The secret to leading a stress-free, productive life is being prepared. You have to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. This will help you avoid any unpleasant surprises and be ready when anything happens. Yet, despite all your best efforts, you still will be met with some unforeseen circumstances, and you will have to cross that bridge when you reach it. The best way to prepare for the unexpected is to take out insurance policies.
Even if you are healthy and fit, you need health insurance because you never know what might happen. If you drive your car for 10 minutes a day for your commute, you should still get auto insurance since someone might crash into you in those 10 minutes. The problem with insurance claiming, though, is it takes forever, and you will need the money if you fell ill or got into a car accident.
Here’s how you can expedite the process.
Having Proof
Having documented evidence from the accident scene is one of the best ways to expedite the insurance claims process, and you need to make sure you do that. Take pictures of everything and get witness contact information. The more evidence and relevant information you have, the faster this entire process will go.
Gather the Necessary Reports
The evidence isn’t the only thing you need to get your hands on. You need to start by getting the police officer’s report of the incident, because it might later support your claim and expedite the entire process.
Whether it is a car accident, theft, vandalism, or anything, make sure you get your hands on that report, the officer’s name, and incident number. Then, you need to get any relevant medical reports as well, because they will play a huge role in the steps to come.
Notify Your Insurers
After the incident occurs, you need to notify your insurers as soon as possible. This will give them the time needed to make their inquiries and start the entire claims process. Some insurance companies even require that their clients notify them as soon as the incident happens, or else things might get very complicated. So, if you can, you should reach out to the company and notify them even from the scene of the incident. It might just be the step you need to expedite the entire process.
Hire an Attorney
Needless to say, the best thing you can do for your insurance claim is to hire a specialized attorney. Insurance companies aren’t known for their generosity, and they will do everything they can, to give you as little money as possible.
You can find more info here, as you will see that hiring personal injury and insurance claims attorneys will make a huge difference in the entire process. Insurance companies start dealing with you differently and they take you more seriously, and this is because those lawyers know every trick in the book and they will fight tooth and nail to get you fair compensation as fast as possible.
Keep Financial Records
One of the easiest ways to complicate and prolong your insurance claims process is by getting rid of receipts and financial records. You have to keep a receipt of everything you bought that is insured. If we’re talking home insurance, for instance, then you need to have a receipt for all your valuables –– from the TV to the new roofing and windows.
This will make the claim go a lot quicker and smoother since you have proof of what everything was worth, so insurance companies won’t have to go out of their way to come up with estimates, which are rarely fair, by the way.
Honesty
Insurance claims are messy, and they aren’t anyone’s idea of a good time. Some people tend to lie or hide certain truths to avoid admitting fault or to try and expedite the process. That might be the worst thing you can do for your claim and it might cost you any chance of getting compensation.
You have to be entirely honest and transparent with everything, from your recollection of the incident to the information you provide in insurance forms. Insurance companies have people who find out truths for a living, and if you were less than honest, your claim isn’t likely to end well.
It is important that you slow down and consider the situation from all angles. You want to expedite the claim, yes, but you shouldn’t try to rush it. Find specialized attorneys to represent you and help you, and take your time collecting evidence and relevant data.
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Interesting related article: “What is Insurance?”