What’s up advocates!

Welcome to another one of our educational blog posts.

Today’s topic is the proof of loss and everything you need to know about it to successfully file a claim.

Here is why the proof of loss can make or break your efforts to get the client the money they need to repair their home:

👉 Duties after a loss require your client (or you in their place) to file a claim as soon as possible. From our experience, 48 hours is ideal.

👉 A proof of loss form requires a ton of information. You will have a hard time without a process in place.

👉 Filing proof of loss quickly can speed up the claim process and increase your chances of getting paid on time!

You probably already know this, but everything around the claims process is about getting it done fast and with attention to detail. Proof of loss is not any different.

However, there are a few extra tips you should know if you want to reach success as a public adjuster. Read on to find out more!

Proof of loss is a legal document presented to you to fill out as you are filing a claim.

Over my fourteen years of experience, I found that proof of loss is also a make-or-break thing in the claims process.

It is essential to fill it out correctly, with all the necessary documentation, and file it as soon as possible.

Let me tell you what happens if you do not file it on time.

The insurance company can deny your claim!

They can deny your claim even if your client has all the rights to it.

And the more you wait, the more reason you give them to deny your efforts.

Therefore, it is necessary that you have a workflow in place and you know what to expect when it comes to proof of loss.

I want to make it a bit easier for you. So, here is the most important documentation you will need to file a proof of loss:

• The time and cause of loss
• Any loans mortgage companies
• Other insurances
• Any changes on the title or occupancy of the home
• Any specifications of the buildings
• Inventory of the damaged personal property
• Estimate the repair costs

Note that the insurance company will describe a proof of loss in the duties after a loss document. 

You can find duties after a loss on your client’s insurance website or among the other documentation your client received upon signing the contract.

Always look at duties after a loss before you file a claim to ensure you have not missed anything.

On a side note, duties after a loss might also state your client should make reasonable efforts to repair, document the loss, and allow the insurance company to make an investigation.

You should do many things on your first inspection of the client’s property. And one of them is to ensure your client does everything possible to follow duties after a loss.

That includes filling the claim as soon as possible. Because every day you wait, you risk the company denying the claim.

At Elite resolutions, we file every claim in the first 48 hours. At most, we can wait for another day if necessary.

You should do the same!

Because let us be frank here for a second.

It is not in your interest, in our interest as public adjusters, to delay a claim. Because we do not get paid until the client gets paid.

Insurance companies, however, can benefit from delaying claims, even though they will never admit it.

But there is a catch working in your favor. 

Florida, and most other states caring for the insurers’ well-being, put a time cap on when the insurance company has to respond.

But that only works if you filed all the documentation and answers, and allowed an inspection!

If there is nothing more you can give the insurance company, the state of Florida binds them to answer within 30 days.

In other words, do your job as a public adjuster, and do it as quickly and thoroughly as possible!

Some insurance companies will ask you to notarize the proof of loss, even though they do not mention it in the claims policy.

You could argue their request, and you would be right, but then you would go down a long and tiresome path of back-and-forth messages of who is correct.

All the while, you are not getting paid, and your client does not have the money to repair their home.

It is often more beneficial to go down the path of less resistance and notarize the document. Do the same with everything else the insurance company asks, within reason.

That is it as far as proof of loss goes.

I suggest you also read the next section to become a successful public adjuster.

Listen up, public adjusters, contractors, advocates, and everybody else reading this who fights for the public.

We organized the biggest Advocates United Gathering yet in Miami on the 28th of October.

This time, we gathered the most influential names in the industry to talk to you about how to fight the insurance companies together.

So, if you want your business to grow, join us in Miami this fall!