Filing a home insurance claim is one of those things you only do a few times in your life, usually under stress, and the decisions you make in the first 48 hours often determine whether you net the full settlement or leave money on the table. We've walked Southern Utah homeowners through hundreds of claims — wind, hail, water, fire, theft, frozen pipes. Here are the mistakes that show up over and over.
1. Calling the carrier before calling us
Every call to a carrier hotline opens a claim file — even an exploratory "would this be covered?" call. Once it's in CLUE (the industry claims database), it follows you for 5–7 years and can affect future premiums and even eligibility. Call us first. If we run the numbers and the loss is below your deductible, or borderline, we'll tell you straight up before anything goes on your record.
2. Skipping documentation
Before you move, clean, tarp, or repair anything, document:
- Photos and video of every damaged area, from multiple angles, in good light.
- Photos of the surrounding undamaged areas for context.
- A written list of damaged contents with brand, model, and approximate purchase year.
- Receipts for any emergency expenses (tarps, plywood, hotel, restoration deposit).
Adjusters arrive days or weeks after the event. Your phone photos from hour one are the strongest evidence in the file.
3. Not mitigating — or mitigating too aggressively
You have a legal duty to mitigate further damage (tarp the roof, shut off the water, board the broken window). You do not have a duty to start repairs before the adjuster sees the loss. The sweet spot: stop the bleeding, document, then wait for inspection before any non-emergency work begins.
4. Signing with a roof-chaser or "public adjuster" at the door
After every Southern Utah hail or wind event, out-of-state crews knock doors offering to "handle the whole claim" or "waive your deductible." Three problems:
- Waiving a deductible is insurance fraud in Utah.
- The crew often disappears before the work is done or done correctly.
- Many "Assignment of Benefits" forms hand them control of your claim — including the settlement check.
Use a local, licensed Utah contractor we can vouch for, or one your carrier's preferred-vendor program recommends.
5. Underestimating contents
Most homeowners are surprised how quickly contents losses add up. A finished basement with kids' bedrooms, a garage with tools, or a kitchen with small appliances can easily total $30,000–$60,000 in personal property. Use the contents limit on your policy as a real number, and consider replacement cost contents (vs. actual cash value) on every policy we write.
High-value items — jewelry, firearms, e-bikes, cameras, fine art, instruments — should be scheduled separately. Standard contents sub-limits are low ($1,500–$2,500 for jewelry, $2,500 for firearms) and theft is often excluded over those limits.
6. Settling the dwelling claim and forgetting Additional Living Expenses
If your home is uninhabitable, your policy's Loss of Use / Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage pays for a comparable rental, restaurant meals above your normal grocery cost, pet boarding, and laundry. Owners often forget to claim ALE entirely, or accept the first lowball offer. Keep every receipt and submit them weekly.
7. Closing the claim too soon
Hidden damage — mold behind drywall, structural cracks under finish, undiscovered water intrusion — often surfaces 30–90 days later. Keep the claim file open until the work is fully complete and inspected. Reopening a closed claim is harder than extending an open one.
What we do for our clients
OnPoint clients get a real person on the phone within hours of a loss — usually the same agent who wrote the policy. We coordinate with the adjuster, push back on lowball estimates, recommend local contractors we trust, and make sure ALE, ordinance & law, and code-upgrade coverages all get used. Contact us the moment something happens — before you call the 800 number.
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