The Damages You May Have to Fight Your Insurance Company to Pay

Your comfortable life can get mighty uncomfortable when your home is damaged by fire, windstorm or some other catastrophe. Restoring your property and replacing your personal belongings can be an exhausting process. You might reasonably believe that your Homeowners insurance company should help you through the struggle; but when your insurance won't pay you what's fair, you might be forced to fight for the money you deserve.

When your home is damaged due to an insured peril, you have several options for handling your claim. Before you attempt to adjust your claim yourself, understand the most common mistakes that might end up costing you more money in the end.

When your home is damaged by an insured peril, you must work through a lineup of complications as you try to get your life back to normal. Those tasks include hiring a contractor, supervising repairs, dealing with the insurance company adjuster and negotiating your claim settlement. It makes sense that you would want to resolve these issues quickly, but rushing to sign on the dotted line could cost you money for a number of reasons.

When you hire a public adjuster you’re bringing in a licensed, trained, educated, and experienced professional to help you contend with your property loss. A qualified public adjuster understands the claims process much more than the average homeowner and can be your best advocate, as his or her only goal is protecting your interests.

Handling your own damage claim can be a challenge and a trying experience. Even if you understand your homeowners policy and you know what’s covered you will likely encounter unfamiliar problems. To handle the challenges presented by your homeowners claim, you will need to develop information and expertise along the way to ensure you recover the full value.

Will fire or smoke damage affect property value? It's a common question many homeowners face following a fire and there are many myths regarding this. Fortunately, the reality is that many of these myths simply aren't true.

When you notify your insurance carrier of a claim for damages, they will often send out a “preferred contractor,” assuring you that using someone from within their network is the fastest way to restore your home to its original state. It’s also an attempt by your insurer to control costs and possibly prevent you from hiring your own contractor. Most insurance companies have some type of agreement in place where preferred contractors work for a reduced rate in return for the volume of work the insurance company sends them.

Actual cash value (ACV) and replacement cost are two terms used in the insurance industry when describing the type of coverage offered for the reimbursement of personal property lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed. The two times these terms will come into play are:

When your home has suffered a catastrophic loss, your first instinct may be to immediately start cleanup and repairs. It’s hard to hold off when faced with a major mess like a fire-gutted kitchen or flooding caused by burst pipes. But resist the urge to clean up damage right away. There are steps you must – and must not - take when you have an insurance claim.

Technology has made cleaning up after a fire a lot simpler than it used to be. However, sometimes cleaning an item isn't the best move. The fire can damage the item so badly that using it again would, at the very least, make it ineffective if not dangerous. Here are five items that should be replaced, with help from your homeowner's insurance, after the items have been damaged by fire.