There are several reasons why a homeowner would want to file for an insurance claim and such reasons could be if an injury occurs on the property, there is a storm, fire, burglary and more. One thing you would need to do before going ahead to file for an insurance claim is reading up your policy thoroughly to know about your add on provisions, limits, exclusions and whatever coverage you have in your policy. How does a homeowners insurance claim work is what this article is here to address and we encourage you to keep reading this guide.
You should also try finding out if your policy has a time limit on the claim you file or want to file but another important thing to always have in mind is documentation. This includes taking down who you talk to, keeping receipts, details of discussion had, time and date of conversation had as well. It is possible for you to talk to several people and that is why it is very important for you to document whoever you talk to as it would help in making your filing process a smooth one.
How Does A Homeowners Insurance Claim Work
When trying to file for a homeowners insurance claim, there are certain steps that needs to be taken and we would be discussing these steps shortly;
Report The Issue To The Police
For some type of claims, your insurer would need you to provide a police report so what you need to do is file for a police report and provide it to your insurer. There are lots of homeowners insurance claim that would require you to provide a police report for example if there has been a vandalisation or theft on your property.
Calling Your Insurance Company
The next step for you to take is for you to give your insurance company a call immediately the incident occurs so you can be able to file a claim. It is then the job of the claims department to assign an insurance adjuster and claims number to you and the job of the insurance adjuster is assessing the level of damages so as to determine a cost that would be okay in fixing it up. It is their job to find out what is appropriate for the insurer to pay out.
Total Documentation
You should make a video or take photos if your home has been burgled or has been damaged. This would serve as proof to your insurance company when filing a claim and it would also be very helpful if the insurance company decided to pay out money that would not be enough to fix whatever damage you have in your home. If there is an injury make sure you write down the details, time and date of the accident because providing these information would help in speeding up your claims process.
Repairs Should Be Done In Meantime
If there is a water damage or there is a case of a leaky roof then you can consider carrying out temporary repairs so that your home can be habitable. However, every receipt of repair should be kept and if moving out of your home temporarily is the only option you have then make sure a recording of food and lodging expenses is kept as well because you would need to provide them when you submit them to your insurer for reimbursement.
Hire A Public Adjuster
Another step you should take is consider hiring the services of a public adjuster. This would be very necessary if you are not okay with whatever your insurance company offers you as settlement so it falls to the insurance adjuster to make a complete assessment of the situation and represent your case. If the appeal is successful then they would also receive a small portion from the settlement that you would end up getting.
How Long It Takes An Insurer To Pay A Claim
It is quite unfortunate that some state laws do not really apply in this case. In South Carolina, the law gives insurers a reasonable time to either payout or deny a claim while in Carolina, insurers are mandated to either deny or accept a payout in forty days. In North Carolina, insurers are mandated to acknowledge receipt of claim in about thirty days but in all of these, there is really no time frame set for an insurer to settle a claim. This is because every claim cannot be the same and how long it would take to settle a claim might vary.
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