In keeping with our home insurance theme over the past few weeks, today we’d like to take a look at the basics of filing a CT homeowners insurance claim for those who have never filed one before, or for a refresher for those who have to file one because of last week’s storm. All homeowners, regardless of how old they are or how many homes they’ve owned, should be knowledgeable about the basics of filing and claim, and more importantly, whether they should or not.
While CT homeowners insurance is a must have for anyone who owns a home, knowing how to handle a claim is extremely important in case something were to happen. Furthermore, we also need to be aware of the amount of claims we can potentially file, as an increase in this will most certainly lead to an increase in your premiums since you’re a greater liability to insure. However to combat these issues, we’ve laid out some ground work to help you out in this matter.
1. Make sure to assess all of your damage: The first question you should be asking yourself about home damage regards the significance of filing a claim. If the cost of fixing the issue is less than your deductible, then pay for the fix yourself, as you would have to pay this anyway if you filed a claim.
2. History check: Whether it’s worth it to fix the problem yourself or not, some sources suggest that filing a claim should be avoided unless the damage to your home is triple the amount of your deductible. Like we said before, this reduces the amount of claims filed on your behalf, and keeps your premiums down. Think of it as short-term/long-term. Yes, it will cost you in the short-term to pay for the fix yourself, however the long-term savings from low premiums could be exponential.
3. Cliffhanger… Come back tomorrow to find out the rest of the list!