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Dealing With Your Insurance Company
You're insured! Great! While most insurance
companies try to offer excellent service and
customer responsiveness in the face of a
disaster, some are better than others. And
remember, no matter what your insurance
company tells you, they are in the business
of making money for their shareholders.
Unfortunately, that usually means settling
your claim for as little as possible.
It's up to you to make sure you get what you
have coming from a policy you have paid for.
Here are some tips to make sure you get what
you're owed:
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Photograph or videotape all damage you
can find, both inside and out. An
inexpensive disposable camera is
perfect for this.
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Make temporary repairs to secure your
property from further damage. Most
insurance policies will not cover
incidental damages if you do not make
temporary repairs to your damaged
property. For example, if there is a
hole in your roof, take a photo of the
roof showing the hole and take a
subsequent photo of the roof showing a
tarp installed over the hole. Place
Visqueen® or equivalent plastic membrane
over broken windows, doors, etc. Clean
up loose debris, tree limbs, broken
glass, or anything else that might
injure you or someone else. Make repairs
as best you can, taking a photos before
and after showing your temporary repair.
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Remove any wet carpeting or furniture.
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Separate damaged items from undamaged
items.
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Keep all receipts for any repairs
you pay for or any materials you
purchase.
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If you home is uninhabitable, keep
accurate records (including receipts)
showing all out of pocket expenses you
incur.
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If possible, file your claim directly
with your insurance company.
Your agent may be well-meaning and
well-organized, but your agent is not
set up to handle a large number of new
claims at one time. Moreover, your agent
may not have the tools necessary (power,
telephone, fax, etc.) to process your
claim quickly. Below are the 21 largest
underwriters of property insurance in
the State of Florida:
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It's almost always a good idea to get an
independent contractor to provide a
detailed repair estimate, even if you
have to pay a few dollars for it.
Remember, your insurance company is in
business to make money and you should
expect them to shave every penny when settling your claim. An
independent repair estimate gives you
ammunition to fight stingy
adjusters.
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Be prepared to deal with several
adjusters. After a big storm, insurance
companies ramp-up by hiring numerous
temporary adjusters. As the load of new
claims is reduced, the insurance company
eliminates it's extra adjusters. That
means you'll probably have to explain
your claim all over again to a second,
third, or even fourth adjuster. Keep
paper copies of the particulars of your
claim (correspondence with your
insurance company, independent
third-party repair estimates, etc.)
ready to fax to your new adjuster. Don't
assume that just because the new
adjuster works for your insurance
company that he or she actually has seen
your file.
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Be persistent. Communicative homeowners
that carefully monitor every step of the
claims process usually get their claims
settled more quickly than those who just
wait for the insurance company to get
back to them. For example, if the
insurance company asks you to fax a
particular receipt or bill, call and
verify that they actually got the fax
after you send it. You'd be surprised at
the number of faxes that don't get
through to your adjuster when the volume
of claims being processed is very high.
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Be prepared to wait. A single large
storm - or several large storms like we
had in 2004 - means that insurance
companies and the contractors that stand
behind them are swamped. That means that
you might not get your damage repaired
for at least six months or maybe even a
year. Be patient and be persistent.
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