What happens after you file a Homeowner’s Insurance Claim? After you file a homeowner’s insurance claim, the main thing you need to be aware of is communication. That means both written and verbal. After filing an insurance claim you need to be on the lookout for letters, phone calls, voicemails, emails, and text messages from your insurance carrier regarding your claim. The purpose of these communications is twofold. First, the Insurance Carrier is required by law to provide certain communications. Second, the Insurance Carrier has an interest in investigating the claim and thus communication is the key to allowing them to do that. Below I have outlined some of the statutorily required notices as well as what to expect in terms of verbal communication.
As a matter of law, the Insurer has 7 calendar days to acknowledge receipt of the claim. However, the statute recognizes such acknowledgement does not need to be written, thus the insurer may choose to acknowledge the claim via phone call or voicemail. However, most insurance carriers, if not all, will provide with you with written acknowledgement of receipt of the claim.
In addition to acknowledgement of receipt of the claim, the Insurer must also provide you with what is called a Homeowner’s Claim Bill of Rights within 14 days of receipt of the claim. The Homeowner’s Claim Bill of Rights is an advisory document, outlining the legal duties the insurance carrier owes to the insured. Among those duties is the acknowledgement of receipt of the claim mentioned above as well as timelines related to the adjustment of the claim. You can read more on the Homeowner’s Bill of rights here.
The last document that is usually sent to the insured by the Insurance Carrier is what we call Notice of Duties After Loss. While this is not mandated by law, most insurance carriers will send you a letter outlining your duties as the insured after you file a claim of loss. Duties of the Insured after loss include such things as cooperation with the Insurance Carrier during their investigation process, providing statements and examinations under oath, taking reasonable precautionary measures to protect the property from further damage, retaining damaged property, keeping records of repair and mitigation expenses, preparing an inventory of damaged and stolen property, and providing a
duties after loss Statement to the insurance carrier. You can reads more on your duties after loss here.
At the same time you can also expect the adjuster assigned to your case to contact you directly for purposes of scheduling an inspection. This typically will occur simultaneously to the Carrier sending out the written communications described above. The Insurance carrier will typically schedule the inspection via phone, but it is also important to monitor your email and text messages. You can expect verbal communication from the insurance carrier within 48 hours of filing your claim, however, times can vary depending on the carriers workload, the nature of damages, and the extent of damages. Typically, it takes the Insurance carrier 2-4 weeks following a loss to conduct an inspection.
The purpose of the inspection is to give the Insurance Carrier an opportunity to inspect the damage, document the loss, determine whether the claim is a covered claim under your policy, and make a determination as to what they believe the price and scope of damages to be. Following the inspection the Insurance Carrier has 7 days from the date the estimate is generated to provide you a copy of the estimate. It’s important to keep in mind that the statute says that the estimate is to be provided from the date it is generated, not the date of inspection.
Last but not least, most if not all policies give the Insurance Carrier the contractual right to take the sworn statement of the Insured prior to making a coverage determination. This is called an Examination Under Oath. An examination under oath is similar to a deposition, in that they are typically recorded by a court reporter after being duly sworn. If you have received a notice regarding an Examinations Under Oath, I have written more on Examinations Under Oath Here.
Now after all of this, you should receive a coverage determination letter. The coverage determination letter must provide a reasonable explanation in writing as to the basis of any payment, denial, or partial denial of the claim and the basis for such in relation to the policy, facts, and applicable law. All in all, from start to finish the Insurance carrier has 60 days from the date they are noticed of the claim to conduct their investigation and make claims determination, unless failure to do so is caused by factors beyond their control. If you believe you have a Homeowner’s Insurance claim, have already filed a homeowner’s insurance claim, or are going through the claims process, my office offers free consultations to discuss your case, we welcome you to reach out to discuss.
