When you first purchase a house, the insurance coverage you sign up for may seem like a fantastic deal. However, when the time comes, and you ask your home insurance adjuster how much they will cover for property damage, they may provide an unsatisfactory estimate. Don’t feel pressured into accepting an offer you are unhappy with; argue your case if necessary.
Here are some actionable steps you might want to consider:
Review your policy
Before you start lashing out at your adjuster, review your homeowners insurance policy, including the fine print. The fine print may include any damage the policy excludes and certain limitations.
If the damage is covered, you may double-check the policy’s payout limitations and your original claim to see whether the offer is fair.
Contact your insurer
Consider calling your insurance provider and asking them to send back the adjuster. Although insurance companies typically say no, it doesn’t hurt to ask in case your adjuster made a mistake. Alternatively, you may request a new adjuster if your original adjuster has moved on to the next property or refuses to return.
If you can gather any further compelling evidence to help your case, ask your insurer how you can present them. An insurance company unwilling to investigate your claim properly may be violating its agreement with you. You can take your insurer to court for acting in bad faith.
Get a second opinion
You do not have to depend solely on the adjuster assigned by your insurance. You can hire a public insurance adjuster or appraiser. Since they are not affiliated with the insurer, they may provide you with an unbiased second opinion on your claim.
Submitting to the adjuster the findings of a neutral third party, such as an independent contractor experienced with the damaged part of the house, could help your case.
If the new estimate from the public insurance adjuster suggests that the first offer was too low, you may be able to renegotiate terms.
The most crucial steps to renegotiate your claim are gathering documentation and proving that your insurance payment is far below what you should receive. It is possible that your insurer will not yield. After trying everything else with no success, you can file an official complaint with the state or go to court.