Some Tips For Handling Insurance Claims

The Washington Insurance Commissioner’s Office offers these tips for handling insurance claims:

Make any reasonable effort to minimize the damage without endangering yourself.

Document your loss as best you can. Take photographs of the damage. Prepare descriptions of damaged items, including brand names and model numbers.

Don’t try to pass off previous damage as something that just occurred. Adjusters can tell the difference. If you aren’t certain, point it out and make it clear you had not noticed the damage before.

Your homeowner or tenant policy doesn’t cover flood damage, which includes runoff and seepage. But it does cover some other kinds of water damage. Those include rain through a broken window or a hole in the roof caused by a “covered peril,” such as falling trees or limbs.

If your home is not habitable, or if you are forced from your home by immediate threat of damage or by order of civil authorities, homeowners insurance will cover your temporary living expenses.

If your insurance company asks you to pay for additional living expenses with a “site draft,” you should ask for a “guarantee-to-pay letter.”

Direct questions to your insurance agent first. Contact the insurance commissioner’s office if you feel you are being treated unfairly. The number is 1-800-562-6900.