Anytime there’s a major disaster and insurance claims become in the news, we always like to put the message out there to consumers about how to get their insurance claims paid. How do you make sure that if you’re filing a claim for damages on your insurance, it goes through and it’s approved because you paid good money for your insurance you paid your policies. You want to get your claim paid. Well, there are a couple of things to keep in mind to make sure your claim doesn’t get rejected or flagged, or somehow denied. 

First thing is to start by reading your policy before you file a claim, take out your policy. Look, it’s not the most exciting reading in the world. It’s very boring boilerplate language but go to the section that has to do with the type of claim you’re filing. If it’s an auto claim if it is a wind storm claim a flood claim. Look, hurricane Ian damaged tens of thousands of homes and tens of thousands of vehicles, and there are going to be all kinds of claims going in. Some of them will get rejected and they’ll get rejected because the insurer did not read their policy and didn’t file the claim the right way. It’s not that they don’t deserve the money, but you have to file the claim properly to get the money that you deserve. 

So first look at how you’re filing the claim. Make sure it matches what’s covered in your policy. Don’t file a claim for something that’s an exclusion if that same thing is covered under a different area of your policy. We’ve seen many insurance claims that are filed improperly and get denied when if they were filed the right way, they would have been approved a hundred percent. Sometimes even there are different deductibles on different types of claims and if you file it under the right category your deductible might be lower. 

Now, make sure that you don’t lie. You’re not changing the facts. You’re just applying them to the right category. You have to file it properly so that it meets the standards of that policy without, of course, lying. You don’t want to do insurance fraud. Not only would your claim get denied but you can get in big trouble for insurance fraud. Make sure you document everything before you file your claim. Document the condition, document the damage take pictures, get estimates, and do everything you can to support the facts that you’re representing. Remember when you file your claim, you’re going to have to sign a document under penalty of perjury. When you call up, you’re going to be recorded. So make sure that you have notes in front of you so you’re reading facts so that you don’t lose track of what the facts are because let’s say you file a claim and somebody says well how many CDs did you have in your collection, I have 200. And then later you file a claim and you put 250, right? It might be an innocent mistake but if you have a difference in reporting facts, they might deny the whole thing because they think you’re lying. 

Make sure you stick to the facts and you stick to the same exact representation make some notes and take your time. Look, if it takes you an extra day to get through to file it because you’re documenting it’s not going to be the end of the world. These claims are going to take a while to get settled anyways, claim adjustment is a long process. Also if you’re filing a homeowner’s claim, be aware that that insurer is going to do a title search on your house. The reason they’re going to perform a title search is to make sure that you’re still the owner of the house. That if you have a mortgage they want to include the mortgage company which is good because you want to have your mortgage paid for. And also to make sure you don’t have any extra liens on the house So get your house in order, so to speak, when you’re filing your claim to make sure that all of the representations are factual. That you know exactly what you’re representing and that it’s consistent from one statement to another. Many times what the SIU department in insurance claims will do is ask you the same questions at a different time or they’ll have you refile a claim later or fill out another document. They want to see if the facts are exactly the same from one to another. With this many claims coming in and with the catastrophic losses for these insurers, they’re going to be looking for exclusions. They’re going to be looking for exemptions. They’re going to be looking to not cover things, not because necessarily they’re trying to rip you off, they’re just trying to make sure they’re not overpaying for claims. 

So document everything, and make sure it’s all there. Whatever opinion you have about insurance companies, forget that for now. You want to make sure that your particular financial situation has the best possible result within the law within the contract descriptions of your policy so that you don’t lose out on money that’s coming to you. And you don’t give the insurance company an out where they can not pay for something that they’re supposed to. Good insurance adjusting for an honorable insurance company is something they like to do. They want to help their policyholders, but they also don’t want to overpay. So document everything, file it the right way, and be consistent, but start by reading your policy so your insurance claim submission matches the terms and conditions of what your policy says.