How To File An Insurance Claim: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You

Every year, around one in every twenty homeowners files a  property damage claim. Damages range from fire due to incidents in the kitchen to roofs dealing with hurricane damage and issues from cast iron pipe leaks in older homes. Home damage is a normal part of owning a home and so is filing a claim with your insurance company.

However, most people don’t know where to start when filing a claim with their insurance company and that’s where Bulldog Adjusters comes in!

Let’s talk about the ins and outs of filing an insurance claim for property damage and how having a public adjuster on your side can save you time and help you get the largest possible settlement on your claim.

First, here are the steps of filing a claim;

1. First, locate the phone number of your insurance company’s claim’s department. This can be found on the declarations page of your policy. Most states actually require this, but if yours doesn’t… there’s always the internet!
2. Next, you need to explain the cause of loss. Your policy only covers damage caused by a covered cause of loss. One example is in the case of water damage where just telling your insurer that water is covering your floor from a leak isn’t enough. You have to also locate the actual source of the leak. Anything else may receive a denial outright.
3. Then, you’ll need to determine the date of when the loss occurred. Here’s where taking photo or video documentation comes in handy. Having the date is necessary because it shows whether or not your loss happened under your current policy year or the previous one. (And if you’ve switched insurance policies, you’d need to file the claim with your previous company.)
4. At this point, your insurance company may ask you what you’ve done about your cause of loss. This becomes about your obligations under the insurance policy and can cost you your claim. If you had a leaking pipe, did you turn off your water? Did you call a plumber?
5. You’ll need to provide evidence of the problem and that it was fixed or managed in some way. This means receipts from a plumber or other contractors, and/or the thing that was damaged (the broken pipe that was replaced).
6. Then, you’ll meet with an insurance adjuster – who may be assigned to you but ultimately works for the insurance company – for an inspection.
7. Following this, you’ll submit a list of damaged or destroyed items to your insurance company along with their value.You’ll also want to submit estimates about what has to be repaired.
8. Finally, you have to stay in regular contact with your insurance company as you wait to hear back on the results of your claim.

Here’s how Bulldog Adjusters can help save you time and energy!

When you notice that you have damage – or when you suspect that you have an insurance claim in the making, – give us a call! Our local and experienced adjusters will come out to do a RISK-FREE inspection and policy review so that you’ll know what the best option is for your claim.

First, our adjuster will inspect your home and review your insurance policy. The goal of the initial inspection is to decide what kind of claim you have and how we can help. 

Once our adjuster determines if they can assist on the claim, they’ll then scope the property and provide our claims processing team with photographs and measurements of the damages. Our team will then file the claim on your behalf complete with full details regarding your damages.  

And here’s where Bulldog Adjusters makes it easy for homeowners: our claims processing team will handle the hassle of managing regular contact with the insurance company. One of the biggest benefits that we provide to homeowners is that we can help you recover about 570% more money than you can when you file a claim alone.

Another big benefit of working with Bulldog Adjusters: We can save more than 50 hours on the entire process – starting with the hours we save you by getting estimates from contractors and repairmen.

Imagine trying to call five different companies to get estimates for all of the damage on various parts of your home. If you don’t know exactly what damage you have, you might miss out on a specific type of damage and then, without an estimate, lose out on other areas that may be covered.

Our team will keep you informed, schedule any inspections with the insurance company’s adjuster according to your schedule, and make sure that communication with your insurance company is consistent and ongoing.

Public adjusters make the claim process easy and with Bulldog Adjusters, you’re guaranteed our hard work on getting you the best possible settlement on your home insurance claim. We’ll be with you every step of the way and in the end, you’re backed by the Bulldog Promise: If they don’t pay? You don’t pay!

If you want to learn more about how we can help you with the insurance claims process or about recognizing home damage, request a copy of “The Ins & Outs of Property Insurance” today! It’s a comprehensive guide focused on everything you need to know when dealing with property damage!