Blog

Dealing with the aftermath of events like wildfires, house fires, or floods is already overwhelming. When these damages strike, you count on your home insurance company to help repair your home, replace what’s lost, and manage unexpected living costs from having to relocate. Yet, submitting a home insurance claim introduces another layer of complexity. At the heart of this is your dialogue with a home insurance adjuster, the individual tasked with evaluating the damages and deciding the compensation. While many adjusters approach their work with professionalism and fairness, homeowners should stay alert and well-informed to ensure they receive the compensation they deserve.  

Whether this is your first time submitting a claim or you’ve navigated this path before, our 7 tips aim to ensure your interactions with adjusters lead to a fair and appropriate settlement.

1. Start the Process Right Away: Once you’re certain your family is safe, it’s important to alert your insurance company about the damage without delay. Whether the damage results from a fire, wildfire, flood, or a mass evacuation directive, your insurer needs to be informed. Not communicating promptly could impact your claim.   
2. Review Your Policy: Familiarize yourself with your home insurance policy before meeting with the adjuster. Understanding your coverage, deductibles, and limits will help you advocate for fair compensation based on the terms of your policy.  
3. Keep Records of Communication: Keep a log of every discussion and written communication with the adjuster. Document the dates, times, subjects addressed, and the name of the adjuster. This practice can help avoid confusion and offers a detailed history of your exchanges.  
4. Avoid Suggesting You’re to Blame: When talking about the damage with your insurance company, refrain from implying that the fault might be yours. Stick to the actual events and allow the adjuster to evaluate the situation neutrally. Making assumptions about responsibility can muddle the claims process.  
5. Draft a Provisional Schedule of Loss: Homeowners are responsible with creating the “Schedule of Loss.” This schedule is a comprehensive list detailing personal items damaged or lost due to events like fires or floods. This list can encompass a range of items such as clothes, furniture, gadgets, media, artwork, kitchenware, appliances, and special belongings. Compiling a thorough list can pose challenges, but there are strategies to jog your memory about the items you owned before the incident. Consider consulting friends and family, revisiting old photographs to identify items, or reviewing past credit card and Interac records to recall and determine the value of lost possessions. To streamline the process, consider giving the insurance adjuster a preliminary Schedule of Loss with the items you’ve noted so far. This preliminary list, which can be updated as you recall more items, should be clearly marked as provisional. Ensure you communicate that you plan to make updates and adjustments to it before agreeing to any final compensation terms.  
6. Ask for a Cash Advance: “Additional Living Expenses” play a significant role in insurance policies that cater to mass evacuations, fires, and floods. This portion of your policy addresses the unexpected living expenses you encounter due to being displaced from your home. These expenses can accumulate rapidly, especially as you wait for your insurance claim to be resolved or for reimbursements. If these immediate costs are burdensome, consider requesting a cash advance from your insurance provider. While this advance will be subtracted from your final compensation, it can provide immediate financial relief. Having this advance in hand can also afford you the time to negotiate a more precise and equitable settlement for the remainder of your Additional Living Expenses claim.  
7. Consider Professional Help: If you encounter difficulties or disputes during the claims process, don’t hesitate to seek assistance from a lawyer who specializes in home insurance claims. They can help you navigate complex situations and negotiate for fair compensation on your behalf.  

Navigating the aftermath of events such as wildfires, floods, or house fires is undeniably challenging. The process involves not only healing and recovery but also intricate interactions with insurance adjusters and the accompanying paperwork. The path to a just settlement can be intricate, but by being proactive, informed, and strategic, homeowners can significantly improve their chances of a favorable outcome. Remember to act promptly, stay organized, be clear in communications, and never hesitate to seek professional guidance when in doubt. Ultimately, it’s about securing the rightful compensation you deserve during tough times, ensuring you and your family can rebuild and move forward.