5 Early Signs of Problems with Your Insurance Claim

Securing an insurance claim to cover disasters is an essential purchase for every homeowner. Disasters in legal terms can be called “fortuitous events” or “Acts of God“. You may be working tirelessly to maintain your home, but in case of unforeseen events, how do you secure your rights as a property owner? Here in Florida, residents suffer on average a whopping $3.44 billion annually in property damage due to natural disasters.

Due to geographical features, Florida is home to the best climate and beaches in the US. However, Florida’s residents also suffer from increased risks to hurricanes, water supply problems, fires, flooding, and molding. As a homeowner, you should not stop at simply purchasing insurance for your home. Unfortunately, the problem with making a claim through your insurance company is that the company will assign you one of their insurance adjusters. As a representative of the insurance company, they will have the company’s best interest in mind. This is where a public adjuster comes into play. A public adjuster will represent you in your claims to ensure you receive fair and just compensation.

Exodus Public Adjusters has handled numerous insurance claims and has helped claimants receive just compensation for their circumstances. How do you know if your claim is being handled properly by the insurance company? Here are the early signs of problems with your insurance claim:

Delay in Responding to Your Insurance Claim

Delay in responding to your call, text message, or email is a big red flag. Terrible cellular network signals and unreceived emails are common excuses. To avoid being barred by time limitations (in legal terms, called “prescription”), insurance companies should respond promptly to your claim. Therefore, time is of the essence when applying for insurance claims. If an insurance company is unresponsive to your needs, they may be trying to prevent your claim from being approved. This is a massive saving for them, but a massive loss for you.

Failure to Conduct A Thorough Insurance Claim Investigation

If the company has your best interest at heart, the adjuster will ensure that all damages are covered in the report. This will ensure that you are properly compensated for the damages incurred. When done correctly, an assessment should take a few days or weeks, depending on the breadth of damages. However, if the adjuster does not give much time and attention to inspecting your home or producing a comprehensive report, know that the company is trying to evade its responsibilities.

Delay in Sending Payment

One of the most common tactics used by companies is to delay payment. If a claim is delayed, your bills will continue to add up, causing unnecessary frustration. Some companies may appear to be interested in your claim’s progress and will continue to exchange calls and messages with you. They will ask about any updates and may even ask about how you are recovering, purporting to be so interested in you. However, you will soon realize that you are just going in circles without any endpoint in mind. Do not let this delaying tactic fool you into believing that you deserve a lower amount than the damages you have incurred.

Use of Alien Language

Some companies purposely use legalese, flowery, over-technical, or vague language to hide the law or the insurance policy’s real meaning. Instead of helping you understand the terms of your policy, companies leave you in the dark with hard-to-understand words clouding the policy’s real intent. Companies intentionally use lengthy overcomplicated language to confuse you. A good insurance company representative will thoroughly explain the coverage and limitations of your insurance. They understand that insurance policies can be hard to read, so they will take the time to answer your questions. However, an insurance company acting in bad faith will avoid answering your questions to try to hide the policy’s defects.

Use of Outdated Laws

Worse than using alien language, an insurance company acting in bad faith will use laws and regulations that are no longer in use or have already been repealed by newer laws. The outdated law used may be more favorable to you, and had you have known otherwise, you would not have bought the policy. This is a deceptive tactic that companies use as a marketing ploy. Since this is illegal as it constitutes false advertising, the company may use good faith as a defense (i.e., accidentally giving you the old brochure or failure to update the company website).

The early signs of problems with your insurance claim may not seem obvious, but the key is to look closely. An insurance company shows bad faith when it delays responding to your calls and messages or sending payment. It also exhibits bad faith when it fails to conduct a thorough investigation or uses alien language and outdated laws in its policies and marketing materials.

Remember that as a customer, you have legal rights. It is best to contact a public adjuster to help you in the negotiation and settlement process. If you undergo damage to your home and file an insurance claim, the last thing you want is to be defrauded by an insurance company. Contact Exodus Public Adjusters to help you get the fair settlement that you deserve.