How To Make an Insurance Claim

Pull out your insurance policy, and contact the insurance company. Notify your insurance agent of the loss; later, if you need help, your agent can quickly respond to your needs.

Review the policy and consider the benefits of seeking advice from a competent insurance loss professional. These reviews will identify steps to preserve and present a claim to your insurer, and guide you on steps to take with uninsured losses (such as tax consequences).

Flood insurance, through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), is typically managed by your insurance company. The NFIP policies are available online.

If you have insurance, and have called your insurer, you will receive a call from an adjuster assigned by the insurance company. This individual may either be a company adjuster, or an independent adjuster hired for that claim. The adjuster will take steps to identify what is covered under the policy, and estimate the loss.

Whether or not your loss is insured, take immediate steps to mitigate damages.

Insurance policies require mitigation, and penalize your claim if you do not.

Prepare to show your adjuster all the details of the loss. Your preparation will go a long way towards assisting your adjuster fully and accurately document the claim to your insurance company. While a professional adjuster may notice more damage than you initially identify, your preparation and documentation remains the most important tool in restoring your business, home or other property to its original condition.

Photographs are one tool that assists in documenting the condition of your property, before and after the loss. Some photo suggestions are available for contents claims, but may be useful for all types of claims.

There are more specific steps you can take to prepare your:

• property claim;
• contents claim; or
• business claim, including business interruption claims.