What To Expect When You File A Claim

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What To Expect When You File A Claim
Most of us only experience one large loss in a
lifetime. When a disaster hits home (literally)
it can be a whirlwind of events which makes it
difficult to navigate the next steps. Below are
a few things to expect once you have thought to
call your insurance company or a public adjuster
to file a claim. Remember you are the captain of
your claim and no restoration contractor,
construction company, or adjuster should pressure
you in to making decisions before you are ready.

1. File a claim The insurance company will
   typically ask questions to verify who you are,
   what your address is, and the type of claim you
   are wanting to file. Most people file a
   homeowners claim for damage caused by fire,
   wind, hail, lightning, tornado, water, or theft.
   (Filing a theft claim also requires a police
   report)
2. Contact from the insurance company You will be
   contacted by the assigned adjuster (from the
   insurance company) who will be handling your
   claim to discuss the claim and to schedule a time
   for him or her to

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• inspect the damages.
• Additional Living Expenses(ALE) Depending on
  the damage to your home and its livability, the
  adjuster will assist in getting a hotel room
  until you are able to move into an extended
  living/rental home. Insurance companies
  typically contract a third party to assist in
  locating a rental home for you and your family.
  However, you can opt to find a rental home on
  your own to not pay fees to the third party
  company. Additionally, you should keep receipts
  for all purchases so that you can be reimbursed
  for them. This does not include gas receipts.
  However, you can be reimbursed for the
  additional mileage you and your family have to
  drive during the time you are out of your home.
• Structure inspection The adjuster will
  primarily handle the structure portion of your
  claim during his/her onsite inspection. He/She
  will take photos of the damages and prepare an
  estimate for the repairs. If you hire a public
  adjuster, we will be present at the inspection
  verifying the adjuster documents the damages
  appropriately.
• Personal property inspection You will be
  primarily responsible for preparing a list of
  your personal belongings that were damaged from
  the loss. If you hire a public adjuster, we will
  perform an onsite inventory and assist in
  documenting the damaged items and preparing the
  list for you.
• Estimate Depending on the insurance company,
  the adjuster, their workload, and the type of
  loss, it could take anywhere from two days to a
  month to receive an estimate from the adjuster.
• Initial payment Once you receive an estimate
  from the insurance company you should also
  receive an actual cash value payment for the
  repairs. Actual cash value (ACV) means the
  replacement cost (RCV) minus depreciation (a
  deduction based on the age of the home/item
  which you may be able to recover later) and the
  deductible (the amount the insurance company
  holds onto until a limit is met within
• your policy). This payment is not a settlement
  for your claim, it is the initial amount that
  the insurance company agrees the damages are
  going to cost.

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• Choosing a contractor It is important to find a
  contractor who you
• trust to do the repairs to your home, dont
  settle for the contractor the insurance company
  recommends. We suggest getting an estimate from
  at least two contractors without providing them
  the insurance estimate so that you can know what
  the actual cost of the repairs will be and to
  make sure you arent being overcharged for the
  job.
• Supplements If your contractors estimate is
  higher and/or includes more work than what the
  insurance company estimated, you can submit your
  contractors estimate as a supplement for the
  insurance company to include with their
  estimate. Not every item will automatically be
  included depending on why it needs to be done as
  part of the work. When the insurance company
  revises their estimate and it increases, there
  will be additional ACV payments issued for the
  revisions.
• Depreciation When the work to your home is
  complete the contractor will provide you with a
  final invoice or a job completion form that you
  will submit to the insurance company to recover
  the depreciation.
• Handling an insurance claim can be stressful and
  arduous. Our goal as a public adjuster is to
  provide a service that allows the client to be
  involved in the claim without having to do the
  tedious and time consuming aspects of the claim.
  A public adjuster can help you with all ten of
  these aspects of the claim. This service not
  only takes the burden off the client but also
  increases recovery because it is done by an
  expert who is trained to handle insurance claims
  every day.