Who to Call First When Filing Claims? Insurer or Technician?

A broken water heater, a roof that has significant damage, or a window with a shattered pane can all be very important repairs requiring immediate help. Many times, home insurance can cover some of these losses. Though the details are important, you should include your home insurance agent in your decisions before you handle any repair. Here is what you need to know about filing a claim.

What to Do Right Away

After making sure everyone is safe, your first step should always be to call your home insurance company when possible. There are a few situations where you may not want to wait, though. For example, if the home is flooding due to a broken water line, you need immediate help. To get it you might need to call a plumber immediately and should not wait. However, when possible, call your insurance agent. Here’s why.

Your agent can provide fast, accurate support for you. For example, if you call out that emergency technician for a repair before speaking to an agent, he or she may not be able to work with your insurer if you can file a claim. In other cases, the insurer may want to offer a different opinion about the repair work that needs doing. They may elect to replace the entire roof instead of making repairs to it, for example. For this reason, you want to bring them into the decision-making process as soon as possible.

Here Is What You Should Do

When an emergency occurs or there is a significant incident at your home, first, be sure everyone is safe. Secure the space. Then, call your agent.

Over the phone, your agent should be able to answer many of your questions and offer some insight into your options. Because they work with contractors often, they can also provide insight into who to call for help.

When the agent takes control, realize you still have options. What’s important here, though, is that you ensure every expense has documentation and that any costs associated with the incident receive approval from the insurer in advance. Doing this streamlines the process for you. You can still use your preferred technician, in most cases. Yet, processing the claim first may mean you get more coverage for the losses or the help allowable within your policy.