When facing an insurance case, people often find it frustrating to wait for the insurance company to settle their case and ask how long it takes to process a claim. Many customers look for legal support of their anticipation, asking if there are any laws regulating the duration of insurance procedures.

Every state has its own regulations and legislation concerning insurance activities to which the insurance companies have to abide. In some states you may also find things like “Unfair Insurance Practices Act” or “Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act”, which are more specific and targeted at insurance activities in contrast with broader laws and regulations presented in other states. The nuances and specifics of such regulations have their own peculiarities across different states, however there are certain common points that they all share in regard to insurance companies, imposing them to: a) accept your insurance claim within a specific period of time (usually 15 days); b) conduct a prompt investigation on your claim a) make everything possible to process and settle the claim with a clear liability. Besides, the insurance company has no right to refuse your claim a payment without delivering a valid and clear reason. Continue reading →

Have you felt the earth moving on 26th February, 2008? If you felt the earthquake that night a year ago, or not, since then the UK home insurers have received tons of claims related to the damages brought by it.

In contrast to the floods of last summer, when lots of homeowners didn’t get their coverage for the damage, leading providers state that most home insurances will be covered for the earthquake damages. In case you have also suffered the property damages, the Association of British Insurers provides several advices to assist you on getting your coverage fast without the noise.

Contact your insurance provider as fast as you can

The sooner you contact your provider, the faster they may get an appraiser to value the damage. As well, contact your home insurance company to learn the exact procedures that must be followed. Some companies might have set up a process to proceed with the payouts faster, due to the large amount of claims related to the recent earthquake. Continue reading →

The one thing most likely to impress your insurance company is that you have taken a number of simple steps to reduce the risk of a burglar entering your home. The result? A reduction in the premium is guaranteed. This can be relatively minor things like deadlocks on the doors or, if there are real risks of robbery or kidnapping, the more expensive installation of a panic room. As with all decisions, it’s a balance between the costs of the work and the benefits in the reduction of premiums. Finally, even if you cannot afford a full alarm system, there are cheap ways of protecting your property. Continue reading →