How long do insurance claims take?

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How long do insurance claims take?
Insurance claims are not a one size fits all. We
wish we could tell you that after you file a
claim your insurance company will come out to
inspect and issue a payment for all the damages
and then your claim will be closed in 3-6 months
and youll never have to think about it again.
The truth is, you could accept that payment and
be done with your claim but that could mean
leaving money on the table or not having all the
repairs done correctly.
The duration of your claim can also depend on the
type of homeowners or business insurance loss
you have. For example, a hail claim can fall
into the 3-6 month range whereas a total fire
loss can last 1-2 years. Most of this depends on
what you as the policy holder decides to do once
you receive an estimate and payment from your
claims adjuster. The first thing you should do
is review the estimate to make sure all of the
damages are accounted for and that those items
are accounted for correctly. Have someone you
trust, like your public insurance adjuster,
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to review the estimate for you. Most insurance
companies account for structure related items
only so the contents and personal property will
need to be documented by you and prepared in a
format easy for the claims adjuster to review.
This is usually a longer process than the
structure side of things. Once you or your
public adjuster submits your inventory to the
insurance company, there are protocols and
systems they use to verify and/or add values to
your list of items. From there the insurance
companys adjuster will review the list and issue
payment. You will want this list thoroughly
reviewed for accuracy in the same way as the
structure estimate. Both of these review
processes can take time and much negotiation
between you/your public adjuster and the
insurance company. Theres also the recoverable
depreciation time-frame listed in your certified
policy that plays into your total claim
time-frame if coverage is afforded. This means
you have roughly six months to two years to
recover any withheld amount with replacement
receipts. Though the work may be complete on
your home and you have replaced necessities,
there is still an opportunity to receive money
from your insurance claim. We had a client whose
fire happened in August 2020. During our first
meeting with them we explained the entire claims
process and let them know our license and
services allow us to help them every step of the
way until they have recovered every penny
available to them. In December 2022 we had our
final check exchange with this client and
reminded them that we said we would be there till
the end, and we were. No matter the size or type
of insurance claim you have, calling your
Oklahoma public adjuster to review and discuss
how they can help could mean the difference of
tens of thousands of dollars.