4 Steps To File The Bulletproof Property Insurance Claim

Navigating a homeowner’s insurance property claim is daunting.

Suddenly, you’re called upon to:

• Become an expert in insurance policy and coverage language
• Diligently and completely document all damages
• Stay on top of communications with contractors, adjusters, and insurance contacts
• Figure out how to keep your financial head above water!

It’s a lot. But fear not!

Insurance companies urge you to call them and “report the claim.” While it’s important to notify the insurance company quickly, take a moment to consider these critical steps.

This comprehensive guide gives you an approach to get your claim prioritized and in a perfect position to get paid faster and completely.

The ClaimSpot Methodology on Property & Homeowner’s Insurance Claims

“Filing a claim” is not a single, standalone measure. It’s a process with many steps, twists, turns, and details.

Unlike car accident, health, or other insurance claim types, the homeowners/property insurance claim has more money at stake and many more stakeholders and steps.

The ClaimSpot “Insurance Claim Methodology” understands this…and from the very start of the claim (i.e., filing) to the very end (i.e., getting paid), this methodology’s guiding principle is to put and keep the insurance company “on the clock.”

This Methodology outlines 3 Activity Categories:

1. Filing: Providing formal notice of the claim and getting your claim number
2. Follow-up: Communication, documentation, and pushing the claim forward.
3. Escalate: Getting the claim paid and protecting your rights along the way.

It’s important to be great at each of these steps. But every journey starts with a first step and that’s the focus area of this article: filing your claim and making it bulletproof.

Step #1: Notify The Insurance Company

A strong claim starts with formal notice—a step often overlooked in the haste to initiate a claim.

Everyone knows they must “notify the insurance company” about a claim. This is written within the insurance policy, and the advice is shelled out everywhere anyone talks about insurance claims. It’s important. It’s required. And a really, really big important part of this step is to secure a claim number.

But no one really goes into detail on how to provide this notice, do they? Is it enough to just call the insurance company? Is it enough to just fill out an online form with your claim information?

Mistakes To Avoid When Notifying Your Insurance Company About A Claim

Policyholders shouldn’t get so nervous about reporting a property loss that they freeze up and delay reporting it…but, policyholders should be careful to get this done well and not make any costly mistakes. Here are some key mistakes to avoid when reporting an insurance claim.

1. Delaying: This was just mentioned but is worth repeating. Once you decide to file an insurance claim, you should get on with it. Most insurance policies require notice of a claim “within a reasonable time period.” Many states also have specific claim filing timelines. You don’t want to provide any reason for the insurance company to assert that you have breached the insurance contract and use that to limit or deny your claim, so give notice promptly!
2. Saying The Wrong Thing: Your insurance policy is a sophisticated contract that provides specific coverages in specific circumstances. You may accidentally hurt your claim if you say something about your loss’s cause, scope, or cost. And worse — since you only know very little at the time of a loss, you may hurt your claim with incorrect information! This means that you shouldn’t speculate about damages you don’t really know about, take responsibility for some damages, or make off-hand disparaging or limiting comments about the state of things prior to the incurred damage. For the most part, therefore, you want to keep your comments about the loss to be very basic and generic, which is basically avoiding the next mistake…
3. Saying Too Much: This is not the time to tell your life story or to go into details about your loss. The insurance company will carefully keep track of everything you say and provide and will use that in arguments about the cause, the scope, and the costs of your loss. It’s too early for you to significantly opine on any of this…so be pithy! Delivery just the facts: (a) The date of loss; (b) Brief description of the damages. That’s basically it.
4. Not Keeping Record Of The Notice: Keep track of how, when, and where you delivered this notice. You may later need to prove exactly when you delivered this notice.

Now you know some of the mistakes you can make. Keep these in mind as you decide on the notice method.

Making Your Claim: Which Method Is Best?

Almost all insurance companies encourage you to file your claim online or by calling them. In fact, insurance companies make it seem like “filing a claim” is so easy that policyholders are led to think too casualty about the action.

There is nothing casual about filing an insurance claim. It should be treated seriously. And there are pros and cons to each notice method, as outlined here:

Consider actually getting help when making the claim.

This helps avoid mistakes, keeps the claim-making process simple and professional, and puts the policyholder in a great position. Here are some examples of folks who could make the claim for a policyholder.

• Insurance Agent: Instead of contacting the insurance company, consider asking the insurance agent to submit the claim.
• Public Adjuster: If a public adjuster is already hired, let the public adjuster submit the claim.
• Attorney: Likewise, if an attorney is already hired, let the attorney submit the claim.
• ClaimSpot: File the claim through a platform like ClaimSpot.

Regardless of how the insurance company is notified, it is the policyholder who must make certain that the notice is actually delivered, and a claim number is acquired.

Choose the method that makes you most comfortable.

We obviously like the ClaimSpot option, but the important thing is that you get the notice done and you get a claim number in hand.

Making Your Claim: What To Say

Remember the above-identifed “mistakes” when considering what to say and not say when giving insurance claim notice.

There’s nothing else the insurance company can or will do at the time of notice except give out a claim number. Therefore, keep it simple. Get the claim number, and conclude. The claim number puts the claim on the map and is the starting point of every claim.

Generally speaking, regardless of how you plan to give notice, be ready to provide essential details, such as:

• Your policy number
• The address of the property damaged
• The date of the incident/loss
• The cause of the loss (be as high-level and general as possible)
• A brief description of the damages (be as high-level and general as possible)

When discussing the scope, cause, and extent of losses, be as high-level and general as possible. Also consider qualifying your notice with a statement like this:

Please be advised that I’m still learning about and investigating this loss, and further, that I may not have the appropriate expertise to determine the cause, scope, and extent of any losses. I am expecting the insurance company to meet its duty to investigate my claim, and all other duties under the insurance policy and applicable state laws.

Example Qualifying Statement to Add To All Claim Reporting

You may also want to consider “getting prepared” to notify the insurance company about the claim. This may sound silly. Nevertheless, it’s the best way to avoid making one of the above-mentioned mistakes and getting through the claim-making process smoothly.

Here’s a Free “Claim Organization Form.” Policyholders and professionals can use this form to pull all the claim information together in one place, which helps someone get ready to notify the insurance company about a loss and avoid mistakes.

Step 2: Confirm Your Notice In Writing Immediately

DO NOT just give notice of the claim, record the claim number, and wait. You want to followup immediately in writing.

Always Follow Up in Writing

Even if you submitted your claim notice in writing (i.e. through email, or an online portal), you still want to submit a formal, written follow-up to the insurance company about the claim. This written follow-up will confirm the claim details and specifically request that the insurance company cooperate with policy and state-mandated duties.

Filing a bulletproof insurance claim is about being proactive, putting the insurance company on the clock, and documenting and re-documenting everything with respect to your insurance claim.

Consider the excellent advice from Haffner Law on this subject: “Once you have contacted the insurance company and reported the claim, send a follow-up letter confirming that you have reported the claim.” This is the same advice reiterated over and over again by advocacy groups like United Policyholders (see: Speak UP: How to communicate with your insurance company).

It’s the best practice to always follow-up any communication with insurance company contacts in writing.

The “Confirmation of Claim Filing” Letter Template

Some communication moments are more important than others…and filing the insurance claim is one of those moments.

Use this Free “Confirmation of Claim Filing” Letter Template to provide written confirmation to the insurance company of your claim notice. This form will create a paper record of your notice, communicate an important qualifying statement, and reiterate the insurance company’s legal obligations when adjusting the claim.

It’s important to send a written follow-up, but remember, it’s just as important to keep detailed records of the notice’s sending and delivery! As such, you want to send it electronically only if you get receipt confirmation, and otherwise, to send it via US Certified Mail or Overnight Delivery.

It’s not enough to just notify the insurance company of your claim.

Policyholders should not just notify the insurance company and then wait! Policyholders should be proactive.

Step 3: Get Early Claim Money In-Hand NOW!

After ensuring the insurance company is notified and you’ve confirmed your notice in writing, the next critical step is tackling the “easy” parts of the claim to start getting money flowing.

Getting payment for the underlying property damage can be hard and will take time — it could involve engineers, estimators, contractors, and others evaluating the scope of damages.

Most policies have a few coverage areas that are easier to get moving, such as the below coverage examples for emergency repairs, additional living expenses, and contents.

As soon as the claim is filed, policyholders should jump on these simpler coverages to get initial funds flowing and improve your claim’s overall odds.

Emergency Repairs & Mitigating Damages

All insurance policies provide coverage to address immediate hazards and prevent further damage to the property. This step is important for the property’s sake and your safety and does double duty for your claim. First, policyholders have the duty to do this work. Second, this will get your claim moving and initial funds flowing to you quickly.

Notably, you want to take immediate actions to mitigate additional damages and perform emergency repairs to the property. This could include boarding up broken windows, placing tarps over a leaking roof, or shutting off utilities to prevent further harm.

This isn’t just a good idea to protect your house and investment from further damage. In most cases, your insurance policy requires you to take reasonable steps to mitigate damages – if you don’t do so, your insurance company can potentially use this to limit certain damages or even deny certain portions of your claim.

Document everything and keep these documents organized. Take photographs and videos of the damage from multiple angles. Make detailed notes of the date, time, and circumstances surrounding the incident. This documentation will serve as vital evidence during the claims process. The better your documentation, the easier the claims process will be.

Almost all insurance policies provide specific coverage for “emergency repairs” like these. Not only are policyholders covered to make these repairs, but there is usually a fast-track payment for these emergency repairs. Contact your insurance company or adjuster specifically about these costs. If you separate these costs and document them well, the insurance company should cut a check to you quickly.

Additional Living Expenses

Does the policy have “Additional Living Expense” (ALE) coverage? Many homeowners and property policies provide this coverage, and it’s an excellent way for policyholders to both blunt some of their financial losses and get insurance companies to crack open their pocket book.

If you have a property damage claim, it’s likely that you have lost use to some or all of the property. ALE coverage will compensate for the value of that loss, which may include expenses incurred by the policyholder to make-up for the loss (i.e. hotel rooms, other housing, additional storage rental, etc.).

Contents Losses

If any “contents” were damaged from the loss, it’s possible to get a quick payout from the insurance company for these contents. Documenting and calculating the contents loss is usually quite easy and fast compared with the more complex property damage estimating. As such, like the above-mentioned coverage categories, policyholders will benefit by jumping on this coverage early and getting the insurance company to issue payments for it.

Why These Coverage Categories Help Make Your Claim BulletProof

Focusing on these coverage areas not only gets money quickly, but it actually helps make the insurance claim more “bulletproof” for the following reasons:

• Payment Comes Fast: You can get these expenses fast-tracked to you even while the rest of the claim is pending. Sustaining property losses is financially stressful. If the property owner is stretched too thin financially, it will be really, really difficult to stand firm on some policy or claim arguments. These payment categories put money in your pocket, and that helps you have the staying power to demand fair treatment on your claim.
• Insurance Company Opens The Pocketbook: Getting the insurance company to open its pocketbook, even for these small amounts, is really, really good. While the insurance company will likely send money with a “reservation of rights” notice, it’s always a good sign to get this tiny acknowledgment of coverage. And now the insurance company knows where to send the check!!
• Money Comes Free & Clear: The other good thing about these payment categories is that they usually come with no strings attached. The mortgage company is probably not named on the check and the money comes straight to the policyholder.
• Good Demonstration To Insurance Company: Finally, tackling these coverage categories early (especially damage mitigation) demonstrates to your insurer that you are committed to minimizing your losses and properly working the claim, all of which helps with claim cooperation. If the policyholder can get some of these simple things processed smoothly before any more detailed disagreements, the relationship is starting off with “yes” and “cooperation,” which will help down the road when more complex matters may arise.

Step 4: Track Deadlines & Start Preparing Claim Documentation

The insurance company must get right to work as soon as they have notice of a loss. And so should the policyholder!

Policyholders and Professionals should stay on top of all deadlines and hold the insurer’s feet on statutory timelines with every step of the claim, and they should be affirmatively papering the claim to require insurance companies to give a “yes” or “no” as often as needed.

Track Deadlines & Put The Insurance Co. On The Clock

Insurance regulations across all states agree on this point, and they require insurance companies to move pretty fast. Policyholders must keep tabs on these helpful laws.

To make sure your insurance claim moves fast, it’s important to understand your states laws and then repeatedly work to “keep the insurer on the clock” and accountable to the timelines.

We’ve published the Insurance Claim Timelines, Laws, and FAQs for all 50-States on the ClaimSpot Resources Page. Here’s a quick survey of key timelines in a few states:

This a limited selection of the laws in place to protect policyholders.

All of these laws require the insurance companies to act within certain reasonable time periods when managing claims.

It’s critical that policyholders hold the insurer’s feet to the fire with these deadlines. Insurance companies are very aware of these statutory deadlines and they have excellent software and training programs to make sure they comply.

To them, however, “complying” means making sure they stay disengaged from the deadline.

In other words, insurance companies will send letters to keep the claim in an ambiguous status.

For example, immediately after receiving a “notice of loss,” the insurance company may send the policyholder a letter stating “we have begun investigating the claim.” They may even assign an adjuster to the claim on paper. They will argue, in other words, that this meets the statutory obligation even if the adjuster takes weeks or months to get to the property, and even if the file sits on the adjusters desk for weeks waiting for an estimate, and more.

This is where policyholders and professionals helping policyholders should shine with followup. Written followup at every step should be designed to apply pressure to adjusters and other insurance contacts, reminding them of the deadlines, and asking for specific actions and information. For example, do you think the investigation is taking too long or not moving? Consider requesting the Claim File to see exactly when and how often the adjuster is working the file. You may have an argument that your claim is not being investigated, and therefore, timelines are being violated.

Prepare & Deliver Claim Documentation To Require Insurer Decisions

Either commensurate with making your claim (if possible) or, more likely, as a fast follow-up, you will want to submit all relevant documentation to support your claim. This can include photographs, videos, repair estimates, receipts, and any other evidence of damages. Here are some tips and key best practices to keep in mind.

1. Perfect Is The Enemy Of Good: Don’t be afraid to deliver documentation in pieces. You don’t need to wait to build a perfect cathedral of documentation. Get things in your insurance company’s hand and keep supplementing.
2. Don’t Inflate Your Losses: Be honest in your communication with the insurance company. You deserve coverage for all that you pay to be covered against, but it is critical that you protect yourself from allegations that you inflated your claim. Not only can this result in delays in payment, or limits or denials of your claim, knowingly inflating the amounts of damage can be a crime.
3. Always Qualify: Always “qualify” when you send materials to the insurance company. Include statements like “I reserve my right to supplement and provide more information about the scope, cause, and cost of losses.”
4. Keep Records Of Your Documentation: Maintain a record of all correspondence with your insurer, including phone calls, emails, and letters. Note the date, time, and content of each interaction, as well as the names of any representatives you speak with. Also maintain a record of all correspondence with contractors, estimators, and other stakeholders who are providing loss information to you.
5. Deliver Documentation With Letters! This one is super important. Don’t just forward an email to the insurance adjuster. Every time you deliver claim documentation is an opportunity to put the insurance company on the clock. Always deliver documentation clarifying what is being delivered…and providing the insurance adjuster explicit notice that you expect the insurance company to process the materials quickly and take an action.

Keep In Mind: Understand Your Policy & Circumstances

Before diving into the intricacies of filing a claim, it’s crucial to understand your insurance policy, including what it covers or doesn’t cover, and what it will provide. Policies can vary significantly depending on your provider, coverage options, and regional factors.

Is Your Loss Covered?

You need to understand what your policy covers, and what it doesn’t. This will help you decide whether to file a claim, but more importantly, it will help you report your claim correctly so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot!

Here’s what you need to consider:

1. Policy Coverage: Standard homeowner’s or property insurance includes coverage for dwelling (and possible additional structures), personal property, liability protection, and additional living expenses (ALE) if your property becomes uninhabitable due to covered damages.
2. Policy Exclusions: Equally important is understanding what your policy doesn’t cover. Common exclusions may include floods, earthquakes, and wear and tear.
3. Deductibles: Know your deductible amount—the amount of the claim you have to pay before insurance kicks in. Deductibles can be fixed amounts or percentages of your coverage. For example, a policy in the Gulf South may have a fixed deductible amount for most losses, but a percentage deductible for damage caused by a “named storm” like a hurricane.  
4. Limits: Be aware of any coverage limits within your policy. This includes limits on certain categories of personal property, as well as overall coverage limits for specific perils.

Is It Big Enough? Should You File The Claim?

So you’ve suffered damage, you understand your policy, and you have made the determination that the damage is covered – should you just jump right in and make a claim?

It’s a best practice to first weigh the pros and cons of making a claim.

Once you inquire about a claim with your insurance company, it’s pretty much as if you have made the claim, so before reaching out to your insurance and proceeding with your homeowner’s claim, it’s essential to weigh the potential consequences carefully.

Making a claim can impact your future premiums, coverage options, and even your eligibility for insurance.

Here’s what to consider:

1. Deductible vs. Claim Amount: Evaluate whether the amount of your property insurance claim exceeds your deductible by a significant margin. If the difference is minimal, it may not be worth filing a property insurance claim, as much of your recovery will be consumed by your deductible so you’ll end up paying out-of-pocket. In this situation if you make the claim, you get very little of the benefits and all of the negative consequences. 
2. Frequency of Claims: Consider your claims history and how filing a new claim may affect your insurance record. Multiple property insurance claims within a short period can signal increased risk to insurers and result in higher premiums or policy non-renewal.
3. Alternative Financing: Explore alternative financing options for repairs, such as personal savings, home equity loans, or disaster assistance programs. While insurance provides valuable protection, it’s not always the most cost-effective solution for minor damages.
   

Conclusion:

Filing a homeowner’s insurance claim can be a complex and intimidating process, but with the right knowledge and preparation, you can navigate it successfully. By understanding your policy, documenting damages, and weighing the consequences carefully, you can make informed decisions that protect your home and financial well-being. Remember, your insurance company is there to make you whole again in times of need, and you pay for your coverage, so if you need it, don’t hesitate to use it.