One of the biggest mistakes that owners of a home insurance policy make is assuming that any damage to their residence is covered. People buy insurance to protect their investment, only to discover a gap in coverage or that a particular instance isn’t covered when they file a claim. Homeowners typically feel that they’ve been dealt a double blow.
Common Reasons for a Denial
Insurances companies have a variety of reasons that they commonly use to deny claims and they use them to their great advantage. The most common reasons are:
- Policy exclusions – these are exceptions that are written into the policy
- Exceeds policy coverage limits – this is used when the dollar amount to repair or replace exceeds the amount of coverage purchased
- Pre-existing damage – it means the company believes the damage already existed and allowed further damage to occur
- Lack of proper documentation or information – means they don’t have enough information to process the claim
- Late payments – insurers use this as a reason to deny coverage
- Lapse in coverage – this is used alone or in combination with late payment statements
- Missed deadline to file – the claim wasn’t filed in a timely manner
- Failure to mitigate further damage – the homeowner didn’t take measures to prevent further damage from occurring
- Lack of proper maintenance and upkeep – the damage was due to the owner’s negligence
These are all items that policy holders need to know before they file a claim. Policy holders that feel their claim has been unfairly denied do have recourse.
Public Adjuster
A public adjuster will work for you, not the insurance company. He or she will examine the policy. If the damage should have been covered, the public adjuster has the authority to act on the client’s behalf to reopen a claim and negotiate a settlement. Public adjusters know and understand how insurance companies operate. They’re effective advocates for home owners.