« Return to Learn

How to File a California Home Insurance Claim

There may come a time when you have to file a claim with your California Home insurance company and so it is good to know how to protect yourself. Whether the claim involves only property or if there were other people involved certain information is essential. There is always the question of liability and so to go the extra mile and get all the necessary information immediately is important. The outcome of your claim and what liability is assigned to you and your carrier can depend on your ability to gather the essential claim information at the time of the accident.

Your California home insurance will cover many events that take place in your home and lead to a loss. The policy will cover theft, injury, damage and destruction. The policy will not only cover those that live in your home but those that are visiting also. It is important to know what is covered by your policy as what is not covered. For instance you policy may not cover damage due to flooding and so a supplemental policy will be necessary to protect your property against flood damage. If you live in a flood zone this could be very important coverage to have in place.

How much is Typical

This is an area where many homeowners fail to protect themselves adequately. The area is in the liability coverage they carry on their property. In an attempt to save money a lot of homeowners carry the minimum California home insurance liability coverage. Unfortunately this can turn out to be disastrous if an event should occur and a suit is filed against them and their insurer. The typical amount of liability insurance should be over 500,000 but the ideal amount should be around a million. This is the better safe they sorry category of insurance coverage.

All of us have heard about those outrageous California home insurance claims where an injured party is suing a homeowner for a huge amount of money. In this case it would be better for the injured party to fight the insurance company because you limits are adequate rather then having them tie up your assets because your coverage is sub-standard. This could make life very difficult while a case is being settled and the lawyer’s fees are sometimes enough to break anyone’s bank. Having more then ample liability coverage is better then not having enough.

Preparing a Claim

The information you gather at the time of event that may lead to a claim being filing against your property can help your California home insurance company build a better case and reduce the amount of the unwarranted claim. Remember when your insurance company has to pay out a giant sum of money for a claim your name is going to be attached to that claim. Helping out your insurance company is also helping yourself to minimize future rate increases as a result. There are a number of steps you can take to help the process and limit the amount of personal liability that may be apportioned to you.

Immediately following an event use a notepad and write down your recollection of the incident to the best of your knowledge. This means making note of the sequence of events and anything unusual that may have occurred or contributed to the incident. If you believe someone did something that encouraged the incident to occur write it down in your notes and state your reasons why you came to this conclusion. Notate any unusual weather, events or activities that were present at the time of the incident. The notes that you make immediately following an incident will become important during any lawsuit that may follow. They will probably be entered as evidence in the case by your lawyer or lawyers for California home insurance company. Have any other witnesses make notations and initial the notes. Record their personal information such as name, address phone, etc. as well.

Assessing Personal Risk

There are certainly many steps you can take to save money on your California home insurance policy cost that are safe and reasonable. Taking a higher deduction is one of the safe ways. The deduction is the amount of money you are willing to pay before a claim against your policy would be instigated. Perhaps you are willing to assume $500, $1000 or $10,000 worth of risk before having your insurance company assume the remainder of the risk. This is a good and predictable way of knowing what your risk will be in association with your policy.

One of the areas to stay away from when it comes to saving money on your California home insurance is coverage amounts. Your home is not something to gamble with and you cannot control all the circumstances in your home 24/7. There is no way to predict if a tree limb is going to fall into your neighbors yard and but a big hole in the roof. Having adequate levels of coverage in place will reduce you personal risk and allow you to live with a stable peace of mind that you are covered.

Online California Home Insurance Quotes

Today a lot of companies have opted to do business on line and this includes California home insurance companies. This is good news for the consumer looking to get a great deal on their next homeowner’s policy. Insurance companies know if they don’t structure their coverage options and costs to be competitive they will not get your business. The days of the past where only a few large companies dominated the market have ended and consumers have access to many more competitive policies.

The internet has given access at the speed of light to consumers and they are using this option to save money. With the number of California home insurance companies doing business on the internet, comparing prices has never been easier. Companies are competitive and shopping around for price quotes can save a lot of money on your next policy. Instead of shopping with only one company at a time consider using a referral website and obtain competitive quotes from numerous companies at the same time. The advantage in using referral sites is you only have to fill out one form in order to get a number of quotes from appropriate insurers.



Do you live in California ?
California Auto Insurance  |   California Car Insurance  |   California Home Insurance  |   California Business Insurance