Insurance Claim Process

Insurance Claim ProcessEvery claim is different, but Phase III Construction will help make sure your claim is resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible.  The typical Insurance Claim process usually proceeds in predictable steps, they are as follows:

Loss Settlements, Property Restoration, and Claim Payment ProcessI.

I. Insurance Company Notification of Loss and Claim Initiation

a. Initial Property Inspection and Damage Assessment with Phase III Claim Specialist.

We will provide a FREE, no-obligation inspection of your entire home.  The purpose of this inspection is to identify storm damage and determine whether it will warrant an insurance claim or not.

b. Initial Contact and Claim Reporting to Insurance Company.

Our Claim Specialist will contact your insurance agent; with your consent, to file your claim on your behalf.  Some insurance providers will on occasion, require the homeowner to file their own claim.  Your insurance company will provide you with a claim number to be used for all future correspondence.

Note:   The Statute of Limitation for Insurance Claims in most state regulations provides for a maximum of 2-year delay for filing an insurance claim.

c. Scheduling of Insurance adjuster Home Inspection.

Your insurance company will assign a field adjuster to represent their interest in your claim. You will be contacted by this adjuster within 48 hours of filing your claim to schedule a damage assessment appointment. You should inform the adjuster that you are working with us and that he or she should contact your Phase III Construction Claim Specialist to coordinate a date and time for this inspection. Also, this will ensure that we are able to be present at the inspection to highlight all areas of damage and answer questions as your advocate.

d. Insurance Adjuster Inspection with Phase III Construction

Your Phase III Construction Claim Specialist will meet with your insurance company’s adjuster at your property on the day of your scheduled insurance inspection to perform a walk-through of your entire property with your insurance adjuster to ensure a mutually agreed-upon budget encompassing the scope of the damage and loss.

This is the most important part of the entire process.  This meeting will determine the scope of loss to the property and will also begin the financial settlement process of your claim.

II. Loss Settlement and Negotiation Process

Representation and Contracts

Sometimes we will be dealing directly with the claim department of your insurance company, while in other cases; such as a widespread catastrophic event, the insurance company will hire outside adjustment firms to handle its claims.

Once it is determined who the representative will be, you have two options in arranging for your settlement:

a. You will present to the insurance company sufficient information to back up the monetary claim that you are making. This could include such information as bids from licensed, reputable contractors for repairs.  Your policy, in addition to providing coverage for physical damage, may also contain insurance covering loss of rents, additional living expenses, and loss of personal property.  Sufficient information to back up a claim for these losses will also have to be presented.  Also, it is important that you review your policy requirements so you are assured that all losses covered under your policy are recoverable.

b. The second method of negotiating your insurance settlement is for you to employ the services of a private adjuster who will handle the claim for you. Furthermore, his fees are normally predicated as a flat percentage of the amount of the insurance settlement.  If you choose to use this method of settling your insurance claim, we suggest that you investigate what charges will be made and how they are to be paid.

Note:  Your mortgage agreement may state that if a public adjuster or other third party is retained by the borrower these fees shall not be paid out of the insurance proceeds and shall be the sole obligation of the borrower.

III Restoration Process

a. Pre-Production – Material and Color Selection Meeting

This point is contingent upon the scope of loss approval.  This meeting will determine the products and colors you feel comfortable applying to your home’s new exterior.  Your Phase III Construction Field Representative will provide many sample products for your consideration. Once you have selected your materials and colors, your project will be placed into our production schedule for completion.

If you contracted Phase III Construction for additional improvements apart from the insurance claim; payment for these services will be due at this time.

b. Production

Now is the point in the process in which most homeowners are starting to breathe more easily.  In addition, we begin the actual property restoration of your home to its pre-loss condition.  Our production process typically flows as follows:

    1. Upon delivery of your materials, the Actual Cash Value (ACV) portion is due to cover the costs of the tradesmen employed to perform the work.
    2. The items delivered will depend upon the overall scope of work to be completed.
    3. Our highly qualified restoration team will arrive to begin the work within a few days after material delivery.

c. Post-Production Inspection

One of our qualified inspectors will visit the property after the completion of your project to ensure the job was done to the highest standards in the industry. Also, if any minor repairs need to be completed they will be done at this time to ensure your overall job satisfaction.

d. Insurance Company Final Inspection

Our completion of your property restoration will now necessitate that your insurance company is informed.  Also, your insurance adjuster will do a final inspection and start the approval process.