Protecting Yourself When You Deal With Your Insurance Company
Insurance companies go out of the way to advertise how fast, neighborly,
generous, kind understanding, patient and friendly they are -- especially when
they are trying to sell you one of their policies. It continues to be true for
as long as you make your insurance premium payments on time, without asking for
anything in return. However, policyholders forced to present a large claim
often learn there are limits to insurer congeniality.
Here are some survival tips which you may find useful in dealing with your
insurer about a homeowners, healthcare or commercial insurance policy.
Before You Buy
Always take careful notes when you buy an insurance policy. Write down what you
are told by the insurance agent concerning the coverage you are buying. Save
your notes in a file with your policy. Also save any promotional material you
are given or shown when you buy the policy.
Insist on reading the completed application form yourself instead of allowing
the agent to read it to you. Be certain that your answers are truthful,
thorough and complete. If they're not, it could come back to haunt you. The
insurance company can rescind your policy entirely -- after you make a large
claim -- if it finds some basis for asserting that you misrepresented a
significant fact on the application.
Before you buy the policy, insist on seeing it. Make sure that you really
understand key points -- things like deductibles, exclusions and limitations.
When You Have a Claim
Now is the time to get out all those papers you saved so carefully. Review your
policy and notes before you speak with a company representative. If you aren't
prepared, you might say something that the company could twist into a basis for
denying the claim. That's a possibility because the coverage, exclusion and
limitation provisions contained in all insurance policies areso complex.
But a few legal rules are on your side when it comes to deciphering a policy.
If a dispute over what should be covered goes to court, the coverage provisions
will be construed broadly, while the limitations and exclusions will be
interpreted narrowly. And because the company wrote the policy, any ambiguities
in it will be interpreted in your favor, and against the company. The goal is
to honor your reasonable expectations.
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Exaggerate any aspect of a claim.
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Accept the insurance company's expert's evaluations of your losses without
getting your own expert's estimates. The two can vary widely.
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Submit to an "examination under oath" by the company without first obtaining
legal advice.
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Sign an insurance company release or check unless you are certain that the
amount you are receiving is full and correct.
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Start gathering materials to help you prove your claim. Photograph your loss
and keep records of it. For example, if you are making a damage claim based on
fire and smoke damage to your business or residence, you should photograph the
fire-damaged areas and items before they are discarded.
It's also good to start a log concerning your claim. Write down the date, time
and a summary of every telephone or written communication with company
representatives. Note the name, title and direct telephone number of every
person with whom you have contact. This is important because insurance
companies often switch adjusters on claims, sometimes more than once. You'll
need evidence of what was said or done when, and by whom, throughout the
handling of the claim. Among other things, it can make it more difficult for
the insurer to blame any delay on you.