Automobile Insurance, Business/commercial Insurance, Homewoners Insurance and Worker's Compensation Insurance

What to Do if You Have a Claim

One of the worst experiences that can happen to someone is to be surprised by a catastrophe. Even if your property is insured, a theft or fire can be a devastating experience. Here are some tips on how to handle different types of claims so you won’t be worrying about the wrong things.

You should always contact your agent or your insurance company, but unless you need assistance in locating someone to make temporary repairs, there is not much the agent or company can do outside of business hours or on weekends. If you have a serious loss to your home or business, or a major liability loss, or any loss involving death or serious injury to someone, then you should attempt to contact the insurance company direct, any time of the day or night. Most insurance companies have toll free “800” numbers to report claims 24 hours a day. For a listing of the numbers of our companies, click here.

Of course different types of claims need to be handled in different ways, so I’ll separate the categories into Property Losses, Liability Losses, Auto Losses and Workers Compensation Losses.

Property Losses
First and foremost, it is a condition of most policies that you are required to protect undamaged property. This would involve actions such as, but not limited to:

• Calling the Fire Department
• Making temporary repairs to prevent further damage
• Moving undamaged property to a safe location

You do not need to get permission from the agency or the company to take these actions. Thefts must be reported to the police.

Once you have spoken to your agent or the company, follow their instructions from that point on. Usually the company will want to send someone out to examine the damage to determine the amount of the loss.

Liability Losses
The main thing to remember when you start to suspect you are getting involved with any type of Liability claim is to not ever admit your liability to the other party. Some policies strictly prohibit this, and even if your policy does not, it is not a good idea to admit you are wrong in these types of situations. The law imposes different duties upon people in different situations, and unless you are a lawyer, you can’t be sure you are liable for the damage that has been caused.

Also, it is important to report to your agent or company any incident that could lead to a claim. Some types of liability policies will not even respond if incidents are not reported when they are found out. Unless the claim has the potential of being severe, there is no need to report it after hours. If it does have that potential, try to notify the company on their 24-hour claims line, and if you cannot find that, call your agent. CLICK HERE for a listing of the companies we represent and their toll free numbers.

Automobile Losses
Unless the damage is minor or happens on private property, you will want to make a police report. Do not admit fault, and don’t discuss the details of the accident with anyone other than a Police Officer. Leave your vehicle in the place the accident occurred and encourage the other party to do the same until the police arrive. The police will not be able to make a report if the vehicles have been moved. While you are waiting for the police to arrive take down a description of the other vehicle, and the license number. Collect your thoughts and make notes describing the way the accident happened, your speed, road conditions, etc. Draw a diagram of the position of the vehicles at the time of the accident. Write down names and phone numbers of any witnesses. Ask the other party for their name, address, phone number and the name of their insurance company, but don’t get upset if they won’t tell you anything. The police report will have most of this information on it. If your vehicle is not operable, you can make arrangements to have your car towed to the place you would like your repairs made.

A good idea, which could save you money in the long run, is to carry a disposable camera in the car with you. If you are involved in an accident, you can take pictures of the scene for proof at a later time if it becomes necessary. Sometimes one picture can be worth a thousand words, or maybe a thousand dollars.

Workers Compensation Losses
The injured employee should first be sent to a physician or to the hospital for medical care. Some Workers Compensation policies have Managed Care provisions, and if so, you should always send the employee to someone on the approved list of providers.

You will always need to complete a First Report of Injury Form and send it to the insurance company within seven days of any work related injury or illness. A copy should be sent to your insurance agency. The company will handle filing the report with the Workers Compensation Board, which they will do electronically.