What is an Insurance Claim? Almost everyone understands what insurance is; even your newborn comes to you to explain what insurance is. However, not everybody knows the entire working process of insurance. Many people know what an insurance claim is. If you are among those people that do not know what an insurance claim is, then thank God you are reading the right article.
It is not worth living life without any form of insurance. In fact, in some states like Pennsylvania, you cannot drive your vehicle without any form of insurance. It is very important that you have insurance for yourself and your family. It will make your life easier and save you a lot of money that you would have otherwise spent on unnecessary expenses. That being said, today we are focusing on what is an insurance claim.
What is an Insurance Claim?
This is the amount of money that is paid to you as an insurance holder when you experience a sudden loss of life or an unexpected event that costs you money. This event is called a loss, and after a loss that is covered by your insurance, an insurance claim should be filed. The amount of money will be paid to the individual after the claim is successfully investigated and approved.
So, filing a claim is simply requesting payment for any unforeseen incident that occurred to you and for which you spent money that was covered by your insurance company. When the claim is paid, it will be used to bring the damaged property back to normal. The entire process of filing, receiving acclaim, and bringing yourself back to your previous financial state is called indemnification.
How does an insurance claim work?
Now that we have seen what an insurance claim is, let’s go further and take a look at how the entire process works. For an insurance claim to be paid to you, you need to suffer a loss that is covered by your insurance company. It is the insurance company that is responsible for protecting all the customers that have an insurance policy with them. After filing your claim, the adjuster would be awarded to you.
It is not that after filing your claim your work is done; it is the work of the Adjuster to take up your claim and properly relate it to the company. The adjuster also properly adjusts it to suit the package that the policyholder has. You should also know that they are accepting insurance policies that you might not have put well in your claim, which is the work of the adjuster.
Once the adjuster is done adjusting the claim, it is now paid by the company to the policyholder for all the properties lost that were covered by the policy holder’s insurance. They are also different methods of policy payments, which are determined by the type of insurance policy you go for. Once everything is said and done, you will receive your payment with the necessary payment method.
Types of insurance claims
Just as there are different types of insurance policies that anybody can go for, there are different types of insurance claims. Insurance claims differ from one to another, so depending on the insurance policy that you have, that is the claim you are going to go for. Below I have listed and explained the basic types that are available to all insurance policyholders:
- Car Insurance Claim
- There is a different type that you can file if you are involved in an accident. The basic insurance claim of a car is the one that is paid to somebody that you run over or hit with your car. There is also a collision coverage benefit which is paid to you if you have an accident with your car. Comprehensive coverage protects not only against accidents but also any form of damage that will happen to your car.
- Homeowners Insurance
- This is another of the most common ones that people normally file. It covers the structure of your home, your personal property, and your liability for injuries to visitors to your home. If you included additional living expenses (ALE) coverage, you will be paid back the money you used in renting a hotel or in renting a house when your home is inhabitable as a result of damage.
- Renters Insurance Claims
- Another form of claims that people make. It is responsible for paying you an insurance claim for theft of or damage to your personal property, personal liability for damage or injury, and additional living expenses if you need to relocate temporarily.
- Health insurance claim
- This is one of a kind and it is generally handled by your doctor’s office after visiting the hospital. You may be required to pay a co-pay and then the doctor’s office will file a claim and send it to your insurance.
- Life Insurance Claim
- This life is the most precious thing of all. This is a claim that is paid to your insurance beneficiary when they have provided a certificate of your death. The insurance claim money that is paid to them is completely tax-free.
How to file an insurance claim
Filing this is not an easy thing to do because it involves several steps that need to be taken for your claim to be submitted. Also, because the duration to find a claim in different states varies from state to state, you need to take action immediately. To find your insurance claim, follow the seven steps I have listed below:
- To begin, file a police report if your property has been stolen or lost. If there is damage to your property covered by the insurance documents, Before filing the application, review your insurance coverage to know what is covered and what is not.
- Now contact your insurance company about the claim you want to file. Now prepare for your insurance adjuster to take over. Review the settlement offer made to you. Finally, you will receive your claim payments and then repair your damages.
You can also appeal an offer made to you if you feel that it is not the right amount to be paid to you. After doing that, the company will carry out another investigation, and if you are right, they will pay you the complete amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when you make an insurance claim?
After you have successfully filed and submitted, the next step is that the company will assign you an adjuster. The work of the adjuster is to properly adjust the claim you find to only what is covered by the company so that the claim can be paid to you. It is the work of the adjuster to properly make sure your claim is correct so that you can receive your funds.
What does “making a claim” mean?
Making or filing a claim means you are demanding that your insurance company pay you what is due to an incident that occurred that is covered by your insurance policy. If you do not file a claim, if you have an insurance policy, you will not receive any money.
What does a claim do?
A claim simply allows the insurer that you have endured and incidents which is covered by your insurance policy so that they can pay you the amount of money to rebuild.
What are the types of insurance claims?
There are many, but the most basic of them are health, auto insurance claims and more. As long as there is coverage for a particular thing, you can file a claim when it is damaged.
What are the most common insurance claims?
The most common include burglary and theft; water and frozen pipes; wind and hail; fire etc. These are the most common claims that are often filed by insurance customers.
