Property Insurance Claim Tips

If you own a home or rent someone else’s property, it is important to have homeowner’s or renter’s property insurance to cover any damage or loss. It can protect you beyond your own property as well. For example, if you or a family member are found responsible for damage to someone else’s property or injury to them, your homeowner’s liability property insurance coverage may help pay for legal representation, repair costs, medical bills, and legal judgments. Whether it is property insurance damage or liability for injury, keep the following tips in mind.

Homeowners and Renters Property Insurance Claims Tips

1. Report it to The Proper Authorities – If your home has been vandalized, burglarized, suffered from a fire, or a gas leak, it is always best to contact the proper authorities before doing anything else. Think safety, and contact the police and fire department whenever necessary. If the authorities are called, be sure to get copies of their reports.
2. Contact Your Property Insurance Company – Make sure to contact your insurance agent, or the insurance company’s claims department and let them know what happened. When you call, provide them with all of the incident details, give them your name and policy number, the address of the property, and let them know the police or fire department were called so they can get copies of their reports. The insurance policy has strict guidelines that must be met. You must contact your insurance company as soon as possible.
3. Claims Form – When you contact the property insurance company or agent, you will be asked to fill out a claims form which details all pertinent information about the incident. If the damage or loss is small, a claims form may be all that is necessary to begin the claims process. But, if the loss is more complex or severe, the property insurance company will most likely send a claims adjuster over to the property to look at the damage and talk with you about what happened.
4. Document and Minimize Further Damages – For your own protection, you should take pictures and/or video of the damages and keep them in a safe place. The property insurance company claims adjuster should remind you that it is your responsibility to minimize any further damage to the property, or that additional damage may not be covered under your insurance policy. For instance, if the roof has been leaking after a storm, it may be your responsibility to hire someone to fix or cover the roof so that further damage does not occur. Don’t worry, the insurance company will pay for the costs associated with those preventative measures. Or, the insurance company may send a contractor to the property to complete the work.  Either way, the idea is to minimize the overall cost and get your home back to normal.
5. Temporary Living – If your property becomes uninhabitable, your insurance may cover other reasonable living expenses. But before you move out of your home, notify and get written approval for those additional living expenses from the claims adjuster. Keep all the receipts for additional living expenses, including costs of eating out and renting another place to live, make copies and send them to the insurance company claims adjuster for reimbursement.
6. Cooperate With The Insurance Company – If you want the claims process to go smoothly, to be reimbursed for all of your out-of-pocket expenses (except the insurance policy deductible), and be compensated for your loss, it is important that you cooperate with and be available when the claims representative contacts you.

It can be difficult enough having to endure a loss when you have property insurance, but can you imagine suffering that same loss without having insurance? Having renters or homeowners property insurance is an excellent way to minimize any unexpected losses that may occur. If you find that you are having difficulty settling your insurance claim, the Smythe Law Group, Inc. is here to help. We take pride in helping policyholders with their insurance claims.