Did you know that every policy holder has certain contractual rights and responsibilities after a loss occurs and not fulfilling your obligation as per policy provisions can negatively affect your settlement and even allow the insurance company to deny your claim? That’s right, you can be denied your claim just because you reported the cause of loss incorrectly. If you have water in your basement for example, does that mean it is “flooded”? Not necessarily. The question I always ask is, “where did the water come from”? As a Public Adjuster we perform a thorough inspection and take the time to speak with the client about what happened. Once we get the facts straight we can then determine the proper cause of loss, thus avoiding an error in reporting the claim to your insurance company.
Do you know what your obligations are when a loss occurs? Do you know all the contractual rights and responsibilities of your insurance policy? It is the homeowner’s responsibility to “mitigate” the loss. This means to stop the damage from happening further. If you have a burst pipe and water is flooding your kitchen, for example, you need to call a plumber to find the leak and make the repair. It is also important to separate wet items from other items so that other furniture, clothing, carpet, etc do not also become wet. Sometimes it is necessary to bring in a remediation company. You are also responsible to report the loss in a “timely manner”. I’ve come across homeowners who did not know they had a covered claim and so they attempted to handle the damage themselves. The lag time between the date of loss and when it is reported can cost you money! A Public Adjuster can help you determine whether damage is covered and can report it in a timely manner if it is covered.
If this all has you scratching your head, you are not alone! I can help you by answering any questions you may have concerning a property loss claim you may have in process or one that has even been denied. Feel free to contact me at 570-730-8607. From the Poconos to the Slate Belt, I’m here to help you! Feel free to check me out on Facebook as well.
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Quick question…. Does it cost anything to have you come to the house and review damage?
It is absolutely FREE for me to come out and assess the damage to home or business. Just have your policy information ready and any other information such as emergency repair information, photos and of course be prepared to tell me what happened. Sometimes writing down a timeline is helpful to remember facts.
Should the property owner provide that timeline to their insurance company?
I would recommend that they do not submit a timeline to the carrier, instead they should use it to keep track of who they called and when and to keep notes on facts and circumstances surrounding the claim. This is very helpful to a professional like me who will need to know this information so that when we are hired, then we can go to the carrier with confidence that we have all the facts surrounding the claim, and eliminates the surprises. Nothing is worse than when we get a phone call from an insurer with information that we didn’t have that is very damning to our case.
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