When Should You Do It and When Should You Not?

It’s important to know when and if you need to file a claim under your home insurance policy. Filing claims can raise your premium, add charges when it comes time for renewal, or, worst-case scenario, and cause the cancellation of your policy.

Keep the Number of Your Home Insurance Claims Low

The main purpose of your homeowner’s policy is to protect you in the event of significant loss. Therefore, filing claims for minor incidents is not in your best interest. Consider the information below when deciding whether or not to file a claim.

• Assess the damage to your home. Weigh the cost of repair against the cost of your deductible. If the amount that it will cost to repair the damage is lower than the cost of your deductible, or even if it is a bit more, you are probably better off paying for the repair yourself. If you file a claim, the cost of the increase in your premium could be higher than the cost of paying for the repair.
• Be cautious about calling your agent if you are deciding whether or not to file a claim. Even if you decide not to file the claim, your agent could file a report with CLUE (The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange). This is a database that is kept by a company called ChoicePoint, which is an insurance service company. If you were to switch to a different insurance carrier, the report that was filed with ChoicePoint will reflect in your Home Insurance Score, and that is something you do not want to happen.
• Your premium will not always be adversely affected if you file a claim on your home insurance. If you do need to file a claim, the first instance will probably not affect the cost of your premium. However, if you file a second claim, particularly if filed within a year of the first, you may face a cost increase. It all depends on how long you have been insured with your carrier combined with the span of time between the claims that you make. Those factors will weigh into your insurance company’s decision to increase your premium or cancel your policy.
• Don’t worry if you need to file a claim because of a force of nature. If a large rainstorm causes a tree to fall on to your property and produces significant damage to your home, you don’t have to be concerned about an increase in your premium. Insurers will not penalize you for claims filed for events that are completely out of your control.
• You need to know the difference between an act of nature and damage that results from events you could have prevented. If that tree that fell through your roof during the rainstorm was not properly maintained by you or your landscapers, your claim could be denied because you were negligent. A similar result could be caused by plumbing that you knew was in need of repair but neglected to get around to it. If there is flooding in your home and it is obvious that fixing the faulty plumbing could have prevented the damage, again, your claim could be denied. Rule of thumb: keep up with the maintenance of your property and you will be less likely to suffer damages that result in the filing of numerous claims.

Claims Can Be Denied By Your Home Insurance Carrier

There are a number of reasons that your home insurance company may deny your claims.

• If you neglect to pay the full amount of your premium, your policy could become inactive.
• If another insurance carrier has agreed to pay for the loss you have claimed.
• If you do not adequately maintain your property. Most policies will not offer coverage for damage from insects or mold.
• If you make a claim for damages that are not covered by your policy. Your insurance company will not cover losses that should have riders or additional coverage, such as damage from hurricanes or earthquakes.

Your home insurance policy is typically quite clear on which losses are covered and which are not. If you file a claim for damages that are not covered, or for loss incurred as a result of your failure to adequately maintain your property, you are likely to face the denial of your claim.

In short, don’t file claims for insignificant damage, refrain from contacting your agent until you have decided to file a claim, don’t file multiple claims within a short span of time, and most importantly, take every precaution to avoid damage to your property so that you won’t have to file a claim in the first place!

You can save on Seattle home insurance by letting SeattleHomeInsuranceQuotes.org provide you with multiple no-cost quotes for your comparison. Don’t wait, do it today.