Handy tips for filing a homeowners insurance claim successfully.
Most homeowners purchase a home insurance policy and hope they never have to use it. After all, they don’t want to fall victim to a disaster such as theft, fire, explosions, storms, vandalism, and more. Unfortunately, accidents can happen. Eventually, you may need to cash in on your policy to help cover costs related to the disaster. For help in filing a successful home insurance claim, read on.
Know what your policy covers
Ideally, before a disaster happens, you will know what your policy does and does not cover. This can save you time when an incident does occur. The more you know before filing a claim, the better. When you read your policy through, you may find that you are missing certain protection or lack enough coverage to protect your valuables. This is important to do before the worst happens.
Call the authorities
In most disasters, you will need to call the authorities. In the event of a fire, you’ve probably called the fire department by now. For robberies, a police report must be created. Even for an accident in which there are no injuries, it’s a good idea to have a police report on hand to give to your insurer.
Take pictures
When it comes to insurance, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Hopefully you have a home inventory on hand (if not, create one now!) so that you can understand what valuable belongings have been lost due to the peril. Your home inventory can be a document or a video of all of your possessions. Be sure to take pictures of the damage before you start cleaning up or making repairs, too. This will help to show the insurer the extent of damage.
Don’t hesitate
When an accident happens and you know you want to file a home insurance claim, it’s important not to wait. Insurance policies usually state a time frame in which you will need to call the insurer, so waiting too long could mean that you don’t receive any help from the policy.
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