Insurance Claims: The Inside Scoop

By Elisabeth Axiak

Insurance companies don’t sell policies – they sell peace of mind.

While we hope that you’ll never be in an auto accident or get any damage to your home or business, our main goal as your insurance provider is to be there to help you if it does happen.

This week, the BTS (behind the scenes) of the insurance claims process is being revealed! This way, if anything bad ever happens, you will know exactly what to do, and what steps have to be taken before your claim is settled.

Easy as 1-2-3
There are three main steps in the claims process: cause, coverage, and quantum. In English, this translates to three questions that need to be answered: What happened, does your policy cover it, and how much is the damage worth?

Cause
If you experience a “loss” – which can mean an auto accident, damage to your home or business, etc., you will have to document exactly what happened. The more information you have, the easier it will be to determine coverage and quantify the loss.

Gather the names, addresses, numbers, insurance companies, and policy numbers of everyone involved, and take pictures. Then, call your insurance broker directly for advice. They will fill out a claims form and submit it to us, the insurance provider.

Coverage
That’s where our claims adjusters come in. They look at all the information given to them, and make sure that your insurance policy covers the damage.

There are different policies you can purchase, and these different policies have different conditions and limits (which will help determine the amount of your claim). As well, different policies cover different “perils”. A peril is a specific cause of loss like a fire, windstorm, or flood.

You can always call your broker to make sure you have the appropriate coverage for you. If you’re a Halwell Mutual policyholder, you can always check out our wordings section on our website. Just put in your policy number, and bam! You’ll see all the details of your policy.

Quantum
Quantum is just a fancy word for ‘quantify’. Once our claims adjusters determine that you are in fact covered, they will need to figure out how much the damage is worth in terms of dollars.

We use many different tools and people to do this – our road adjuster may come out to visit you, or we may ask for an estimate and photos from a mechanic shop. The more we know, the easier it is for us to help you. So, adjusters, contractors, mechanics, and/or appraisers could be involved in helping to settle your claim.

Advice
It is up to you who you choose to make repairs to your home or car, but if you’d like, we can always recommend our trusted contractors and repair shops to you.

Check out our infographic below for more information about insurance claims!

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