When you suffer property damage you may find yourself preoccupied with trying to locate the source of the damage (if not apparent), and to fix it. However, in order to have your insurance company cover your claim, you must give prompt notice of your loss. Almost every homeowner’s insurance policy requires this and can be found in the section explaining your duties after loss. The point of providing your insurance carrier with prompt notice is to allow the company to investigate the loss, see what caused it, and how much it would cost to repair.
What Constitutes “Prompt Notice?”
It’s important to understand what constitutes prompt notice so as to ensure that you act in time. Prompt notice essentially means that you report the loss within a reasonable amount of time after discovering it. What would be reasonable is the length of time that a reasonable person in the same or similar situation would take to report the loss. While there isn’t a specific amount of time, we know that waiting a month or a year would be unreasonable. It’s important to note that you are in no way obligated to know the extent of the damage or to obtain a quote for repairing it prior to reporting the loss.
Complying with Terms and Provisions
When you sign your insurance policy it likely contained a requirement that you comply with all of the terms within it. One such provision that is likely in your policy is that you must provide the company with prompt notice of your loss. If you fail to provide prompt notice of your loss or fail to comply with any of the terms of the policy, your insurance carrier has the right to deny your claim.
The Insurance Company Can’t Properly Investigate
When you fail to provide prompt notice of your loss to your insurance company, your company will probably argue that it was not able to properly investigate your loss as it would have been with such notice. By not providing prompt notice the company is unable to take a look at the damage, investigate its cause, and assess the necessary repairs soon after the damage has occurred. Without the ability to do the aforementioned, the insurance company can deny your claim.
You do not want to give your insurance carrier the opportunity to deny your claim outright based upon inaction.
PALUMBO LAW Helps Those in Rhode Island with their Water Damage Claims
Filing a property insurance claim can be extremely confusing – and extremely frustrating. The last thing you want is to have your claim denied or delayed because of something that you did incorrectly. That’s why it’s so important to know how to file your claim from the beginning. An attorney can help to ensure that you properly file your property insurance claim.
At PALUMBO LAW, our experienced Rhode Island property insurance lawyers work strategically to help our clients to get what they deserve. We have deep experience working with insurance companies and understand how to deal with them. If you are planning on filing a flood damage claim, or if have already filed your claim and have been denied, we can help. To learn more or to schedule a free consultation, call us today!
