Property Claims
Starting the Process
Whether you've suffered a loss due to water, wind, fire, or another reason, the claims process will be fairly similar in the beginning. Your insurance policy sets out duties that are required following a loss for which you are making a claim. This includes cooperating with the carrier's investigation, which would consist of permitting inspection(s), providing documentation, making statements, and/or filling out claims forms. The inspection process would also involve taking a look at materials that are torn out, so getting them involved in the process early and before any items are disposed of can be important.
Estimates
As the claims process proceeds, your insurance company will send out an adjuster to investigate the loss, which will likely consist of asking you questions about the loss and damage, taking photographs, and preparing an estimate of what they believe it will take to repair the property. As building costs have increased dramatically recently, it's wise to find a local contractor willing to work with you on the repairs in a relatively quick timeframe, as there is a duty of a property owner to mitigate the damage to avoid further loss. Further, you want to be sure that the actual costs of repair for your geographic area are included in the carrier's estimate, which would take into account any recent increases in supply charges. As work proceeds, additional areas of damage can be found, or it can take additional work to make repairs, at which point supplemental information can be provided to the carrier as part of the claim.
Disputes
If any part of the claims process does not proceed as you expect, or there is a dispute as to whether or how much of a loss is covered, you may wish to seek legal advice. Our firm is ready and available to assist you with your claims process from the beginning.