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The insurance claims process begins with reporting the claim. A claim typically must be reported to your insurance company within 24 hours of the event. When your vehicle is damaged in an automobile accident, you should contact the at-fault driver's insurance company and speak to a first-report representative. The representative will ask some general questions, such as how the accident occurred, whether the police were called to the scene and whether there were any injuries.
When damage to a home or building occurs, the first-report representative also requests some general information regarding how and when the loss occurred, what was damaged and whether there were any injuries. The representative also determines if alternative living arrangements are required.
Once the general claim information is received, an adjuster will be assigned to the claim, and he usually will contact you within 24 hours and provide a claim number. -
The next part of the insurance claims process is the investigation. For a claim regarding a vehicle, an adjuster will contact you to find out how the loss occurred and if there were any witnesses. The other driver's version of the loss is also recorded. The adjuster decides if scene photographs are required and ultimately determines fault for the loss.
For a claim for home or building damage, the adjuster will contact you and verify the loss details and make an inspection of the property. A cause of loss is determined; fire personnel or an investigator may be required to assist the adjuster in determining cause. - In a claim for vehicle damage, an adjuster will usually be dispatched to the location of the vehicle to draft an estimate of repairs. Some insurance carriers accept a repair shop's estimate if the amount of damage is less than $1,000. In a claim for home or building damage, an adjuster drafts an estimate of damages for the structure.
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The insurance claims process ends with settlement. The insurance company will issue a settlement check to you for vehicle damage. If the vehicle is determined to be a total loss, meaning the cost to repair the vehicle to its pre-loss condition would be at or more than the vehicle's actual cash value--you're paid its actual cash value.
Following a homeowner's or building claim, the insurance company issues you a settlement check based upon replacement cost or actual cash value, depending on the insurance coverage you have. Replacement cost is the cost to replace the property with comparable material and quality. Actual cash value is typically the cost to replace property with comparable material and quality, less depreciation.
