Four Common Misconceptions About Property Insurance Claim Companies
De Wikifliping
Nearly all of homeowners and business owners have insurance. And just about every one of them believes they are going to never need to file a claim. Contrary to that thought process, however, people do file claims daily.
Read any newspaper or watch any television news broadcast and you will learn about floods, fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, lightning storms and burglaries which are occurring on any given day.
We have had to file a number of claims and found it to be an incredibly easy process. Many organizations have 24-hour telephone service. Even easier (we prefer talking to our agent so he knows what's happening), we called our agent, he gave us the number to call to get a claim number and in minutes we were talking to our adjuster.
The difficult part comes later, when you are asked to list the items that have been damaged or destroyed. Often people are shocked when they are asked to provide this information, stating that they thought they will get a check within the mail for the total amount of their insurance coverage. This isn't feasible since the coverage company will not know the real value of your loss until you provide the list of items to them. How would they know how much they owed you if you just had several rooms destroyed? Was the room full of electronics and expensive furniture, or was it a dining area with just a table and chairs?
What causes it to be so difficult for you when you being to accomplish the claim form, is trying to remember what you owned. Consider you will need to list each item, room-by-room, or you won't receive the funds to replace them. This is why so often you definitely will hear that after a disaster, someone didn't recover well. If you state that you had 100 CDs, but actually had 200, you just lost around $1200 just because you didn't know what you owned. Take that a step further to how many DVDs, pairs of shoes, items of clothing, etc., that you could underestimate.
Another difficult task is to provide proof of ownership. This is often necessary for high-end electronics, for example. Do you've got a 52" television or a 27"? If it's the 52", you will most likely need to prove it. The same goes for power tools. Were they top of the line, or possibly a generic brand from a discount store? How about a surround system? What sort of appliances did you own? There are several price ranges and also the insurance company will most likely ask for proof if you are claiming the greater expensive brands and models.
Insurance adjusters have the responsibility to pay for what was covered under your policy, helping you get back to the place you were. They should verify there is no fraud involved, and an inventory completed ahead of a disaster is a good tool because of this. The photos provide proof, while the written report gives the details, such as the serial numbers and model numbers so very important to help prove ownership if the police recover your stolen items.
Create your personal property insurance claims inventory for your house and/or business. Then, in the event the time comes that you should file your claim, you will be well prepared and able to provide the proof to make certain a maximized claim.
