If you are a homeowner who has taken out insurance on your home, you will find that your thoughts often turn to the worst. In the event of a fire or a disaster, you will feel quite fortunate to have the insurance that you have been paying off to step in and set you back on your feet, but you might find that you are a little bit nervous about what you can expect. By now, you have heard plenty of horror stories about some people whose insurance have taken a long time to pay out, but you have also heard about people who have had insurance pay outs in no time at all.
What can you expect and what can you count on?
When you are looking at homeowner’s insurance, you will find that this can depend on many things.
* The first point that you should be aware of is the amount of time that an insurance company has to pay a claim, this is something that is determined by your state insurance laws. With this in mind, make sure that you head to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website and find out what your state mandates and what they need to adhere to. Insurance companies don’t like to give you an exact date as to when your claim will be settled; most likely, you will just get a response saying that it will be as quickly as possible.
* If you are filing a homeowner’s insurance claim, you will find that there are a few things that you can do to speed the process along. When you have been faced with a disaster, make sure that you file your claim as quickly as possible, particularly if there has been some sort of natural disaster in the area. Insurance claims are not a matter of first come, first served, but you will find that getting the process going will have your claim settled faster.
* When you are in the process of making a homeowner’s insurance claim, you will find that you can speed things along by staying in contact with your claims adjuster. Call them regularly and ask for updates. Be polite and make sure that they are on top of things. This lets them know that you are waiting as well and you will find that if you can stay fresh in their memory that you will stay on top of their ‘to-do’ pile as well.
* If necessary, make some noise. You will find that this is definitely an industry where the squeaky wheel gets the grease and you will also realise that if you can’t get good answers out of your adjuster that you should go on to their supervisor. If necessary, you might need to go through the company’s legal department as well.
Take the time to make sure that you know what is going on with your homeowner’s insurance claim. This can make all the difference to how well you and your family will cope when it comes to dealing with disaster and misfortune, so make it a high priority.
