Making a claim: How to get your due

Whether your home is damaged in a natural disaster or an everyday event, follow the claims advice below gleaned from insurance experts and Hurricane Katrina victims.

First steps

• Quickly make a list of your possessions, if you don't already have a household inventory. Ask family and friends for photos they might have of your home's interior.
• Do emergency mitigation, such as putting a tarp over a damaged roof and drying out flooded areas with fans to prevent mold. But first take photos of the damage. Document your efforts and keep receipts for expenses. Get a repair or mitigation estimate from a trusted local contractor. Keep receipts for temporary living expenses.
• Document every contact with your insurance company, including times, dates, and what was discussed. Note when an adjuster visits as well as missed visits, unreturned phone calls, and rude behavior. You might need the notes if you have to sue.
• If you get a payment up front for living expenses, don't sign any document that says it's your final payment. If you were involved in a storm, don't sign any document that says that all the damage was flood-related. "We've seen too many instances in which adjusters have put a piece of paper in front of a policyholder to sign and they've found that they've just signed away their rights to full coverage," says N. Alex Winslow, executive director of TexasWatch, a consumer rights group in Austin. "If they say they're giving you $2,500, you ask, ‘What does it mean with regard to the rest of the claim?'"
• Consider hiring a public adjuster. They work for you, not the insurer. They charge a hefty fee—usually 10 percent of the insurance payout—but might save you hassles and help you get a higher payment. To find one, check the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (www.napia.com). Insist on references from people in similar situations, several years experience as a public adjuster, and a state license where required.

Working with the adjuster

• Ask the adjuster for his or her credentials; training should involve more than a three-day crash course. If you're not happy with the adjuster, engineer, or any other expert the insurer provides, demand a new one.
• Be present in the home when the adjuster visits and make sure he or she sees everything. Ask for a copy of the adjuster's report and review it for mistakes. Ask for a copy of your claims file; you're entitled to it.
• Copy everything you give the adjuster and ask for a receipt. If the adjuster advises you to start repairs, get that permission in writing. Steve Mostyn, an attorney in Houston who represents consumers against insurers, says information often gets lost when one adjuster replaces another halfway through the process. "The No. 1 complaint from consumers," he says, "is that one adjuster told them they'd pay for everything and the next one says, ‘I'm not doing that.'"
• If you have custom work in your house, insist on an outside estimate by an appropriate tradesman. And don't accept lower-quality replacements. "I had cherry cabinets, solid brass hinges, and Baldwin doorknobs," a Hurricane Katrina victim from Metairie, La., told us. "My attitude was, ‘I want you to abide by the terms and conditions of the contract.'"

If you get the runaround

• If your insurer maintains that your policy doesn't cover the damages or if the offer is too low, ask it to point out the exclusion or limit in your policy in writing.
• If you feel you've been misled by the policy wording, contact a local plaintiff's attorney who specializes in insurance law. The Consumer Federation of America notes that courts have consistently ruled in favor of policyholders on policy ambiguities.
• File a complaint with your state's department of insurance.