Making a home insurance claim

First: make it safe, then stop it getting worse

Safety comes before the policy. After that, most policies require you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage — shutting off water, covering an opening, moving undamaged belongings clear.

The cost of those temporary measures is generally reimbursable, so keep the receipts. Failing to take them can affect the claim, because damage that developed after the event and could have been prevented may not be covered.

Do not start permanent repairs. The claim is assessed on what happened, and repairing it first removes the evidence of what happened.

Document before you clear anything

Photograph and film everything, widely and then closely, including things that seem irrelevant. This is the part people regret skipping.

• The overall scene before anything is moved
• Close images of each damaged item and of the damage to the building
• The source, where there is one — the failed hose, the split pipe, the point of entry
• Serial numbers and model plates on anything substantial
• The date, which the photographs generally carry themselves
• Any physical evidence, kept rather than discarded

Reporting it

Report promptly. Policies require timely notice, and long gaps between the event and the report invite questions that are avoidable.

Where theft, vandalism or any criminal act is involved, report it to the police as well. Most policies require it, and the report number is usually among the first things an insurer asks for.

Reporting a loss is not the same as committing to claim on it. If the damage may be near the deductible, it is reasonable to ask how the policy responds before deciding.

The adjuster's visit

An adjuster is establishing two things: what the damage is, and what caused it. The second is what determines coverage, because the policy responds to causes rather than to outcomes.

It is worth being present, walking them through what happened, and pointing out damage that is not obvious. Have your inventory, photographs and any receipts available.

Get your own estimates as well. An independent contractor's written estimate is the most useful thing to have if the scope of the repair turns out to be disputed.

Settlement, and the second payment

On a replacement cost policy the first payment is frequently the depreciated value, with the remainder released once you have replaced the items and shown what they cost.

That is normal rather than a dispute, but it does mean the initial figure is often not the final one, and there is usually a time limit for claiming the balance.

Where a mortgage exists, a large building settlement may be issued jointly with the lender and released in stages as the work progresses.

If it stalls

Claims stall on missing documentation far more often than they are declined on coverage. Before assuming a dispute, establish what is actually outstanding.

Keep a record of the claim itself: who you spoke to, when, what was agreed and what was requested. That log resolves more disagreements than any argument about the wording.

Where the disagreement is genuine, ask for the decision in writing with the policy provision it relies on. That single request clarifies most situations, either by producing a reason you can address or by producing a reconsideration.