What is the process for handling a home owners insurance claim?

Question

We were just notified that one our houses, (we are trying to sell it) has just flooded from frozen pipes. I, fortuntely, have never had to file an insurance claim ever. Do we call ins. first, or do we get estimates caused by the damage or do we just start repairing? What role does the ins company play?

Answer 1

I'll assume that the water has been shut off to the house now (if not run and do it now!). You will really need to speak with your broker/agent as this really depends on the wording of your policy, but I'll try to cover all of the "what ifs". Has the house been vacant (i.e. previous occupant/tenant has moved all stuff out with no intention of returning) for more than 30 days? Your damage will not be covered. Let's say the house does not meet the definition of vacant, but you turned the heating off to save money. Your damage will not be covered (house must be heated during the usual heating season). Let's say the house does not meet the definition of vacant, the heating has stayed on, almost all insurers would require you (or a competent person) to enter the dwelling daily to ensure that heating was being maintained. If this wasn't done, your damage MAY not be covered. You will have to check your policy to confirm the third one. If all of the above has been done, then you are required to take whatever action required to prevent further damage, however you must wait for the adjuster to contact you before you can proceed with repairs. There is nothing stopping you from getting estimates right away, but do not agree to anything until the adjuster contacts you.

Answer 2

A lawyer is the LAST person you should call, when you have a problem with your own insurance. They tend to be the most expensive, least effective solution.. The first step of a large claim like this, is for the insurance company to get the fire marshall's report. They MUST have this, before they can procede. Then, it's about repair estimates. Keep in mind, if the wiring caused the fire, the standard policy does not pay to upgrade wiring - only replace. If your $10K includes better/more/whatever, the difference might not be covered by your insurance. It also doesn't pay for rewiring of UNBURNED wires, just to upgrade the house. You need to put together - and keep a copy for youself - of ALL the damage estimates, AND an inventory list of your stuff that was damaged/destroyed by the fire. Do you have an agent? The FIRST person you should be calling, is the agent that helped you buy that policy. It's your "adjuster" who keeps getting switched around, maybe they're using independent adjusters. Your agent can get the company to use a REPUTABLE local independent adjuster, if that's the case. The next step, would be filing a claim with your state insurance commissioner. At this point, though, I don't think you have anything to claim about . . . maybe when the claim is four months old. If your agent can't get you anywhere within 8 weeks, you should talk to a public adjuster. They'll work for a cut of the claim - usually 10% -but they're an expert in squeezing every last dime out of the insurance company. Most of the time, they can't get enough 'extra' to cover what you pay them, PLUS the damages, however, 10% of the claim is going to be WAY cheaper, most likely, than $250 an hour for an attorney. Most attorneys are going to want a $5,000 deposit to work on a claim like this, and if you don't get one who specializes in insurance (and how can you tell? They'll ALL tell you they can do an insurance claim!) You'll be paying for the time it takes them to learn about how the insurance policy works.

Answer 3

1. Notify the insurance company. I speculate that with the frozen pipe claim you will have quite a bit of damages.
2. Chose a contractor, perhaps your insurance agent or adjuster can give you some ideas.
3. Get a water extraction company out there asap. That will help to avoid mold. I think Service Master is nationwide, but any one will really do.


Once the water extraction is done, the adjuster and/or the contractor or both come up with an agreed scope of repair. You, the homeowner, authorize the repairs, and pay the deductible. The contractor repairs, you sign the check to him, and you are back to where you were before the loss.

Caution, however, if all the damages togehter are affordable to you, you might not want to submit a claim. Your choice, but if you are going to submit a claim to the insurance company, do it now....otherwise you may have problems getting paid for the damages. the insurance company has the right to investigate, and if you don't tell them now, you could prejudice their rights, and if that happens, you may not get paid

Answer 4

First, to do what you need to do to minimize the loss - which at a minimum, is getting out there to shut off the water and try to dry things up a bit. Then, you call your agent and file the claim, THEN you get a plumber out there to try to fix the problem.

Warning, if the house is vacant, AND you didn't have the heat on, there's an automatic exclusion of coverage for burst pipes due to freezing. If you DID have the heat on, you'll have to save whatever parts of the heating system broke down, AND the heat bill, to show there was continuous attempts at heating the place, in order for there to be coverage.

Expect to get a cancellation notice, for vacancy, within the next 30 days, in any case, unless you had this written on a vacant property policy in the first place (in which case, there's no coverage for frozen burst pipes anyway).

Answer 5

Do anything necessary to prevent further damage first of all. Then contact your agent or the insurance company claims number right away. If it is covered you won't need to get any estimates as an adjuster will evaluate the claim & issue you a check for the repair.

The issue of whether this will be covered depends on the type of policy. Is it a homeowners policy, or a standard fire policy?

Do you occupy the home, or do renters?

Answer 6

Be very very careful! Make sure that it is covered under your insurance policy. Once claim is filed, it stays on your "record" and could bump your premium. It does not matter that you get paid for it or not.

If you are covered, you need to get the insurance inolved right away.

Answer 7

I have found the source box to be a good resource for this type of insurance. There are a variety of ways to go about this so I suggest you research some of the companies for their offers.