Questions and Answers To The Home Repair Insurance Claim Process

Let's assume that a homeowner has a roof leak or a toilet leak that has caused the drywall and ceiling damage. We can even add that the leak wasn't even noticed for awhile and now the cabinets in the kitchen have cracked due to water intrusion.

Many homeowners are at a loss when it comes to dealing with the insurance company and insurance claims adjusters are way too busy. Just to give you insight, 30 years ago, insurance claim adjusters would have 30 claims and have plenty of time to review the process. With adjusters handling over 100 claims at a time, it's hard for any insurance claim adjuster to give the correct attention to a homeowner.

Below are questions usually asked by home owners or better termed policy holders. Although I am not an insurance adjuster, my 25 years as a water damage, fire damage and mold remediation contractor will hopefully give you some insight into the process.

Q: What are the chances that the insurance adjuster will deny the claim or try to limit the funds paid to getting my home back together.

A: This question seems to be on everybody's mind. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Your insurance adjuster doesn't get paid a bonus for denying the claim or trying to save the insurance company money by lowering what is offered to fix your home. As a matter of fact they could care less what the check amount is for. The insurance adjuster only cares about two things. Can he prove to his company that what he paid out was fair and be backed up if he/she is questioned. So if the homeowner and policy owner have a piece of carpet, let's say was damaged and the adjuster says the carpet is worth $ 20.00 a yard and you think the carpet is worth $ 30.00, the solution is easy. All you need to do is have a carpet store verify that the value of the carpet sells for $ 30.00 a yard.

The adjuster also has a independent analysis service for carpet proving what the price is. My point here is that as long as something can be proven and opinions aren't used, then the claim process should go very smoothly.

Q: Why is my claim taking so long to get approved. It's drywall and painting and maybe some new cabinets.

A: Again this is a very popular question. So let's take an example and follow the claims process. Again take the roof leak and the fact that the dry wall, ceiling and cabinets were effected. The first step is to have the damage estimated. While this is being scheduled you may want to have a tarp put over the roof to prevent further damage. You will need to call the insurance company and schedule an appointment with an adjuster. The adjuster will either come out himself or send a contractor to look at it. Who ever comes out, digital photo's will need to be taken as well as measurements . You as the policy holder has the right to have who you want to fix the damage. The question will be can your favorite contractor offer a cost to do the work and prove it to be a fair market price. Also can he/she prove that what is needed to fix the problem correct.

Sadly this what makes it difficult in hiring your own contractor. Your contractor and the adjuster will be butting heads. You see the language that is spoken and understood in the insurance world is different than in the home improvement or handyman world. To make it easier and without feeling forced into using the insurance adjusters "buddy" to do the work is to to do two things:

You can also find your own contractor that uses a software called Xacatamate . This software is used by 90 % of all insurance adjusters and contractors. This is language that adjusters use and the pricing has already been determined way before your damage occurred. Your adjuster shouldn't have an issue with this contractor. As you can see not using the right contractor for insurance repair work can actually make the process more difficult and take more time.

The other reason why it takes long to get your claim approved is because the adjuster is busy. You can't get your contractor to "push" your adjuster because not only will the adjuster ignore the contractor, he may even take longer out of spite ( adjusters have feelings too ). The homeowner needs to nicely ask the adjuster what the hold up is, if there is anything you can do to help.

Q: My contractor is asking me for the money for the finished project and I haven't even gotten a check yet. What do I do??

A: Yes there is always the chance that your claim is one of the hundreds of claims that the adjuster has to deal with and yes that's not a good excuse. But it's reality and you may want to explain to your contractor that he/she will get paid, it might just take some time.

The other reason is that your contractor has not given the correct information to the adjuster and the adjuster is waiting for the information. Once again the adjuster is not naturally being mean, it's that he has to follow rules set by upper management. One item that your contractor may have forgotten to send to the adjuster, is a completion of satisfaction form signed by you. It can be a simple paragraph saying that you are satisfied with the repair and admit that everything is finished. It must be signed by you and sent by the contractor.

Another issue is that your contractor still has not agreed to the price that the insurance adjuster has offered. In some cases the adjuster may have made some mistakes ( yes insurance adjusters are human ) , but your contractor has still not used the correct language to prove that the additional costs are valid.

Non insurance repair contractors are surprised that the same adjuster paid 25 % more on the same claim to an insurance repair specialists due to the fact that he used Xacatamate software and proved that the work items were in fact legitimate. I feel bad for home improvement companies and home repair companies when dealing in insurance work. Their is a false sense that insurance work is lucrative. Insurance adjusters are fair if your contractor knows how to work with them and knows the language.

SI Restoration insurance repair estimate services are available in the following Maryland areas  : 

Towson          

Pikesville 

Catonsville 

Bel Air 

Baltimore City 

Baltimore County 

Dundalk 

Essex 

Laurel 

Parkton 

Westminster 

Aberdeen 

Hyattsville 

Burtonsville 

Bowie 

Chevy Chase

Elkton 

Gaithersburg 

Rockville 
Germantown 

Hampstead 

Manchester 

Mount Airy 

Sykesville 

Takoma Park 

Upper Marlboro