Homeowner's Insurance Claims
How do I file a homeowner's insurance policy claim?
The first thing you should do to make a claim on your homeowner's insurance policy is to call your home owner's insurer as quickly as possible. Don't wait days after the lose to report it. As soon as you know you've had the loss, contact the insurance company. Usually there is a number right on your bill for any claims inquiries and you could also check with your insurance agent who obviously knows you best and can help you through the claims process. The claims process itself is usually fairly straight forward. You might have to fill out some paper work, a claims form, for example, that will list what was damaged or lost, what kind of value you think is involved and what the circumstances were of the loss. At that point, the insurance company may send an insurance adjuster to your property, who is a representative of theirs, to just take a look first hand: if there was a fire for example, or if your roof was damaged in a wind storm, or tree came down and crashed into your garage, or there was a burglary or some sort. If there's any sort of supporting documentation you may have to supply that for instance: in a burglary there might be a police report, if a neighbor of yours was injured on your property and is suing you for damages, there might be a medical report on the neighbor when they were treated at the local hospital. Your insurance agent and your insurer will usually walk you through that process.
What kind of documentation will I need to file a homeowner's insurance claim?
The more documentation the better when you file your homeowner's claim because it'll speed up the claim process, and get you your cheque faster. You'll start by filing a claim form which will document what was damaged or lost, what kind of value might be on that property, and the circumstances of the loss. An adjuster will follow up with you to investigate the claim. If you have any supporting documents, for instance if it was a burglary, you might file a police report. If a neighbour was unfortunately injured on your property by slipping on an icy sidewalk in front of your home and the neighbour went to the local hospital, filing some sort of a medical report from the hospital might help in that way as well. So, the more documentation the better. If you have any receipts for items that were lost; if you just bought your personal computer and that was stolen or you just got a new television and that's been gone, and you still have the receipt (whether it's a credit card receipt or from the original store where you bought it) that saves a lot of time as well.
What if my insurance company refuses to pay my claim?
If an insurance company denies your claim you have a number of options. Firstly, most insurance companies allow you to appeal a rejection. There's a grievance process in place. Perhaps all you have to do is provide additional documentation, clear-up some misunderstanding and the claim is paid. However, if the claim is still rejected and you still believe it should be covered under your policy, you could hire an attorney to pursue this for you and if it comes to this, people even bring these cases to court. You could actually sue your insurer for the coverage you think you are owed under the policy. Last but not least, if you feel you have a grievance with an insurer you should report it to the state insurance department. Insurers are regulated by the states and each state has a department that keeps track of the market conduct of each of the insurance companies. If you check with your local insurance department and find that your particular insurer has a history of denying claims arbitrarily and a lot of litigation against them that could support your claim against the insurance company if you end up going to court.
Why won't my insurance company pay for damage caused by a flood?
Historically, floods have been excluded from standard home owner's policies, although flood insurance is available from the federal government through the National Flood Insurance Program. Your agent or broker can arrange to get you coverage through the federal program, as well. One of the reasons that standard home owner's insurance doesn't cover flood is that people have been increasingly building close to the coastlines, where flooding is most prevalent, or in basins in areas of low land around water, where flooding happens all the time. Insurance is supposed to cover you against contingencies that are possible, but are not likely to happen. If you build a home next to a river that has flooded every four years for the last hundred years, that is not a contingency; it's a certainty. A standard home owner's insurer will not cover you for that, but as a public policy issue, for an additional premium, you can buy overlying coverage from the federal government to do that, and I strongly suggest anyone who lives in an area that has any sort of history of flooding, if you are anywhere near a body of water that overflows on any regular basis, to go for that coverage. It's worth the extra money.
Why won't my insurance company pay for seepage and dry rot?
Basically, insurance is not supposed to pay for maintanence issues. If there's rotting within the boards of the home and things like this, if there's mold in there, that is something that develops over many years, and homeowners should be aware of these types of things and should be checking these regular to make sure they don't have those types of issues arising. Homeowner's insurance is more for a sudden, unexpected, catastrophic loss like a fire, a hurricane, a tree that falls on your roof and breaks into your bedroom or other similar occurences. These longer-term maintanence issues, whether it's dry rot or mold, are generally not covered under the homeowner's policy. That's something you really do need to take up with your agent, make sure that it's clear, and if there is coverage available, my endorsement perhaps is pursue it. But do not assume that is part of your standard homeowner's coverage.
Why won't my insurance company pay for vermin damage or extermination?
Vermin damage or extermination, much like dry rot and other types of maintenance issues, are not covered under standard homeowner's insurance policies. These are the types of things that homeowners have to look after to try to maintain their property. It's not an insurable risk. Usually insurable risks are things that you think might happen, catastrophes that could destroy your property that are not likely. Vermin infestation, dry rot, mold are things that are much more frequent, and if the homeowner is not vigilant in maintaining their property, these damages arise. A hurricane or a fire where the homeowner may have very little control will be covered by homeowner's insurance.