Immediately notify the insurance company of the claim. This is usually done by contacting their broker, but in some circumstances, an insurance company is set up to receive claims directly. You are obligated under the terms of your policy to give notice immediately to your insurance company of your claim, in writing.

Your insurance company will appoint an adjuster to handle your claim. The adjuster's role is to explain the claims process to you and to adjust your claim. It is important to keep in mind that the adjuster is hired by the insurance company, and takes instructions from your insurance company.

After a property loss, you must report the damage to your insurance agent or representative to start the claim process. Ask questions such as:

• Does my policy cover the property damage to my home?
  
  
• How long will it take to process my claim?
  
  
• Will I need to obtain estimates for repairs to the structure?
  
  
• What is my deductible? (The deductible is the portion of the loss you pay before your insurance company begins to pay.)

Dealing with Insurance Adjusters

An Insurance Adjuster is a person professionally trained to assess the damage to your property. You may receive a visit from an Insurance Adjuster before you're asked to complete any forms. The more information you have about your damaged home and belongings, the sooner your claim will be settled.

Insurance Adjusters may be working as an agent of your insurance company or they may be Independent Adjusters who are just looking for a business opportunity. If you are approached by a person who claims to be an Insurance Adjuster, first ask whether he or she is acting as an agent of your insurance company. If the adjuster is working for an insurance company that has issued a policy on your home, you can expect that whatever the adjuster does will reflect loyalty to the insurance company rather than to you. Although this does not mean that you will obtain a bad settlement, ascertaining the cost of repairing or replacing burned property is a complex task and it takes knowledge and experience that most people don't have. For that reason, many people retain the services of an Independent Adjuster, who is hired to represent the interests of a homeowner in fixing the amount of the claim. Expect an Independent Adjuster to ask for a fee of 10% of the total amount of the settlement. If you do hire an Independent Adjuster, they should be able to handle virtually all aspects of the claims process - "from A to Z." However, there is always the risk that by hiring a stranger to handle an important matter, you will pay a large fee and obtain a result that is no better,or even worse, than that which you could have obtained on your own. If you are considering hiring an Independent Adjuster, make sure you ask for references - n Independent Adjuster should have a long list of happy customers who you should be able to call for verification that the adjuster does a good job.

Your insurance company may send you a claim form, known as a "proof-of-loss" form, to complete. (Proof-of-Loss is defined as any documentation in the claimant's possession, which provides evidence of the claim and that supports the magnitude or the amount of the claimed loss.) Obviously, the more careful and thorough you are in completing the proof-of-loss form the better you are likely to do on your claim.

The results that you get on your claim will be affected by how well you follow through on the following guidelines:

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