Unfortunate and unforeseeable events can happen to any of us. Your dog may bite someone; your washing machine could break down and flood your home; high winds might bring a tree down on your roof – who knows? When the worst happens, you may need to file a homeowners insurance claim to help pay for that sudden loss, damage, or liability to your Nashville property.
What Are The First Steps I Should Take In The Insurance Claim Process?
First things first:
- Before filing the claim, make sure you carefully go over your insurance policy to determine what exclusions, limits, and add-on provisions, such as additional coverage for big-ticket personal items, may be included in your policy.
- Document the damage by video or photo. Have this information on hand:
- Model and serial numbers for electronics and equipment
- Receipts for valuable purchases like furniture and jewelry
- Records and receipts for building upgrades
- Call your insurance broker right away. They will take note of the essential details and direct you to their website or app to fill out forms. An adjuster may pay a visit to your property to interview you and inspect the damage.
- Note whom you talk to by logging the date, time, and details of discussions. You may end up talking to lots of people, so keeping track of whom you’ve spoken to and when you did so will help your file process run much more smoothly.
- For certain types of claims, your home insurance provider may require a police report to be filed. Once this report is filed, provide it to your insurance company to support your claim. Many property insurance policies require a police report if theft or an act of vandalism has occurred, for example.
What Comes Next In My Insurance Claims Process?
Once you have contacted your insurance company, there are some other tasks to be done:
- If your roof is leaking or standing water is an issue, for example, consider temporary repairs if this could remediate further damage.
- Keep all receipts for repairs and give them to your insurance company for reimbursement. You will want to make copies for your business records.
- Once your responsibilities are completed, it’s time to contact a professional repair company like Ascension General Contractors.
Our team at Ascension General Contractors is a full-service repair company, and we specialize in repairs after insurance losses. We ensure that your repair process is streamlined and begins soon after the cleanup to minimize downtime. We are proud to have served our Nashville friends and neighbors for over ten years!