How Insurance Companies Evaluate Claims

We get it. When disaster strikes you want to get back to your normal life as soon as possible. A lot of people don’t understand what goes on behind the scenes when someone has to file a homeowners or auto insurance claim, so we can see how it can all be frustrating. Our goal here is to help you understand the process of what happens after you file your claim on the insurance side so that you can better navigate this process with your insurance provider.

Ok, so let’s look at the first step. You have called your insurance company to file a damage claim. Your case will immediately be assigned an adjuster, which is just a fancy name for the agent on the case. This person will be your main point of contact with the insurance company throughout your process. They are the middle man between you, your insurance provider, and another’s insurance provider if another party is involved in an accident. This could be the case in the event of an auto accident or personal injury on your property at your home.

Next, the adjuster will begin collecting information from you, such as supporting documents, medical records and bills, photos of the damage, and a police report if there is one. Remember that the insurance provider will always try to save money on this, so the more supporting documents, the better for you to get your costs back to repair the damages.

Now, the adjuster will take this information and may contact any other party that was involved along with any witnesses that may have been present. This is the case for auto accidents mostly. They will review all documents provided by you and others. This will then help them determine who is at fault in the case of an auto claim and asses the amount of damages for a homeowner or auto claim.

After this is determined the insurance company will approve the payment amounts. The process can take up to a few weeks or a month but you can begin repairs in the meantime. You do not have to use the insurance compani’s repair services. You can shop around and get your quotes but the insurance provider can disagree about the costs of the repairs and will only write the check for what they believe is the correct amount of repairs. In the case of homeowner’s insurance, you will also need to know what type of policy you have.

You can always disagree with your insurance compani’s decision but be prepared for possible formal litigation. It’s usually best to take what they are willing to give you for the damages to avoid any further emotional and financial turmoil.

We hope this helps you understand how this all works now and will assist you if you have to file a claim in the future. Although, we hope that you don’t have to any time soon!