although it’s tempting to start repairing, throwing things away, and checking the damage to various pieces, doing so doesn’t give your insurance provider a chance to check everything for themselves. If your claim is due to bad weather and you can’t stay in your property while it’s in a state of disrepair, this may mean that you need to stay elsewhere. If this is the case, check with your insurance company to see if it provides coverage for hotels and other expenses.
Find a knowledgeable Contractor
A contractor who is well versed in handling insurance restoration construction project is priceless. Gone are the days of getting 3 estimates and submitting them to your insurance adjuster. A good contractor will work for an agreed amount between them and the insurance company or your construction management company such as ClaimRoom.
Approach discrepancies utilizing appraisal
Unfortunately, not all claims will be able to be settled with quickly even with a knowledgable contractor. You may may need to go to appraisal. Appraisal is a form of conflict resolution and is legally binding in most States. In almost all cases, you’re not going to settle your loss until you settle discrepancies between your contractor’s estimates and your insurance company’s. Such discrepancies can often be quite significant, leaving you at a stalemate until you find a third party appraiser such as ClaimRoom to work through this process. Such estimates can expedite the speed of your claim, allowing you to access repair money faster and without incurring the expense of a lawyer or public adjuster.
Avoid exaggerating the nature of your claim but don’t cut yourself short
Although many people won’t exaggerate the cost of their claim, some may. If you’re tempted to add a couple of figures onto the value of an item, don’t do it. If an insurance company finds that you’ve made false declarations, they can reject your claim altogether. Similarly, if you exaggerate the extent of your damage, they may reject your claim on similar grounds. With that in mind do not understate the cost to replace damaged property. In many cases items that you purchase years ago will substantially more to replace today.
If you feel confused by the claims process or you need a third party to provide assistance, we’re here to help. At The Claims Room, we serve the State of Minnesota. You can call us at 612-490-4125 to learn more.