Insurance Claim: How to Do it Right

If your home or personal property was damaged in one of the recent storms, most likely you'll be filing a claim on your home, renters or auto insurance.

For most people, making a claim and getting through the insurance settlement process is something they have never had to deal with. It can be confusing and intimidating.

Before you start a claim and begin the process, it is critical that you know how to go about it. Being well informed and prepared can make the difference between a frustrating and confusing process and a prompt and fair claims settlement.

Read Your Insurance Policy First
The first thing to do is to obtain and read a complete copy of your insurance policy, including all declarations, endorsements and riders. The declarations page will include each category of coverage (such as dwelling, contents, loss of use, etc) and the specific dollar limits for each category. Your policy will also include a description of all risks and losses covered under the policy. The point here is that your insurance company is an expert on your policy; you need to be one as well.

Most people filing insurance claims are not sure of their rights provided to them under their policies. Folks are also concerned about trusting their insurance company because the interests of the insurance company and the insured are not the same. While you and your insurance company both want a quick claims process, the insurance company wants to pay the least amount and you want to collect the largest benefits allowed under the policy.

Document Everything
When you file a claim, the first thing to do is to report the loss to the claims department of your insurance company. They'll create a claim number for your case and assign the case to an adjuster. Make sure to also ask the adjuster for the name and contact information of their supervisor.

From this very first phone call and throughout the entire process, you should document all contact you have with your insurance company and their representatives. Write down the time and date of every call, what was said, by whom and what are the next steps. Your insurance company may want to handle your claim with little or no documentation, but it's best for you to document everything. For this reason, it is a very good idea to request email addresses and to send a summary email message of every phone call with your insurance company back to your adjuster and claim supervisor.

Also document the names, titles, phone numbers and email addresses of all the people involved in the process who are accountable for your claim. This will include, from the bottom up: the adjuster, claims supervisor, unit manager, regional claims manager and home office claims. This will be helpful to know so that in the event that there is a problem and you need to escalate it to a manager, you will know who to contact. Also, it's good to know that claims managers and unit managers would much rather resolve a problem at their level than have to explain to their higher-ups why your complaint had to be escalated for resolution.

Check back in a few days when I'll write about how to use your documentation to challenge the first settlement offer from your insurance company.

Ray Martin

View all articles by Ray Martin on CBS MoneyWatch»
Ray Martin has been a practicing financial advisor since 1986, providing financial guidance and advice to individuals. He has appeared regularly as a contributor on the CBS Early Show, CBS NewsPath, as a columnist on CBS Moneywatch.com and on NBC-TV's morning newscast TODAY. He has also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and is the author of two books.

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