Friday 17 August 2018

How To Determine If It Makes Sense To File A Claim On Your Home Insurance Policy

By Jose Hamilton


Is there anything on the list of homeowners' nightmares worse than being welcomed by the sight of a broken-in house? Or a fraction of tree that somehow forced its way inside thanks to Mother Nature's tantrums? Clearly not. However, it's in such instances that you thank your instincts for showing you the need for home insurance Houston Tx.

Although a home cover is meant to shield you from loss, the reality is that it's not always in your best interest to seek compensation. Why? Because some claims can have a have a negative impact on your insurance status. As such, it's important to learn what factors you need to examine when something goes wrong with or on your property:

Take a Stock of Things: First things first: take a few breaths to calm yourself down, after which you can visually assess the damage. Of course, you'll want to avoid anything that could impede your safety or worsen matters. And if the situation requires to be brought to the attention of the police, be sure to contact them.

Gather Evidence: A few photos documenting the damage will come in handy later on, but there's nothing to keep you from recording videos as well. This is one of those rare moments when your decision to splurge on a high-end smartphone seems justified. If you don't have one, however, just borrow a camera from a friend or neighbor.

Review Your Policy: The guarantees included in your policy are contingent on the relevance of an event to the covered instances. Also crucial is the level of coverage defined within. Added up, these two form the obvious need to read through your insurance contract to see what is and what isn't covered.

Be Mindful of Liability: It's commonplace for cases involving an injured party to mature into expensive lawsuits. As such, it's recommended to file a claim when someone sustains injury on your property. Your insurer will also want to be notified as soon as possible.

Examine Your History: Ever heard of the term 'serial claimant?' This is commonly used to describe individuals who make a habit of filing claims (i. E. Several in a 5-year span). And as you've probably guessed, insurers are not fond of such cases. It's thus important to check your history before proceeding. Otherwise, you could find yourself getting stonewalled when shopping for insurance in years to come.

Do the Math: The rule of thumb with all insurance claims is that the return has to be high enough to justify the cost you'd incur in making one. Based on your appraisal, estimate how much you will need to cover what you've lost. Weighing this cost against your deductible will help you see what your best option is going forward.

Overall, the whole point of taking out coverage is to ensure your interests will be protected in the event of a disaster. It would therefore help to avoid anything that would ruin your credibility in the eyes of your insurer (i. E. Filing a frivolous claim). Otherwise, you could find yourself with no one to turn to after a game-changing event comes along.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment