Understanding the insurance claims payment process
How are you paid? Who gets the check? Do you need to replace items immediately? Learn here.
After a disaster, you want to get back to normal as soon as possible, and your insurance company wants that too! You may get multiple checks from your insurer as you make temporary repairs, permanent repairs and replace damaged belongings. Here’s what you need to know about claims payments.
The initial payment isn’t final
In most instances, an adjuster will inspect the damage to your home and offer you a certain sum of money for repairs, based on the terms and limits of your homeowners policy. The first check you get from your insurance company is often an advance against the total settlement amount, not the final payment.
If you’re offered an on-the-spot settlement, you can accept the check right away. Later, if you find other damage, you can reopen the claim and file for an additional amount. Most policies require claims to be filed within one year from the date of disaster; check with your state insurance department for the laws that apply to your area.
You may receive multiple checks
When both the structure of your home and your personal belongings are damaged, you generally receive two separate checks from your insurance company, one for each category of damage. If your home is uninhabitable, you’ll also receive a check for the additional living expenses (ALE) you incur if you can’t live in your home while it is being repaired. If you have flood insurance and experienced flood damage, that means a separate check as well.
Your lender or management company might have control over your payment
If you have a mortgage on your house, the check for repairs will generally be made out to both you and the mortgage lender. As a condition of granting a mortgage, lenders usually require that they are named in the homeowners policy and that they are a party to any insurance payments related to the structure. Similarly, if you live in a coop or condominium, your management company may have required that the building’s financial entity be named as a co-insured.
This is so the lender (and/or, in the case of a coop or condo, the overall building), who has a financial interest in your property, can ensure that the necessary repairs are made.
When a financial backer is a co-insured, they will have to[…]
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