Your home, your car or your business have been damaged or destroyed. What should you do?
You have experienced damage or loss. Now what?
The claims process after damage or loss includes several steps. The first is to quickly contact your insurer, who will tell you how to proceed depending on the nature and scale of the damage. This is the first thing you must do.
Full details of the claims process and your insurer’s obligations are available at Infoinsurance.ca.
Your obligations after an event involving damage or loss
Once damage or loss has occurred, it is important to take steps to ensure that the damage is not aggravated. You will also need to document losses through photographs and videos and keep invoices for any expenses you have incurred.
Is your home unfit to live in? Your home insurance may cover increased expenses for food and accommodation. Talk to your insurer about this.
Don’t be tempted to claim goods that you did not actually own, or to inflate the value of your belongings. This constitutes fraud and could have severe consequences for you and your family.
Repair or replace?
With property and casualty insurance, the insurer’s obligation is to restore your situation as it was before the accident or disaster. Depending on the nature and severity of the damage, your insurer will determine if your property can be repaired or whether it should be replaced. While your policy may offer “replacement value” (waiver of depreciation coverage), this does not mean that the insurer will automatically replace damaged goods.