When making an insurance claim for things like mold and water damage it is important to cooperate with the insurance adjuster and give them the documents they need. At the same time be careful not to volunteer information they don’t necessarily need. For example: If the adjuster asks you for certain documents from a vendor, then send it to them. They need this to finish processing your claim.
Some people think this may damage their claim in some way. Meaning you may feel the insurance will deny your claim if you provide the requested information. However, if you don’t provide documents they request, if you have them, then they may have no other choice than to deny the claim.
An example of what not to say or volunteer is that a leak appears to have been going on for several weeks or months. Usually, you may discover a leak and when repaired a vendor may say it appears to have been going on for several weeks or longer. While that may be true, you as the owner were not aware of that. So, you need to tell the insurance adjuster that you discovered the leak on the date you did and not tell them it had been going on for several weeks. If you don’t do this it can give the insurance a reason to deny your claim since it appears you were aware of the leak and did nothing until much later than you should have. The insurance company requires owners to maintain the property in a prompt fashion as part of their contract with you.
Steve Mullins (i.e. Mold detector)
Certified Microbial Consultant (CMC)
Moisture and Mold Detection, Inc.