When clients purchase flood insurance, you may wish to give them an overview of the steps to take if they should ever need to file a flood insurance claim.
Before the Event: Keep the Flood Insurance Policy and Reference Information in a Safe Place
- Remind clients to keep important papers—and your contact information—high and dry. Clients also can store the contact number for their insurer.
Immediately After the Event: Call With Needed Information
- Make sure your clients know that if they experience a flood, they must call you immediately.
- They will need to provide their flood insurance policy number and a telephone number or email address where they can be reached.
Once the Loss Has Been Reported: Adjustment and Follow Up
- Remind your flood insurance clients that an adjustor will help them calculate the value of their flood damage and prepare a repair estimate.
- Stress that clients should keep you advised if their contact information changes. If they move to a shelter or will not be reached easily, ask them to provide the name of a designated relative or point of contact who can reach them at all times.
- Your clients should follow up with you if an adjustor has not been assigned to them within several days.
- Encourage your clients to contact their adjuster concerning coverage prior to signing an agreement/contract with a cleaning, remediation, or maintenance contractor.
Principal Residence
The NFIP defines a principal residence as a single-family dwelling that at the time of loss, the insured or the insured’s spouse lived in for at least 80 percent of the 365 days immediately preceding the loss or 80 percent of the period of ownership, if fewer than 365 days. The single-family residence occupied as the insured’s principal residence and insured to 80 percent or more of the dwelling’s full replacement cost may qualify for a replacement cost settlement. Replacement Cost Value is the cost to repair or replace the insured flood damage, without deduction for recoverable depreciation. Replacement cost is not available for the dwelling’s contents.
Claims-Related Materials
These materials will help you assist your clients who have experienced flooding, answer their questions, and support them through the claims filing process.
A policyholder's step-by-step guide to filing a claim
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