What Is The Sinkhole Claims Process - Part 1

Filing a claim for sinkhole activity is the start of a long and intense process. It is nothing to be afraid of, but at the same time it is important to take the process seriously and understand what will happen during the sinkhole claim process. The process begins when a homeowner first notices damage and decides to file a claim with his or her property insurance company, and the claim process typically ends when the insurance company makes a determination to "confirm" sinkhole activity and accept coverage for the damage, or to "deny" your claim.

Initial Inspection

Homeowners often "discover" damage to their home on a certain date. Perhaps while cleaning for the holidays a homeowner might notice a crack. Or during summer months a homeowner might notice the pool constantly leaking. Maybe seeing concrete trucks in your neighborhood or hearing that a neighbor has a sinkhole causes you to walk around your home to check for damage. Whatever the cause, the first step in the sinkhole claim process is for you, the homeowner, to inspect your property.

If you’ve looked carefully at your property, both inside and out, and you’ve noticed damage to your home that you think might be related to possible sinkhole activity, you may want to file a claim and have your home investigated.

Filing A Claim

Filing a claim involves a five minute phone call to your insurance company. Filing a claim is something you can do on your own, or if you’re more comfortable, an experienced sinkhole attorney like John Byrne at the Byrne Law Group can file your claim for you and be with you during from start to finish during the entire sinkhole claim process. To learn more, call attorney John Byrne for a FREE consultation at 813-413-6565.

Before the call, however, gather together certain things.

• Find a copy of your insurance policy and declarations page. This will have your policy number on it, it will tell you your coverage amounts, as well as additional information.
• Determine what your Date of Loss is. The Date of Loss is the date that the damage occurred. Learn more about determining your Date of Loss by clicking here

Call the phone number listed on your insurance declaration page – usually it is a toll free number. When the customer service rep answers, introduce yourself and tell them you’d like to file a claim for sinkhole activity.

They will likely ask you several short questions:

• Name
• Address
• Policy Number
• What kind of damage are you experiencing
• When did you first notice the damage

This is a fairly short and brief phone call, so keep your answers short and brief. Many insurance companies will record the telephone conversations, so be careful about what you say – this is not the time to vent about your home, the weather, the stock market, or to speculate about what you think might or might not be causing the problem. Listen to the questions the customer service rep asks, and answer only those questions. All you are doing at this step is filing the claim.S