How to File Home Insurance Claims

A Insurance Article Contributed by Deepak Cutting

Home Insurance - Making a Claim

If there is a valid home insurance policy, then this contract obliges both the insurance company and you to proceed in a specified way in the event of damage to your home or injury to a person, on that property. The insurance policy document has the details, which must be thoroughly reviewed. Once the damage is claimed in the prescribed fashion, the insurance company is liable to settle that claim.

· Report any crime to the police: If your home is burgled or vandalized, report the matter to the police at your earliest and obtain a copy of that report.

· Inform the insurance agent or company: Home insurance policies generally have time limitations on lodgment of claims. If you are not sure of this aspect, ask your agent. Does the damage exceed my deductibles? Do I need to get the damage surveyed and obtain repair estimates? Will the insurance company depute someone to inspect the damage?

· Take necessary steps to prevent further damage to your property.

· Prepare a list of damaged or/and lost articles. Damaged items should be preserved till the insurance company appointed surveyor has visited to inspect and assess the damage. Preferably provide the assessor with an inventory of lost or damaged articles, retaining a copy of such list with you.

· If your home is temporarily uninhabitable and you must temporarily relocate to allow repairs to the premises, maintain receipts of expenses incurred.

· Once your insurance company is notified of the damage, they will provide you the requisite claim forms within a specified time. These forms, duly filled in, must be submitted with the insurance company as soon as possible.

Once you reach an agreement with your home insurance company on the amount to be paid towards settlement of your claim, the state laws require that your claim is speedily settled.

Home Insurance Claim Settlement Process

An adjuster/assessor appointed by the insurance company inspects the damage to your property and then makes an on account payment towards repairs. This amount is an advance and not the final settlement. If a final settlement was offered and accepted by you but it was insufficient, you can reopen the case and file an 'additional' claim. In most cases, claims can be filed within 1 year from the date of disaster.

Home Insurance in Case of Damage to Structure and Your Belongings

When there is damage to the structure of your home and also your belongings, you will generally receive two Cheques, one for each type of damage. A separate Cheque would be paid to cover your out of pocket expenses living expenses, if it was necessary for you to relocate during the time repair was being undertaken.

· If your dwelling is mortgaged, the insurance company will pay both you and the lender, in case the lenders are named in the insurance policy. You must provide details of repair to be done and the amount to be paid to the contractor for such repair, to the mortgage lenders. They will sometimes want to inspect the finished job before releasing the final installment of their payment to the contractor.

For claiming damages in respect of personal belongings, the first thing is to prepare a list of damaged or lost items. If you did not maintain an inventory, pictures, videotapes etc. of the damaged area, taken prior to the damage, will help. In case of a replacement cost policy, the cost of buying a new similar item will be reimbursed. In an actual cash value policy the depreciated value of the item will be paid.