GUIDES: CLAIMS
Homeowners claims: from the first photo to the final check
Wind and hail claims arrive at a rate of 2.80 per 100 insured homes a year in ISO data for 2019 to 2023, as published by the Insurance Information Institute, and the same source reports that 5.3 percent of insured homes had a claim of some kind in 2023. If yours is one of them, the order of events matters more than any single form. These guides follow that order.
Start with the filing guide if the damage is fresh: it covers temporary repairs, what to photograph, and the questions to put to the insurer on the first call. If the damage is to the roof after a storm, the hail guide explains the four terms that set the payment before you sign anything with a contractor. Once the adjuster's estimate arrives, the depreciation guide shows why replacement cost is usually paid in two parts and how to release the second. If the house cannot be lived in, the loss of use guide explains which extra costs count. And if the answer is no, or less than the damage, the appeal guide sets out the written route and the regulator's role.
Each guide uses published rules from state insurance departments and regulators, checked on the date shown in its source box, and labeled worked examples rather than averages. None of them can tell you what your policy will pay; your declarations page and policy wording decide that. They can tell you which lines to read and in what order.
Claims guidance in general terms, not insurance or legal advice. Flood claims run through a separate flood policy.
Hail damage to a roof
Four printed terms decide a hail check: the wind exclusion, any cosmetic exclusion, roof settlement and the deductible. A worked roof under three sets of terms.
How to file a homeowners claim
The first hour to the final payment: temporary repairs, the questions to ask, the claim file and the adjuster visit.
Build a home inventory for a claim
What to record for each item, the photos and receipts that prove it, where to store a copy, and the yearly update that keeps it claim ready.
Recoverable depreciation
Why replacement cost arrives as two checks, and the paperwork that releases the second one.
Additional living expenses
What loss of use pays while you live elsewhere, the additional-cost test, and the receipts that get it paid.
Appeal a claim denial
Reading the denial letter as a checklist, building the evidence file, and escalating to the state insurance department.
Your CLUE report
The claims history insurers check: seven years on you and the house, what gets reported, the free report, and how to dispute errors.
Burst pipe or slow leak?
A decision tree for water claims: sudden discharge, freezing, long leaks, backup and flood, and the evidence that proves a sudden loss.
Claim deadlines by state
Three clocks per claim, notice, proof of loss and the lawsuit limit, read from the statutes of 13 states with two worked calendars.
Should you file a small claim?
Break-even arithmetic on net payout against the premium penalty over three to five years, and the claims Texas keeps off your record.
How long a claim takes
The insurer's clocks for acknowledging, deciding and paying in Florida, California, New York and Washington, with a worked calendar and Washington's rules effective October 18, 2026.
Roof repair or replacement
When an insurer pays for the whole roof or the damaged slopes: matching rules from four states and a hail claim worked five ways.
A tree fell on the house
How the ISO sample form pays for the house whoever owned the tree; the $1,000 and $500 removal limits, the dead-tree exception, and a worked storm claim.
A car crashed into the house
The HO-3 Vehicles peril and the resident carve-out in the landscaping clause, state liability minimums from $5,000 to $50,000, and how the deductible comes back through subrogation.
The appraisal clause
Settling a dispute over the amount of a claim: the 20 and 15 day steps, who pays, a break-even worksheet, and rules from four states.
Wildfire smoke damage claims
A smoke claim on a house that did not burn: what California's regulator expects insurers to investigate and pay to test, and an evidence log.
Public adjuster fee caps by state
Statute limits from Florida, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania's 2027 law, fast-payment rules, and the fee measured against the extra amount recovered.
Ice dam roof leaks
An HO-3 clause map for meltwater, dam removal, collapse and soaked belongings, with one claim settled under three findings.
Is a claim payout taxable?
When a house fire or storm payout creates taxable gain: cost basis, the main-home exclusion, the two and four year replacement clock, and living-expense payments.
Contractors and your deductible
Which states bar a roofer from paying, waiving or rebating the deductible, the penalties, and why a padded invoice makes the insurer pay $2,500 more.
Related topics sit in other hubs: the coverage decisions that set your claim payment years before the loss, and the catastrophe and market guides for coastal and residual-market policies. Every guide on the site is listed on the main guides page.