1. Help the injured, call the
fire department or police.
Be sure You, your family, and your guests are all OK. The Homeowners
policy has some medical coverage for your guests. You purchased a
Workers Compensation policy for your trusty guide and daycare
worker. And you have a great family medical plan purchased
separately for you and your family.
2. Preserve your property from
further damage.
Whether you have had a tree fall through your roof, a washing
machine water pipe break, or a furnace soot puff-back, call a
professional disaster cleanup company. They have 24 hour service and
they know what to do. You need a professional and your policy will
pay for it, subject to your deductible. If your home is
uninhabitable because of this loss, rent a local room for the night
and sort things out later. Be sure your home is secured before you
leave.
3. CALL US.
We want to help and get things rolling for you. If it is an
emergency, the insurance companies we represent have emergency 24
hour claims numbers listed below. If you do call the emergency
number, be sure to call us too. Most claims can be handled better by
the staff in our office during regular business hours. We will set
up the claim for you and notify the insurance company. The insurance
company will contact you and explain what you need to do for them.
Depending upon the severity of the loss they will call you or send a
loss adjuster who will contact you or even be there within an hour
or two. Because loss handling is what insurance companies do, there
is a natural flow of action. Albán Insurance Agency will be here to
answer any questions you have.
4.
Do the paperwork.
Make a list of the damaged personal property giving a description,
quantity, value (or the price you paid for it), and date of
acquisition. You will want to collect any invoices or receipts as
further documentation. Hold on to the damaged property until the
company adjuster can see it, or take a photo of it. In the case of
theft, your old family photos or videos may contain a picture of the
item in question. We recommend you video tape your whole house once
a year. Open up all closets, bureau drawers, cabinets, and tape the
contents. Don't forget that stuff under the bed. Put the video tape
in a safe place.
5. If you had a major fire you will
be contacted by public adjusters.
They do not work for insurance companies, just for themselves. We
recommend waiting a week or more before considering their services.
They can slow down the claims process and take 10% of your claims
payout. Your agent or your insurance company will assign adjusters
who will be there as soon as they hear about the loss. They are a
much better interface. The companies we represent pay promptly and
fairly. The company and the agency are there to help you. Once you
sign with a public adjuster the agency cannot even talk with you
about your loss because you now have given your rights to the public
adjuster. We can't solve problems that way. So wait, you can hire
them anytime you want in the claim process.
Call your agent. We are there to help you and guide you. That is
what we do best. |
