What Circumstances would a Property Insurance Claim get Rejected?

Answer 1

Dealing with all the damage to your property can be quite tough and on top of that, if your claim gets rejected, even the calmest person will lose his cool.

There are quite a few reasons for a property claim to be rejected and some of which are easily avoidable.

We would suggest every policyholder to do their due diligence so that these avoidable reasons for claim rejections would not arise.

Reasons why Your Property Insurance Claim get Rejected

1. Your policy does not cover the peril that damaged/vandalized your property.

A standard property insurance policy does not cover every kind of peril (cause of damage), there are some exclusions that they don’t protect you from. Although some perils can be added to this standard policy to increase your cover and then there are some perils that an insurance policy will never protect you from.

Usually, standard policies cover these following perils

Fire

Wind

Lightning

Snow

Smoke

Theft

Here’s what you can add as a rider to your policy (add ons for an additional premium)

Protection from floods

Earthquake

Sharing a home

Water backup damage

If your property was damaged due to any of the above reasons and your policy does not cover these perils, your claim will get rejected.

Here's what’s never covered in your Home Insurance Policy

War

Damage caused by nuclear

Pollutants

Damage by government

Wear and tear

Snow on outdoor property

Birds, vermins, and insects

Intentional damage

Damaged caused by improper construction

If the damage on your property was caused by any of the above perils, your claim is bound to get rejected.

Neglecting certain repairs or maintenance requirements in your property can also land you in trouble. If the surveyor (An official appointed by your insurer to inspect the property) identifies the negligence, your claim is most likely to be rejected.

2. Conditions of a policy

A lot of policies have certain conditions stated. And if those conditions are not abided by, the property insurance provider will reject the claim request. Some examples of conditions stated -

Fire extinguishers are a must in every property

Security locks in every door, especially the main one.

3. Non Disclosure of information or incorrect information provided

Non-disclosure of information in any kind of policy is frowned upon as this would be termed as a fraud in the eyes of the insurer. To avoid any further investigations or claim rejection, make sure you disclose all the relevant information and avoid hiding even the tiniest details. (For example- any other policies that you own, any relevant information about the property that the insurer might want to know, etc.)

Incorrect information provided can also be termed as fraudulent. Even if the mistake is a minor one, you can be accused of cheating the insurer. Make sure you provide the correct information about your nominee’s details, your details, property details - good and bad, etc.

4. Didn't file your claim on time and correctly

Usually, every insurance provider has a certain time frame for applying for a claim and if the policyholder crosses that, it's most likely that their claim will be rejected. Intimating your insurer is the first thing you should do after the disaster.

Deadlines of application depend on your policy (Read your policy correctly to know how much time you have to apply for a claim)

5. No precautions are taken

If you haven't taken any concrete action to prevent further damage from the initial loss and are only relying on the claim to help you sort that out, your claim is likely to be rejected.

Unfortunately, insurance frauds committed by policyholders are now quite common and have made insurers even more cautious about their money. Hence, a policyholder must avoid being under the radar of insurance providers and take all precautions to prove to be authentic.

6. Insufficient evidence of the damage or misunderstanding the cause of damage

For instance, your jewelry store was robbed and the surveyor has now come to inspect the incident. If the surveyor cannot find any evidence of the robbery and thinks that the cause of missing items might be something else, then your claim is likely to get rejected.

Collect all kinds of evidence (pictures, videos, details of witnesses, etc.) to prove that the damage that was caused was because of the peril you mentioned.

Another reason for a claim to get rejected is that if the cause of the damage that you thought it would be, is not the cause of damage and is misunderstood since the beginning.

7. Premium has not been paid

Regular premium payments are a must for every type of policy. Even one missed premium could put you under the radar and could cause a damaged credit rating or an even more expensive premium in the future.

Claim rejection is bound to happen if premiums are not paid on time or not paid at all.

Pay your premiums to avoid being in the bad books of an insurance company.

Source: InsuranceSamadhan