The following is an insurance claim question we answered for a policyholder through the United Policyholders Ask an Expert Forum.

Q. I made several requests for different reimbursements after a fire for things like mileage, replacement of computer equipment, and laundry expenses. I made the request two months ago and provided all necessary documentation. This is taking way too long. What can I do?

A. As you have indicated this is a fire loss and I’ll assume there are no coverage issues outstanding. A responsible insurance carrier should at least call or write you and let you know of any problems or the status of your claim. Since this has not happened, in my opinion you are certainly justified to go above the adjuster assigned to your claim and contact their supervisor. From my experience, the best way to do this is to send a well written certified letter to the claim manager or the vise president in charge of claims for your insurance company explaining the lack of communication as well as the cost issues that are outstanding.

If you get no response in a reasonable time, read your policy to see if there is an appraisal provision in the policy. You can invoke appraisal by simply sending a certified letter to the person’s supervisor or the vice president. But it may be best to seek some counsel from a public adjuster or attorney that can help you understand what the appraisal process entails and make sure you are taking the proper steps. In most cases, this will certainly get the attention focused back on your claim as this requires a response to your demand for an appraisal. This likely will result in a settlement of the outstanding issues rather quickly given the extra cost an appraisal process will cost your insurance company.

Good luck and let us know if this approach helps to solve your problem.

If you have questions regarding any property insurance claim related issues please call 800.321.4488 or contact us to submit a question to one of our public adjuster insurance claim experts.