Once you’ve filed a claim with your insurance company, you are officially in the pre-litigation/pre-suit phase.  This phase is important for many reasons, which we’ll discuss below and moving forward.  At this stage, it is important to recognize that this is the time and opportunity for you – the “insured” or “claimant” – to put your best foot forward.  An insurance company will investigate the claim thoroughly and ultimately issue a decision on your claim (also known as a “claims determination”).

            The investigation is an important step in making sure your claim is processed properly.  An insurance company need two things (and sometimes more depending on the complexity of the claim): (1) Request for claim information; and (2) Schedule an inspection.

          In the previous section, we have discussed what to provide the insurance company at the time of reporting the claim, and how to handle the first, and any following second or third inspection.  Now we discuss the wait.

            While different states have different requirements, Florida requires by statute that an insurance company has 90 days to render a coverage decision, unless they provide the insured notice as to why the investigation is still ongoing.  For instance, they may ask the insured to submit invoices or receipts evidencing prior repairs.  This will toll the insurance company’s time to respond beyond the 90 days until they insured complies with their request.

            Most homeowners/insureds, however, receive a coverage letter within 90 days.  In the next section, we explore different types of coverage decisions and what to do if there’s an issue.