What do I do if my personal property insurance claim is denied?

What do I do if my personal property insurance claim is denied?

Sam Friedman (Editor-in-Chief, National Underwriter, Property & Casualty Edition) gives expert video advice on: Do I need personal property insurance?; What happens if my property is damaged or stolen while I'm on vacation? and more...

If your personal property insurance claim is denied, the insurance company itself usually has an appeals process that you can pursue. Perhaps there was some documentation missing to put the value at what it should be, or there is some other misunderstanding that can be cleared up on appeal. Should that fail, the individual could seek legal counsel to get a second opinion as to whether or not the policy language should or should not have covered your particular loss. If your lawyer agrees that the loss should have been covered by the insurance company, a lawyer's letter might spur the payment of the claim and if not, there's always the chance you might have to sue. Last, but not least, you could file a complaint with your state's insurance department: these are the people that regulate insurers, and if there's a history on the part of an insurer of denying these types of claims that might fortify your own claim against the insurer.