My Insurance Insider and Finance Blog

Image via Wikipedia If you eventually had gone through a recent disaster,you may desperately be looking for proper ways for filing and settling an insurance claim. And some questions obviously come up in your mind.

1. How to file a claim

2. How a claim process works

3. What is covered and what’s not

First of all,you need to contact your insurance agent or insurance company immediately for finding out:-

1.Whether the damage,you’ve experienced is covered under the terms of your insurance policy.

2. Whether your claim amount exceeds your deductible or excess i.e. your first amount of loss you agree to pay before filing a claim.

3.How long will it take to process your lodged claim.

4.Whether you need estimates for repairs.

For Temporary Repair: Before starting out of the claim procedures,you temporarily need to take reasonable steps to protect your property from further damage. Try to preserve receipts for what you spend so far and furnish them to your insurance company for reimbursement. Remember that payments for temporary repairers are part of the total settlement. But you should be cautious before paying for such type of temporary repair job.

Beware of contractors who ask for a large amount of money up front and contractors whose bids are very low -they might cut corners and do substandard work. Don’t make extensive permanent repairs until the claims adjuster has passed for or assessed the damage.Otherwise the adjuster may refused to consider your case on the ground that those were not fresh damages or consistent enough.

For Temporary Relocating of Accommodation: If you need to find other accommodations while your home is being repaired, keep all records of your expenses.Homeowners insurance policies generally extend coverage for the loss of use of your home if it is damaged by an insured peri or disaster.

Adjuster’s Visit: Prepare yourself for an adjuster to visit your damaged home first and a claim form to be filled out by you for proof of your claim. An adjuster is a competent person professionally qualified to assess the damage. Its imparative to say that the more information you have about your damaged possessions - description of the item,the approved plan, approximate date of purchase or build, the cost of replacement or repairing etc.– the faster and smooth your claim process would be.

Substantiating your loss: Compile an inventory of damaged or destroyed items and give a copy to the claim adjuster along with copies of any receipts. Don’t discard the damaged items until the adjuster check those. If possible,consider to photograph or videotape the damages of the items and home. If your property was totally destroyed or you no longer have any records, prepare a memory list and hand it over to the adjuster.

Identify any structural damage: Look for any structual damages your home may have developed.Structural damages may be happened to a garage, tool shed or in-ground swimming pool. Make a list of everything you want to show the adjuster in support of your claim, for example, cracks in the walls and missing roof tiles and let him take photographs or notes of the same.You should also get the electrical system checked. Most insurance companies pay for these inspections.

Get Written Bids: Have written bids from licensed contractors. The bids should include details of the materials to be used and their prices. This makes adjusting the claim faster and hassle free.

Keep Copies Documents:Keep copies of the lists and other documents you submit to your insurance company. Get copied whatever paperwork your insurance company gives you and record the names and phone numbers of everyone you speak to and come contact with.