This all started with a puddle on the floor. My husband and I made a claim with the company that we have a homeowners policy with. We got three letters in the mail from our insurance company. In a previous blog, I went over what one of the letters said. Here is what the second letter was all about.
This blog is a continuation of the steps involved in making a claim to my homeowners insurance company. It all started with a puddle on the floor. Water had somehow seeped in through the wall during a hard rain. My husband called the company we have a homeowners policy with. The insurer arranged to have a repair company come and take a look at the damage. They also sent out a claims investigator, who arrived the same day as the three letters did.
The first letter basically let us know that we did not have to go with the repair company that the insurer selected if we did not want to. It also went over how, exactly, the repairmen would be paid, (if we chose to have them do the repairs).
The second letter, like the first, is a form letter. It seems that in California, the insurance company is required to send policyholders certain kinds of information when they make a claim. I’m not sure if this requirement exists in all states, or which other states will do this.
This letter was in regards to the claim investigator. “One of our field claim representatives will be contacting you to schedule an appointment with you”. We knew this already. When the mail came that held these three letters, it was while the claims investigator was here, doing his job.
The letter went on to say: “Your policy requires the following actions by you after a loss” . Number one was “Protect the property from further damage or loss”. We achieved this one by using a towel to mop up the small puddle, and by keeping an eye on that part of the floor, in case another puddle appeared. None did.
Number two was “Make reasonable and necessary temporary repairs required to protect the property”. In our case, the actions we took for number one match what we needed to do for number two. Number three was “Keep an accurate record of repair expenditures”. This one was easy. Using a towel, that we already owned, to wipe up the puddle on the floor cost exactly $0.00.
The rest of the letter informed us of where the insurance company will be reporting our claim to. They are letting our mortgage company know about it. They also will report our claim to Automated Property Loss Underwriting Service (A-PLUS), and C. L. U. E. Inc. Consumer Center.
Image by Alec Perkins on Flickr