Water Damage Claims

Navigating Homeowners Insurance Claims for Water Damage

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What Are My Options After My Home Has Been Affected by Water Damage?

Your first option is to file a claim with your insurance company. After you are safe, be sure to document the damage and contact your insurance company as soon as possible. Once they receive your claim, they will send out an insurance adjuster to look at the damage and come up with an estimate. Ideally, you will get the repairs you need.

It is really important that you thoroughly assess the damage done. Water damage are notorious for causing very widespread damage to property, from what you can obviously see (such as a roof torn off) to what you cannot see (water damage inside the walls). If something does not seem right, be sure to note it. Having before and after pictures really helps with this.

The other crucial thing to keep in mind is that damage can sometimes become obvious later. For this reason, while it is imperative to get the claim submitted as soon as possible, you do not want to rush the process. Have someone who is vetted, hopefully from your community, come and assess the damage. They will know what to look for.

It is possible–as the next section discusses–that your claim can be denied or underpaid. In those instances, you can negotiate with the insurance company and try to get your claim paid out.

If that does not work, it may be time to hire an attorney who is experienced with insurance claim denials or underpayments. They can help you fight to get the maximum settlement for your property damage claim.

What Can I Do If My Water Damage Claim Has Been Denied or Underpaid?

The reason that people buy insurance is so that claims are promptly paid as long as they are covered. Unfortunately, not all insurance companies will honor their contracts. You may encounter an insurance company that either does not pay or underpays your claim following this crisis.

A claim denial means that an insurance company simply refuses to pay out your claim. They will often cite a reason (such as it not being a covered loss or that you did not provide sufficient proof of damage) in support of their denial.

An insurance provider may also underpay your claim. This means that they will offer to pay part of what you are owed but will not give you enough to cover the full extent of the damage caused by the water.

One thing that people often wrongly think is that if their claim is underpaid or denied that they have no options. A crisis–such as a flood ro storm causing water damage and all the stress that accompanies it can cause people to simply give up the hope of getting their money.

Even if the insurance company offers you money, do not feel that you have to take the first offer if it does not fully cover your damage. Sometimes, homeowners feel pressured to take the first offer for fear that they will not get any money if they reject it or because they just need money to move on. You may be able to contest it by providing evidence of the damage and dollar amount. If the insurance company does not offer you anything, and your claim is covered, you can fight this.

Sometimes, claims are denied or underpaid for easily fixable reasons. Here are things to think about:

Did I submit all the necessary documentation?
For instance, did you attach receipts, photos, and estimates? Does the insurance company have a strong sense of the damage that you sustained?
Did I contact the right people?
Sometimes, people get frazzled and fail to alert the correct people of their claims. Make sure that you notify your insurance company as soon as possible and document each interaction. If you do not hear from them, maintain contact to ensure that they received your claim.

Sometimes, claims are denied or underpaid for other legitimate reasons.

The claim was denied under the terms of the policy.
Each policy will have exclusion clauses or things that the policy will not cover.
The homeowner failed to mitigate the damage.
While the damage is not the homeowner’s fault, the homeowner has a responsibility to take measures to prevent further damage from happening.
The claim was not submitted in time.
While the first priority is avoiding danger, claims should be submitted as soon as possible.

Other times, it becomes obvious that the insurance company is acting in bad faith.