How Do Home Insurance Claims Work?

Whenever we are struck with damage to our property, it becomes quite an emotionally and mentally overwhelming thing to process. First, you’ll consider the amount of effort you undertook to build your home.

Secondly, you’ll consider everything required to restore your home to its original condition. Most importantly, it involves a lot of financial strain that will definitely leave you scrambling for monetary support.

This is where home insurance comes to your rescue. However, there are several factors that influence the success rate of your insurance. These factors will help you determine the amount of financial coverage you’ll get to restore and repair your home.

In this blog post, we will help you understand how home insurance claims work. You will also learn about the factors considered in house insurance claims and the steps to file these claims when you are dealing with certain damage to your home.

Home Insurance Claim: What are the Factors Considered in it?

Considering filing a household insurance claim? Well, here are some factors to consider while doing so:

• Water Damage:

In case of basement flooding and burst pipes, where there is no danger to your family, move as many items as possible out of the path of water. Shut off the main water supply to your residence.

Contact a plumber as quickly as possible in case of an emergency. Or else, you should contact your insurer to see if they have a service provider of their choice to stop further leakage at your home.

You also need to keep the items that may have potentially caused the damage as evidence. This will help you present your claim in a more convincing manner, improving your chances for a successful and justified settlement.

• Theft:

In case there’s a theft in your home, you need to contact the police and file an FIR. Your insurance company won’t process a claim until you file a police report. Secondly, you should do what you can to secure your residential area once it is safe to do so, i.e., changing locks, repairing damage, etc.

While filing the insurance claim, you need to have your police complaint with you. This will further help as convincing evidence for the insurance company, thus letting you have a suitable settlement amount.

• Fire and Smoke Damage:

In case there’s a fire that breaks out in your home or a smoke due to the former, you need to mitigate the damage whenever possible. However, avoid putting yourself at risk, as it can potentially be life-threatening. Contact the fire department as soon as possible to contain the damage.

• Flooding and Earthquakes:

Many insurance companies don’t cover flooding or earthquakes unless this coverage has been added to your policy. You need to review your insurance policy thoroughly before making a claim to see whether or not floods or earthquakes have been added to the coverage.

Get in touch with your insurance adjuster about everything that is happening and whether you should move forward to make a claim.

• Injuries and Liability:

You need to give your contact details to the individual who suffered an injury or whose property was damaged. Then, go ahead to file a police complaint if necessary. Call emergency services if the matter gets worse. And don’t forget to record evidence in the form of pictures or videos.

Liability may apply anytime if the damage has been caused by you, your partner, your dependents, or your property. Insurance companies may even consider you liable for a fire that spreads from your home to your neighbour’s property.

Before making any claim, you need to remember some important things:

1. Always move yourself and your family away from your residence in case there is any danger present there.

2. Do whatever is possible from your side to lower the impact of the damage. You can consider moving your belongings away from the source of damage, calling emergency services, and getting the emergency repairs done as soon as possible.

3. Click as many pictures of the entire area after the damage as possible.

4. Create an inventory of all items and property that were lost, stolen or destroyed.

The Procedure For Filing a House Insurance Claim

Once you have filed a claim, a claims adjuster working for your insurance company will begin to analyze and determine your claim. Similarly, your house insurance claims process can take time, depending on certain factors, including:

• The complexity of your house insurance claim. You need to keep in mind that claims caused by multiple factors may take a prolonged time to process.
  
• The severity of the damage.
  
• Types of documentation available to you for filing the claim. These documents include pictures, a detailed inventory of items damaged and their value and various other documents that can expedite the process further.
  
• The number of other claims processed by your insurance provider during the time when you’re making your claim.

Finalizing the settlement of your house insurance claims can take weeks or even months. However, in best-case scenarios, it may only take a matter of a few days.

Finally, let’s jump into the home insurance claim process, which starts with:

Opening Your Claim:

In case of emergency, once you’ve ensured safety and contacted police, fire, or other emergency departments, you can call the insurance company directly to file a claim within 24 hours or an entire week.

Some insurance companies will help you conveniently file your claim online. However, online filing can typically be slower than getting in touch with the company directly or contacting them via phone.

Make sure you have the required paperwork, pictures, or any other documentation handy while filing a claim via a phone call.

During the phone call, the insurance company or broker will do the following things:

• Take a statement from you about the claim you’re making.
  
• Check your insurance coverage to ensure the eligibility of your claim.
  
• Refer you to a recommended service provider to get the damages repaired.
  
• Tel you the documents you have to share with them.
  
• Describe the documents they may share with you.
  
• Disclose the deductible amount.
  
• Provide you with a claims number to monitor the progress of the claim.

Analyzing the Damage or Determining the Fault:

There are three types of damages that will be analyzed by your insurance agent:

• Building damage
  
• Personal property damage
  
• Liability

You just need to share pictures, invoices, estimates, and other documents related to the liability claim.

Repairs or Settlement Proposal:

In the case of building damage, your insurance company will repair or replace buildings with the help of their recommended service providers. They will pay the bills on your behalf.

For personal damages, the insurer will get in touch with you to propose a settlement for the property that has been damaged or destroyed. Depending on your policy’s terms and conditions, they may offer the amount based on the replacement cost or the actual cash value of the damaged belongings.

For liability, when there is a reasonable case against you, your insurer will try to attempt an out-of-court settlement with the other party. When settled, the insurance company will pay the settlement amount to the other party.

Payment:

Payment can happen in different ways. Your insurance company may pay you directly to cover costs(like in the case of personal property damage), or they may pay service providers you’ve hired to replace or repair your property and belongings.

Both repair and replacement costs can be directly covered, too.

To Summarize

Home insurance claims can be a big headache, especially when you’ve experienced painful damage to your property. However, when you understand the way these insurance claims are processed and all the factors involved, you will be able to file and process the claim smoothly.

Looking for smoother household insurance claims processing? Come to Onyx Adjusting. Our experienced and knowledgeable insurance adjusters will help you understand everything involved in your insurance policy and guide you through smooth and successful claims processing. Contact us now for a favourable and justified settlement!