Public Insurance Adjusters are the only property loss professionals licensed to work on behalf of policyholders. We are your advocates during the entire complicated insurance claims process. We are experts in home and business policy language.
When To File A Claim
Ideally, you want to file a claim as soon as you have experienced or discovered the covered loss. Covered losses are losses arising from a listed peril. A peril is a sudden or accidental event such as a fire, a breakin, a wind- or hailstorm, hurricane, etc. If a peril is listed as an exclusion, it is not a covered loss.
Examples of these include, settling and cracking, earth movement, war, and even mold. (Note* If a roof leaks following a bad storm and causes mold to grow, it is a covered loss because the storm caused the roof to leak first.)
Steps To File A Claim
- Try to mitigate any further damage (ex: have a tarp put on your roof to prevent further leaking into the home)
- Call your agent or insurance company claims department, whether you are at fault or not.
Start taking photos – start with an overview image of the room from the entrance, then go to each corner of the room and take overview photos. Next, zoom in to the damaged areas. You can never take too many photos!
- Follow the directions your insurance company representative gives you to provide all documentation related to the accident and file your claim. You may need a police report in some cases.
- Keep copies of your documentation and bills related to the incident. Write down detailed notes following conversations about the incident. You need to know who you spoke with and what they said, at what date and time, and how to contact the person. There is a notes section in the back of this guide!
- Ask if you qualify to stay in temporary housing. ALE is additional living expenses. This type of coverage typically applies when the house does not have a working kitchen, bathroom, or has become contaminated with some sort of hazardous material.
- If you would rather someone licensed handle your claim for you, CALL US! We can deal with the insurance company for you and ensure you get what you have been paying for all of these years.
Statute of Limitation
Many states set a statute of limitation, meaning they designate a certain period of time that a person can file and negotiate a claim, following the loss. In most states including Indiana that statute of limitation is 2 years. This means that if you were to continue to have issues that stem from the same loss, or if you were unsatisfied with the settlement amount, you have up to two years to continue filing against that claim.
