Filing a claim is usually a bad idea when it comes to the insurance industry.  First of all, you have no assurance that your claim will be approved.  If you already have a few claims in your record, having another one will surely take its toll on your insurance premium.  What’s worse is when your claim is refused.  Not only do you NOT get the needed financial aid, but what you get is another bad mark in your credit report.

However, there may be times when filing a claim is more practical compared to taking out from your own pocket to pay for the damages.  If filing a claim is a must, then you must read these guidelines before you file a homeowners insurance claim:

* Make sure that the homeowners insurance claim that you want to file right now is truly necessary
* Before doing anything else, be sure that you file any crime to the police
* Phone your insurance company immediately
* Get a police report
* When speaking to your insurance company, tell them what happened thoroughly and clearly because any confusions can end up costing you
* Find out what the time limit is on filing a claim
* Ask your insurance company whether you are covered
* Ask your insurance company whether your claim exceeds your deductible
* Ask your insurance company how long it will take them to process the claim
* Ask your insurance company whether or not you are going to need to make certain estimates for damages
* In order to protect your property from further damage, you might need to make temporary repairs on your own
* Don’t forget to save your receipts on what you’ve spend for your property in order to send it to your insurance company and get a reimbursement for what you’ve spent
* It is very important to make a list of damaged or lost parts of your house
* Make sure that your insurance company sends you the necessary claim forms - they should do this independently
* Have an adjuster examine the damage