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It’s a harsh reality that insurance companies treat you well as long as you don’t make a claim.
However, once you find yourself in a position where you need their help, you’ll find them less than accommodating.
This is a deciding moment where you choose to fight back or to let it slide. In the following, we will describe the most common issues with auto and home insurance claims.
Not Filing the Claim
The law solves insurance claims the same way as they solve a crime.
The only difference is, insurance claims don’t make good reality TV. In the case of an auto accident, it may take a while for the other policyholder to call their auto insurance company and get the ball rolling. This will strengthen your position. Decide between making a claim or not.
If you don’t, you will face questions, delays, and other such issues. Focus on building a relationship with your insurance agent because all it takes to get the ball rolling is word of mouth.
Bad Documentation
The insured making the claim should thoroughly know what they report.
If you are filing an auto claim, you must do better than call the company and tell them, “Someone hit me”. You need to collect evidence and take photos along with accumulating every bit of information possible.
Fast track your claim and be able to prove what happened. Have an accident checklist with all the important documents enclosed.
Lack of Knowledge
Knowledge is power!
Information that goes to claim must include items listed on your homeowner policy. Insurers keep these claims in check, and you must declare something present on the database to file a valid claim.
If you fail to declare something in the database, you will lose your claim. Therefore, do your research. Carefully read the terms and conditions before signing the contract.
One major area you definitely can be lacking knowledge is when your home gets damaged and you need to you make a claim on your homeowner’s insurance. It is very hard to estimate how much it will cost to hire someone to fix what broke plus the cost of renting someplace else (in case you have to do that), etc. The ones that help you prepare this information are called public adjusters and an example of a great adjuster I know is MillerPublicAdjusters.com (you can go there to learn more about what public adjusters do as well).
Having A Bad Story
People frequently make false claims.
This is called insurance fraud. Insurance companies are becoming stricter in order to avoid paying these, and you will have to step up your game if you want to prove your claim. Staging theft, fraud, and break-ins are very common. Therefore, if you want to make a claim with your insurance agency, you need a strong story. Besides the evidence, make sure you get your story straight, and that everyone being interviewed has the same version.
The court will let go a few discrepancies, but it won’t tolerate major contradictions. Be sure to speak with your attorney, and let him help prepare your case, which will avoid this issue completely.
Ambiguous Coverage
This is another common issue with insurance claims. People don’t know what is covered within their policy and what’s not.
This is a critical and common error that people make when filing a claim. Once again, you will need to do your research which includes rereading your contract. Make sure to have a copy of the contract and keep it in a safe place. Refer to it from time to time, so you will know what’s covered.
This will keep you from making a fool of yourself by thinking something is covered but when you go to make a claim you find out it isn’t.
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This content is sponsored by Jamshed Chaudhary.
Photo: Getty Images