What is the Process of an Insurance Claim?

Insurance claims begin once coverable damage has been identified by the Home Owner. Home Owners will typically reach out to their insurance company to file a claim for the damage by calling the Insurance Company's Main Claims Phone Number. Once the claim has been received by an Insurance Company the claim will be assigned to an Adjuster who oversees the Insurance Company's Interest for the life cycle of a claim. The adjuster will typically reach out to the Home Owner within a few days to come out and inspect the damage that has occurred to the property. Once the Adjuster has Identified the damage they will write up a repair scope of work for the project and will release about 50% of the repair scope amount to get repairs moving forward. Be careful of accepting the first repair scope that an Insurance Company sends you because the scope amount is typically under the monetary value needed to actually repair the damage. This is typically where a Home Owner will contact a contractor that specializes in insurance claims to receive assistance navigating the rest of the claim. A contractor that specializes in Insurance claims will come out and inspect the damage and will write a repair scope of what they believe will be necessary to repair the damage correctly with any required code upgrades that are pertinent to the repair work. Insurance Contractors repair scopes are typically more than the Insurance Company's repair scope but will include all necessary items to rebuild your home properly. Once the Contractor has written their repair scope they will send it off to the Insurance Adjuster so it can be reviewed, negotiated, and approved by the Insurance Company. Once the Contractor's Repair Scope has been approved a second check will be sent by the Insurance Company to once again reach the approximate 50% of the repair scope value. The first check and this check are referred to the ACV Check (Actual Cash Value). Actual Cash Value is the value of whatever items were damaged as they sat prior to the damage occurring, which is also referred to as the Depreciated Amount since the ACV takes depreciation into account for the items that were damaged. After the new ACV check is received, a contract between the Contractor and Home Owner can be created and signed by both parties so the work can be scheduled to commence! Here at Spruce View Contracting we do require 50% of the project value to be paid as a deposit for materials upon the repair contract signing. When all of this is completed your project can be scheduled for work to start! Through out the build phase of your claim there may be unforeseen items that were missed by both the Insurance Contractor and the Insurance Adjuster. These items are noted and will be compiled into a supplemental scope of work once the rebuild of the project is complete. When the supplemental scope of work is written by the Insurance Contractor it will be sent off to your adjuster with a Certificate of Completion (this is a form that is provided by the Contractor and is signed by the Home Owner and says that all work is completed per the contract and that the Home Owner is happy with the repairs) so the final repair amount can be agreed upon between the Insurance Adjuster and the Insurance Contractor and the final payment can be released to the Home Owner less their Deductible. This payment is referred to as the RVC Check (Replacement Cost Value). Once the RCV check is received by the Home Owner it is made payable to the Insurance Contractor with the Deductible amount included. 

This whole process may seem confusing and we understand your position. If we didn't do this kind of work every day we would be in the same place you are right now. Please reach out to us so we can help you navigate this maze.