Essential Steps in the Home Insurance Claims Process

11/2/2020 (Permalink)

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Insurance is considered a lifesaver whenever a person suffers a massive loss, whether financial or physical. The insurance company can cover all the costs you incur, keeping you safe from a huge debt or even bankruptcy. Whether you run a business or own any property, it is essential that you get coverage for it to protect you from the worst times. 

Say, for instance, you own a home and have it insured. What should you do if a fire breaks out on your property and burns down most of the house, or a massive storm destroys a part of your house? Well, lucky for you, you will be compensated for the losses suffered according to the terms of the agreement since you have insurance! Nevertheless, following some critical steps are necessary for filing a home insurance claim. 

This article will cover all you need to know about the process! Also, keep in mind that in this hypothetical example, we'll consider that the home in question has been a target of burglary.

Report The Problem To The Local Authorities

The first thing you need to do is report the burglary to the local police. Make sure everything is written down! The police report, names of the law enforcement, names of the police staff you talked to, and all other relevant items need to be documented accurately. These will be used as evidence in your home insurance claim and will help increase the success of getting your damages covered. 

Find Out The Insurer's Time Limit

The next thing you need to do is ask your insurance company how long you have to file a home insurance claim. It is essential for you to find it out yourself because the period for filing a home insurance claim varies according to the contract. It might be a week for one person, and maybe a month for another. 

Along with the time period, it would also be helpful if you asked the value of your coverage and whether you have any home insurance deductible or not. Moreover, getting to know about the time it would take for the home insurance claim to process and knowing the estimates for the damage can also be useful.

Take Precautionary Measures And Substantiate The Losses

The next thing you need to do is take some extra precautionary steps to make sure that there are minimal chances of such damage or loss occurring again. If there is a need for extra expenditures to ensure safety, keep the receipts with yourself and submit it to the insurance representative for when they come to your home for evaluation. 

Then, it would be best if you substantiated the losses by the time the insurance representative visits your home. A home inventory list of belongings would be best if you have stuff that gets stolen or damaged. This way, everything that would be covered under your insurance policy would be compensated for, and you would not have to pay a dime for their replacements! 

Keep Track Of Additional Costs

Although it is highly unlikely that you would have to move in with a friend, relative, or a hotel after a burglary, there still are some instances in other unfortunate events where you have no choice but to move. For instance, if your house catches fire, and most of it gets destroyed, you need a place to live temporarily. When you do, just make sure that you keep track of all the additional expenses you incur because of the damage to your house, and most insurers will reimburse them! This again, though, depends on the terms of your insurance policy!

The Insurers Send The Forms And An Adjuster

Once you have done everything from your side and sent a notice of the home insurance claim, the insurance company is required to send you the home insurance claim forms. All you need to do is fill the paperwork as soon as possible and submit them back to avoid any delays. 

Once the forms are filled out and submitted, the insurance company will send an adjuster to see whether everything is inline or not. The insurance company will then use the information the adjuster provides them to approve or reject the home insurance claim. As long as you are completely transparent to the adjuster and do the paperwork precisely, you won't have to worry about the home insurance claim being rejected!

Conclusion

That's all you need to do to file a home insurance claim. If your home suffers from fire or water damage and you want to use a restoration company that makes the process much more friendly and easy for you, make sure you contact SERVPRO of East Dayton/Beavercreek for any home insurance repairs! SERVPRO is an insurance preferred vendor and has employees on call 24/7.