Getting Money’s Worth When Making House Insurance Claims

In the great excitement of owning a house, over enthusiasm can sometimes take over the sanest of individuals when shopping for home insurance. Although the tendency is to pay as little as possible in lieu of mounting costs, investing in a wishy-washy policy may prove to be one’s undoing sometime down the future. To avoid putting sand in one’s rice, it is highly recommended to know one’s policy through and through, in and out. Doubts on how house insurance claims work should be immediately ironed out to avoid shoulder shrugs and rebuffs from insurance agents, best friends turned into sworn enemies.

In the wake of an incident, put a call through to the agent or insurer’s hotline. Immediate notification ensures conformance to the policy’s condition as dilly-dally on one’s part may entail similar response from other parties. If the damage done requires a repair job, it is best to get a few opinions for cost estimation. If the insurer maintains a panel of recognized companies, it may be better to approach them as they are under watchful eyes. Document the damage and loss before anything is touched and moved out of place. A picture truly speaks a thousand words when further clarification is sought. Make a police report if a criminal element is suspected such as home invasion or a drunk driver and his car ending up in one’s living room.

Once damage assessment is carried out, one should be able to conduct temporary repairs if there is a hole in the roof or the living room. Expenses incurred should be kept to a reasonable limit to ensure these additional costs are approved as part of the house insurance claims. It is best to refrain from carrying out any permanent repairs until the insurance adjusters complete their part of the job. Since memory can fail, keep a record or log of all events. Reports, receipts and whatever other pieces of paperwork seemingly trivial are to be carefully stowed away as they may prove their day in court. Ideally, the legal system should not be dragged into the picture as opening up another can of worms is cause for further costs and delay.

Since one cannot tell when and how a disaster can strike, it is best to take one day at a time. If the insurance agent seems to be making scarce after selling a home insurance policy, it may be worthwhile to make a conscious effort to keep in touch.


Chris enjoys sharing articles on topics like house insurance claims and Homeowners insurance in Phoenix.