What to expect from insurance claim?
June 22, 2010 1:21 PM Subscribe
What to expect during insurance claim?
Hi,
I'm traveling outside the US, in south america and yesterday my luggage was stolen from under a bus during a night bus ride. My homeowner's insurance covers personal property at replacement cost with a deductible of $500. I've filed a police report already. Luckily I had my valuables (laptop, ipod, camera) on my person but pretty much everything else was in the bag that was stolen.
I have a few questions about the process. I called my insurance company via skype but the connections down here are pretty bad so we had a hard time understanding each other, and he advised that it would probably be easier if I did things after returning home (which won't be for several months). I'd like to get an idea for what if any of this stuff I will be able to be reimbursed for. My insurance is with Amica.
First, do small claims (<1000) for theft ever affect premiums? We've never submitted a claim on this policy and if it is going to raise our rates it would probably be cheaper to not report anything at all. However, I wouldn't think that a small claim that isn't my fault would do anything to the premiums.
Second, how will the company actually go about determining the worth of the items that were stolen? It was mostly clothes, some books, (expensive) hiking shoes, an electric razor, a little bit of cash, some gifts, etc. For instance, if I had some shirts that were $30 each, and some pants that were $40 each, but they are a year old, how is a value determined? If I add up the original value of all the things that were stolen it was probably $900-1000, but of course none of these things are new anymore (except the gifts).
Thanks very much.
Hi,
I'm traveling outside the US, in south america and yesterday my luggage was stolen from under a bus during a night bus ride. My homeowner's insurance covers personal property at replacement cost with a deductible of $500. I've filed a police report already. Luckily I had my valuables (laptop, ipod, camera) on my person but pretty much everything else was in the bag that was stolen.
I have a few questions about the process. I called my insurance company via skype but the connections down here are pretty bad so we had a hard time understanding each other, and he advised that it would probably be easier if I did things after returning home (which won't be for several months). I'd like to get an idea for what if any of this stuff I will be able to be reimbursed for. My insurance is with Amica.
First, do small claims (<1000) for theft ever affect premiums? We've never submitted a claim on this policy and if it is going to raise our rates it would probably be cheaper to not report anything at all. However, I wouldn't think that a small claim that isn't my fault would do anything to the premiums.
Second, how will the company actually go about determining the worth of the items that were stolen? It was mostly clothes, some books, (expensive) hiking shoes, an electric razor, a little bit of cash, some gifts, etc. For instance, if I had some shirts that were $30 each, and some pants that were $40 each, but they are a year old, how is a value determined? If I add up the original value of all the things that were stolen it was probably $900-1000, but of course none of these things are new anymore (except the gifts).
Thanks very much.
I had a home burglary last year and put in a claim, mainly because I had a no-deductible computer rider on my policy and just wanted my laptop replaced. However, when it was all totaled up (game consoles, laptop, etc) they paid it out as a regular claim, which got me more money, even with the $1k deductible.
First, the insurance agent had a recorded phone call with me where I described what happened. Then I had to submit a list of stuff with as much documentation as I had. For the stuff that I couldn't quantify a value for (example, high school class ring) I put what I thought the value was. The adjuster ended up deciding what each item was worth. It was pretty easy, we had a check within 2-3 weeks.
As to whether or not it increased my premium, well...I just got my renewal notice and my premium's going up around 15%. I don't know if the claim is the only reason for the increase. I feel like i used my one "get out of jail free" card though, and would be unlikely to make another claim unless the roof blows off in a tornado or something equally bad.
posted by cabingirl at 3:25 PM on June 22, 2010
First, the insurance agent had a recorded phone call with me where I described what happened. Then I had to submit a list of stuff with as much documentation as I had. For the stuff that I couldn't quantify a value for (example, high school class ring) I put what I thought the value was. The adjuster ended up deciding what each item was worth. It was pretty easy, we had a check within 2-3 weeks.
As to whether or not it increased my premium, well...I just got my renewal notice and my premium's going up around 15%. I don't know if the claim is the only reason for the increase. I feel like i used my one "get out of jail free" card though, and would be unlikely to make another claim unless the roof blows off in a tornado or something equally bad.
posted by cabingirl at 3:25 PM on June 22, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
I did so and a month later received a check to cover my loss. Suprisingly easy.
Don't remember if it affected my premiums.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 1:33 PM on June 22, 2010