POLICY USAGE: A Tips

Collecting Your Claim Money

Insurance is different from any other product you are buying. When you buy a car, for example, you get to drive it home. When you buy a house, you live in it. However, when you buy insurance, you only get a piece of paper that symbolizes a promise that your claim will be paid. But, how can you make sure you get paid? Here are some tips to follow.

1. Make sure you know your claim number. Write it down and have it with you. Remembering to do this will enable the adjuster to handle your claim faster. The faster the adjuster can handle the claim, the easier he or she will be to work with.

2. Do not nickel and dime the adjuster. If their offer is close and reasonable, do not push for that last $5. You will never get it out of them and you can make negotiations harder on other aspects of your claim.

3. Do not tell the adjuster that you are going to hire an attorney. They hear that all day, every day. It doesn’t scare them. In fact, it usually just makes them take a hard line with your claim. Unless you have hired an attorney, don’t say it.

4. Treat the adjuster like a real person. Adjusters are people too. And just think, at least they are not debt collectors! An adjuster who is treated respectfully will treat you the same way. This makes the claim process much easier.

5. Provide reasonable documentation. If you claim you had a $500 car seat in your car, you can expect the adjuster to want to see proof of it. While you may not have the original receipt, you should be able to provide some documentation that the car seat costs what you claim. (And yes, I have seen people claim $500 car seats. I have never seen one that costs that much, but people will make a claim for it.)

6. Do not expect the adjuster to be your friend. The adjuster has a job to do: Pay your claim and move on to the next claim. If they save the insurance company money, from their perspective, that is even better. But do not expect them to give you advice, explain things to you, or offer you what your case is worth!

7. Prepare, prepare, prepare. You are not going to sit down and do your taxes without reviewing documents, understanding the process, and spending time learning how to do it. The same goes for your auto insurance claim. For example, if you car is a total loss, learn how your state determines the value. Is it a fair market value state or is it a Blue Book state? Once you know, figure out what you think your car is worth. If you are trying to settle an injury claim, learn what you can get compensation for. Then, prepare that list and figure out for which items you have a claim.

Insurance is unlike anything else. If you want to get fairly compensated for your claim, you must do your homework. This list is not an exhaustive list of what you need to do. But, this gives you some basic tips on how to make sure you get your claim paid fairly and timely.