I know that filing an insurance claim can be scary and overwhelming, especially if you do not understand the process.
Most homeowners today have homeowner’s insurance. Still, many do not understand how the claims process works. My name is Steven Garrett, the Sales Manager at Roofs Restored, and I want to help educate you in this process.
First step in filing an insurance claim is calling the claim number on your policy.
When the claims department answers the phone, they are going to ask a list of questions from a script. Here is a list of the questions:
- What is your name, address, and policy number?
- (If you do not have your policy number, no need to worry. They will be able to find it with your personal information)
- When did the damage occur?
- (Time and date)
- What kind of damage happened to your property?
- At this point, you need to inform them of any external damages such as:
- Roof
- Gutters
- Siding
- Windows
- Fascia
- Outdoor personal property
- You also need to tell them of any internal damages such as:
- Sheetrock
- Paint
- Floors
- Any internal personal property damage to your TV or couch
- Make sure you inform them of any possible damages caused by the event. They will determine if the event caused it or not.
- At this point, you need to inform them of any external damages such as:
- Have you protected your home against further damage?
- The insurance claim specialist will ask if your property is still susceptible to damage. If so, discuss with your insurance claim specialist if they will cover costs to temporarily fix the issue to mitigate further damages.
- They will usually foot the bill for such temporary repairs so they are not paying more for further damage repair in the future.
- If it's going to cost money to do this, they will ask for a receipt from you to turn in. Just be sure to confirm this with your insurance claims contact.
After you have answered these questions, the claim specialist is going to give you some information.
- Claim #
- (make sure you write this down. it will be needed)
- Phone #
- (to reach the claim team)
- Adjuster name and phone #
- if they have assigned an adjuster (if they have not assigned an adjuster, one will usually call within 48 hours)
- Scheduled Date
- Once the adjuster makes contact with you, they will schedule a date for an adjuster to come out to your property and assess all damages. It may help if you have a knowledgeable, trained contractor on site when the adjuster is assessing the property.
Congratulations, you now know the process of filing an insurance claim! Continue on to the next step, Meet The Adjuster