dirty rotten scoundrels

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Fact - there is absolutely no fun in screaming down the phone at an insurance agent… unfortunately.

Most people will have found this out for themselves if they’ve ever had to make a claim on their home insurance in the past. Contrary to what most homeowners think, you might have the policy in your hand and the terms and conditions in black and white but this doesn’t mean that you’ll automatically be able to successfully claim. In fact, if there is a hole anywhere in your story then the likelihood your claim will be rejected is pretty close to the 100% mark.

Most insurers are rumored to have been con artists in their former lives because they can sniff a weakness in any given claim in two seconds flat and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it! They shouldn’t be allowed to turn your home insurance claim down on a technicality but they can because it isn’t their job to disprove your claim but your job to prove it is worthy of a payout. If your claim is rejected the blame lies firmly with you so the trick is to get it right the first time, and following the 6 secrets of a successful claim below will get you started!

Secret #1 – Check Your Policy

As with all insurances, you probably think you’re covered for something that you’re not. The biggest exclusion that fits in here is accidental damage. 86% of all compare home insurance policies don’t cover accidental damage and 91% of them don’t cover damage by pets. Both of those instances cost insurance companies too much money every year, but you can opt into accidental damage cover if you want.

If you do need to claim on your home insurance then you should always check your policy first to see whether or not your claim is within the bounds of the policy because it will always be turned down if not.

One woman reported that her cat had mistaken the TV in her family room for a toilet and pretty much blew it up. The cat was fine but her brand new $2,975 TV and surround sound system was ruined. She spent the next six months arguing with her insurance company when they turned down her claim and actually consulted a lawyer after threatening legal action. Her lawyer politely pointed out that she could take it to court if she liked but there was really no point because her new policy didn’t cover pet damage. The woman left the office embarrassed, wishing she’d have spent five minutes reading the paperwork.

Instead of feeling like an idiot, read the policy!

Secret #2 – Phone Your Insurer

After checking your policy, phone your insurer. If you talk to someone there then you have a point of reference should your claim be turned down later and the person on the other end of the phone will give you a good idea of whether or not your claim will be paid or rejected.

A man in Michigan phoned his insurer after his home was broken into. He told the insurer that $94,050 worth of his stuff had been stolen, including his $50,300 art collection. He was told that he could claim for all of it because his policy covered up to $100,000 of contents, but when he put in the claim it was rejected. When he asked why he was told that he couldn’t claim for the art because he didn’t have additional valuables cover. He contested the decision and was rejected again until he threatened to take the matter to court. His insurer promptly did an about turn when the man pointed out that the phone call he made was recorded and it would be subpoenaed.

Although this doesn’t happen very often, it is worth bearing in mind!

Secret #3 – Do As You’re Told!

A phrase most often heard from your parents’ lips no doubt but it applies to all insurance claims, including home insurance. If you follow the instructions companies give you for claiming then you can’t go wrong. It’ll make your claim much easier, shorter in terms of the length of time it takes to receive a payout and increases your chances of getting it approved.

The record for the number of times a claim form has had to be sent back to a claimant is 19. The Mississippi man filled in a total of 7 forms before getting it right, despite the fact that his insurance company had written to him with detailed instructions. It took over a year to complete the claim, which was for a grand total of $279 for a damaged front door!

Secret #4 - Be Specific

The more details the better is the golden rule when it comes to a home insurance claim. You have to prove that your claim is valid in order to get a payout. If an insurer doesn’t think that it is for whatever reason then you get zip, so being specific and detailed in your assessment of your claim will shorten the process and get you a much quicker settlement.

There was a spate of robberies in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina a couple of years ago. Two next-door neighbors both had their houses broken into on the same day. They held their home insurance policies with the same company and submitted their claims within 3 days of each other. One provided a detailed analysis of how the burglars got into the house, an inventory of what they took and several pictures to prove that their $124,045 claim was valid. The second’s $92,046 claim statement read, “We arrived home at 4pm and the house had been ransacked,” with no supporting information at all. Guess which one had their claim rejected?

Secret #5 – Be Honest!

The majority of home insurance claims are pretty boring and mundane but a prominent insurer has estimated that around 66% of all claimants exaggerate an element of their claim. This might work for some people but it doesn’t for the vast majority because exaggerating a claim usually results in inconsistencies and unrealistic stories. If a loss adjustor is sent to your home and find out that you have lied, your claim will be turned down whether it was valid or not.

A lady from Surrey in England set her kitchen on fire when fat in a pan got too hot on her oven hob. When she called to report her claim, she claimed that about £5,500 of damage had been done to her kitchen cabinets. By the time it came to filing her claim, her whole kitchen had caught fire when the pan exploded and had been gutted, causing £29,550 of damage. After comparing the two stories, the insurance company sent a loss adjustor out and the woman was awarded absolutely nothing. Her lies had spiralled so out of control that they didn’t believe her in the slightest and were right not to. There were no cabinets above the oven, only a little blackened wallpaper. She apparently admitted that she’d grown tired of her old kitchen and wanted a new one but couldn’t afford it so she thought she’d pull a fast one!