By Sil Anderson

Ask Sil

When it is time to make a claim for a policy you must have a few things in mind. Unless you are aware of the process involved after you file a claim you cannot be sure that it is a fair process. An insurance claim follows a few simple steps.

A very important step while filing a claim with the insurance company is to choose the right insurance adjuster. Insurance adjusters can be involved either from your end or the insurance company's. As soon as you file a claim you will need an adjuster to adjust your claim.

An adjuster is supposed to serve as your advocate in settling the claim. He is supposed to make certain that you get the appropriate amount of money you deserve from the insurance company. His job is to make a fair settlement for you in the particular case that you have filed your claim for. He is meant to convince the insurance company in giving you the reimbursement for an accident. You may not know how to handle these on your own. However, the choice is finally yours. You may opt to hire an adjuster or simply settle with the adjuster the insurance company sends.

Your claims examiner will scrutinize and asses whether the claims that you have made are too expensive. The documents that you provide to support your claim will be analyzed by these examiners. After they have carefully verified everything, only then they will suggest a reimbursement amount. They may even forward the case to an insurance investigator.

The insurance investigator then would investigate the situation and with their analytic and people skills find proof that the claim is not a fraud. They know how and where to draw evidence or data from and relate it to the case at hand. The insurance investigator may also perform surveillance work if he/she suspects the claimant of lodging a false complaint.

Adjusters usually charge a certain percentage of the settlement amount as fees. If you are not satisfied with a particular way your adjuster is settling your claim in, you may seek the assistance of an attorney. The attorney will then fight your case on your behalf.

Once the entire process is followed and the case has been thoroughly examined, the company will finally propose a reimbursement amount that you would want to settle for.