Filing a homeowners insurance claim tips

Approximately 85 percent have home insurance. Of those insured, about 6% of homeowners make insurance claims per year. And more than 98% of those claims involve some form of property damage or theft. When you make a homeowner's claim for negligence, the expectation is that the insurer can have enough to cover the cost of repairs. However, that's not always the case. Often the calculation of the home insurance adjuster is too low.

Home insurance adjusters.

The home insurance adjuster's role is to inspect your property and estimate what the insurance provider wants to pay for. This involves the development of an estimation – a structured description of the damage. Often, you get an outline of what needs to be fixed and what the adjuster thinks each of these repairs would cost.

The adjuster may be the insurer's boss. It is also likely, however, that they are workers of a third party. Not all insurers have adjusters available in all countries. Practically, they contract the job to a specialty company.

Although most homeowners will believe that the budget would accurately represent the cost of maintenance, that is not always the case. Often, the amount specified by the adjuster is well below what the actual cost of the repair will be. This puts homeowners in a rather tricky situation.

If you get an estimate of the home insurance adjuster that's too low, here's what you need to do.

Know what is covered.

Before you contact the insurance provider for the amount you estimate, you need to understand how your homeowner's insurance policy is set up. Your policy will work in one of two ways.

Second, it will protect you from the entire cost of replacement, regardless of whether the affected areas have been aged. This also ensures that the insurance provider can deal with your claim based on the price it takes to do the job, procure the products needed on today's market, and pay any relevant sales tax.

There may be exceptions, though, even though you have this amount of coverage. For example, suppose you had a wooden fence in terrible condition and needed repairs before the incident-related damage occurred. In that case, you might not be qualified for full replacement costs.

Second, the insured could have a depreciation factor, paying just for the damaged goods' value before the incident. For example, if the windows are damaged due to fire heat, the insurance provider would look at the window age and see how much their value has changed since they were first built. If your windows are older, you will earn less money from your claim than it would usually cost to install new windows based on the depreciated value of existing windows.

Knowing how the coverage functions before you estimate the adjuster is smart. That way, you will see whether you are covered for a complete replacement or whether depreciation is a factor. If you are in the latter category, you might be stuck with a lower estimate because that's how your strategy works, but it may still be worth looking for an improvement. However, if you are in the former, the change should undoubtedly be on your to-do list.

Don't make assumptions.

Please keep in mind that you are not a home insurance claims specialist. Don't presume that your insurance protects the damage you suffered or not. Let your experts assess what's covered. Consumers are also wise to let their experts consider this loss' worth.

Speak to the insurance company.

If you feel that the home insurance adjuster's calculation was too low, you need to contact the insurance provider, not the individual adjuster. Have them walk you through the analysis, explaining why the adjuster reported the different costs. Then inquire about the process to change the number.

The aim is to learn about your insurer's procedure, as it may be done slightly differently by each company. However, there are usually similar specifications, as discussed below.

Get estimates.

You would need to show that the home insurance adjuster's calculation was too low in virtually all cases. Often, the best way to do so is to collect quotes from various reputable firms about the work that needs to be done.

Study firms in your area that could handle the type of repairs involved in your lawsuit. Use sites like Yelp, Angie's List, and Home Advisor to read reviews before you hit them. That way, you can make sure that the company will have a reasonable quotation, provide good customer care, and keep former customers satisfied.

After you have identified some appropriate firms, contact at least three of them and ask for a free estimate. You can create a case indicating that the adjuster's calculation was too low by getting several quotations. Besides, you are vigilant in checking your belief that the estimate of the adjuster was, in effect, inappropriate.

Just like your insurance provider can employ a third-party adjuster to assess the injury, so can you. Hiring an independent adjuster will achieve the same aim as collecting quotations from contractors. You won't be able to secure this service for free, though.

Often, an expert would charge between $1200 and $1500 to make an estimate. If the difference between the initial amount and the cost of maintenance is less than what you will have to pay for an independent assessment, this is generally not worth pursuing. But if the difference is significant, it's the direction you would choose to take.

Provide the insurer with the facts.

When you have quotes from vendors and an estimate for an independent adjuster, contact your insurer again. Send the documents to the insurer for analysis and see whether they are going to make a change.

As long as the contractor quotes refer only to unintentional harm, and the firms are trustworthy, there is a fair probability that the insurer will settle your claim for a higher sum. But if they don't, you still have one more course of action.

File your formal complaint.

If you believe your insurer is violating you, you have the option of filing a lawsuit with your state insurance agency. That department will conduct an inquiry and provide you with recommendations on how they think you should proceed.

In some instances, the State Insurance Department can contact the insurer on your behalf if you believe that your concern is justified. When this happens, they strive to persuade the insurance provider to find a reasonable settlement.

Get a lawyer!

Experienced home insurance lawyers only charge money on the claim's challenged portions. That means they won't bill the cash your insurance provider voluntarily pays. Insurance firms are spreading misinformation, creating fear in customers not hiring a lawyer because they're too costly. A home insurance attorney will help you get considerably more. Nearly all figures show insurance providers pay consumers more by recruiting an experienced insurance attorney.

Disputing a home insurance adjuster estimate can be a bit of a cumbersome job, but it is worth making an estimate that is substantially too low to fix the damage. Just make sure you understand your policies and the insurance process before you start. Otherwise, you could spend a tremendous amount of time battling for the amount you might never have got.

Avoid lousy insurance companies.

Consumers are smart to stop purchasing insurance from businesses wasting their premiums on pressuring state officials and slicking tv ads rather than paying legitimate insurance claims. Insurance firms like State Farm have a terrible reputation for tricking consumers. Over the past 12 years, my law firm has found that the only way to keep our clients from being victimized by greedy insurance providers is not to purchase insurance.