Claim Reporting: How to Get Your Money Fast

No one wants to find themselves in a claim situation of any kind, let alone a serious or high-dollar claim. Most people have the mindset of “It’ll never happen to me,” but the truth is accidents do happen, and they happen more often than people think. If it never happened to you there wouldn’t be a need for insurance! That said, when you find yourself in a situation where you need to use your insurance, it’s typically a result of an unexpected and blink-of-an-eye occurrence. After collecting your thoughts, taking mental inventory, and reacting appropriately, your next call should always be to your agent. Your agent will get the ball rolling right away and will often have an adjuster on-site within a day or two. The next phase of the process is the document phase, and is most critical because it determines if you will experience prompt handling and quick payment. In any hull loss, you will be expected to produce all the documents related to the aircraft, including (but not limited to) the registration, airworthiness certificate, pilot’s logbook, pilot’s license and medical, etc. These will be in addition to the carrier’s claim forms, the shop’s repair estimates, and your photos. You can see the speed of the claims process is largely in your hands as the policyholder because the quicker these items are gathered and sent to the adjuster, the quicker your claim check will be issued. In certain cases, claim checks can come within a week of the incident!