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Policyholders

Your claim,explained step by step.

If you have filed an insurance claim, you will want to know who looks at it, what they do, and what happens next. This is the general process an independent adjusting firm follows.

An open insurance policy folder on a light wooden table beside a cup of tea, in soft window light

The process

How a claim is handled.

1
Report
Your claim starts with a report of the loss to your insurance company.
2
Investigate
The adjuster looks into what happened, and gathers the facts and documents that support the claim.
3
Document
The loss is recorded in writing, with photographs and notes where they help.
4
Evaluate
The claim is assessed against the policy and the facts gathered.
5
Explain
You are told what was found and what happens next, in plain language.

Close-up of a ceiling corner with a hairline crack in the plaster, in raking light — Small details, such as a hairline crack, are recorded with the rest of the loss.

Before you call

What helps a claim move.

Keep your papers together
Keep your policy documents in one place, so they are easy to find.
Photograph the damage
Take photographs and notes of the damage as soon as it is safe to do so.
Write down what happened
Note the date and what happened, while you still remember it clearly.

A hand holding a pencil over a printed floor plan on a wooden table

Notes

Notes help the claim make sense later.

Dates, places and the order of events are easy to lose. A written record, kept as the claim goes on, keeps the facts in one place.

A tree-lined residential street with wet pavement in late-morning light

Types of loss

Losses come in many forms.

A two-storey house with torn roof shingles and damaged siding after a storm, with a fallen branch on the lawn — Storm damage

A living room with a water-stained ceiling and walls and a wet hardwood floor — Water loss

A room with scorched walls, soot and a charred sofa after a fire — Fire loss

A roof with dented, cracked shingles and damaged siding, with hail stones scattered on the ground below — Wind and hail loss

A house front with a cracked, shattered window and red and black spray-paint graffiti on the siding beside the door — Vandalism

A storefront row with storm-damaged metal roofing, a shattered front window and debris on the sidewalk — Commercial storm damage

An office interior with water-stained ceiling tiles, wet floors and damaged wall panels — Commercial water damage

A brick commercial building with scorched brick, smoke-stained and broken windows, and charred frames above a storefront — Commercial fire damage

Appraisal Services

Appraisal services help bring a claim to a resolution.

Starkey Adjusting Services also completes Appraisal Services for policyholders, to help bring your claim to a resolution.

We also provide a detailed estimate for the repairs that need to take place.

Questions about the process?

The FAQ answers the most common ones in plain language.

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