A homeowners insurance claim is a process with a paper trail — and the paper trail is the claim. The insurer pays from what you can prove, not from what you remember. Document first, call second, and keep every receipt from the first minute. The claim takes weeks; the documentation takes an hour.
Photograph and video the damage before you move anything, clean anything, or throw anything away. Every angle, every room, every damaged item — and the source of the damage, if you can see it. Emergency mitigation comes first (shut off the water, tarp the roof), but documentation comes before cleanup. What you throw away without a photo is what the insurer will not pay for.
Document the damage. Photograph and video everything: the damage, the source, and the damaged items. Make an inventory with approximate ages and values. Store the photos off your phone — email them to yourself or upload them to the cloud.
Prevent more damage. Stop the damage from getting worse: shut off the water, tarp the roof, board the window. Your policy requires mitigation — and it pays for it. Keep the receipts for every tarp, every plumber, every board.
Call your insurer. Call your insurer and open the claim. Get the claim number and write it down — use it on every call, every email, and every form from now on. Ask for the deadline in writing: most policies give you days, not months.
Meet the adjuster. Walk the adjuster through the damage with your photos in hand. Point out everything — the adjuster sees what you show them. Keep a copy of the adjuster's report and check it against your own inventory.
Get estimates. Get your own contractor estimates — not just the insurer's. Two estimates from licensed contractors give you a number to compare against the insurer's offer. A warranty and an insurance policy cover different things — the home warranty vs homeowners insurance comparison covers the difference, and the home warranty worth-it guide covers whether a warranty pays.
Keep every receipt. Keep every receipt: temporary housing, repairs, meals away from home, and the mitigation from step 2. The claim pays from the paper trail — a receipt you lose is money you do not get back.
Flood, earthquake, wear and tear, and maintenance — the usual exclusions. Water damage is the tricky one: sudden water (a burst pipe) is usually covered, slow water (a leak you ignored for months) is usually not. The water damage coverage guide covers the rule: it depends on where the water came from. Read your own policy — the exclusions are in it, and they are the part that matters.
Do not sign a settlement or a release form in a hurry. Read it first — and ask for time if you need it. A signed release ends the claim, and a low offer accepted in a hurry is a low offer forever. You can negotiate: the estimates from step 5 are your leverage.
Days, not weeks — most policies set a deadline, often 30 to 60 days, and some states set their own. File within days of the damage and get the deadline in writing from your insurer.
It can. A single claim for a large loss usually does not raise rates much; several small claims in a few years can. That is why small damage — a few hundred dollars — is often cheaper to pay yourself than to claim.
Ask for the denial in writing, with the policy section cited. Then check the policy yourself, get a second opinion from a contractor, and appeal — or talk to your state's insurance department. A denial is not always final.
For a large or disputed claim, maybe — a public adjuster works for you, not the insurer, and takes a percentage of the settlement, usually around 10%. For a small, straightforward claim, the percentage costs more than the help is worth.