How to Submit a Personal Property Insurance Claim

No one ever wants disasters to strike, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. Fires, floods, earthquakes, and other disasters can happen at the blink of an eye, and without warning. Luckily you were smart and have insurance to help pay for starting over. So how exactly do you get the insurance company to cover the property that has been lost?

You will most likely be working with two main people, your claims adjuster and a salvage company representative. Many people say that both of these people will screw you over at the drop of a hat, but as long as you watch everything carefully, and read everything you sign carefully, you should be ok.

Your first step in this unfortunately long process is to survey what exactly was damaged during the event. Go literally room by room through your house and make a list of everything that was either destroyed or damaged. This can be hard if you your house and property has been damaged beyond recognition. A good preventative measure is to take a picture while your house is still intact. This way if a disaster were to happen, you can just look at your photos and see exactly what needs replaced. It's also proof to your insurance company of what you owned. Even if you no longer have the receipt for an item you should still claim it. However, don't take this as an opportunity to try to rip off your insurance company. They are smarted than may think they are and will get suspicious if you are claiming a lot of really expensive property for your estimated income. A really smart tip is to get a disaster proof box for all of your important documents including receipts for all your major purchases (such as TVs, Appliances, Bedroom Sets, and Furniture).

Next is the time to tally all of the numbers up. Use exact prices if you have receipts and estimated prices (check online for what your property is selling for) for the rest of your lost or damaged property. Be very diligent and detail oriented. Once again, if the insurance company suspects you are trying to rip them off, your experience will get a lot more difficult. If something is truly a priceless heirloom, or a one of a kind item, be sure to document that in writing along side your tallies. You can even attach a separate sheet of paper listing out the reasons why some items are worth more than they may seem. An adjuster may see $3,000 dollars for a dining room table and start to wonder, but if you explain to them that it's a Chinese antique they will do more research into your item rather than just delete it from your list or re-value it at a lower price.

The next step is almost like a divorce proceedings. You bring to the table what you want, and the insurance adjuster brings to the table what they are willing to pay. They will compromise on some things, but they will also expect you to compromise on some things as well. Pick and choose your battles well or you will leave the table frustrated and probably with less money than if you would have been more flexible with your adjuster.

Your insurance adjuster will then take your final agreement to your insurance company. Once your insurance company accepts it they will send you a final letter with your settlement. It's a rough process, but as long as you are flexible yet firm, you will be rebuilding in no time.