When Should I File a Claim?
When you have a loss to your home, property, or automobile, you might think, “hey, I’ll just submit a claim and my insurance company will take care of it.” There’s truth to this statement, but let’s examine it further.
When you submit a claim, while your insurance company may pay it, it affects how the insurance company rates you. Too many claims submitted could mean the insurance company increases your premium, or adds a significant surcharge, or worst case scenario, you could lose coverage altogether. That’s why it’s best to view insurance as a way to receive financial protection or reimbursement against a loss that would present a financial hardship if you paid for it out of pocket. In other words, insurance is not a warranty.
Let’s look at example.
Say you’re driving down the street and hit a pothole, breaking your vehicle’s rim and popping a tire. In this example, let’s say your auto insurance deductible is $500. You take your car to the garage and they say the cost to repair it will be $900. Should you submit a claim? Well, that depends if the $900 will be a financial hardship or not.
But consider this other example. Let’s say this time you’re driving down the road and hit another vehicle. This time the cost to repair your vehicle is $7,500. You can see that in this example, you would most likely incur a financial hardship if you had to pay this amount out of pocket. This would be a scenario in which filing a claim would be best.
If you’re unsure about whether to submit a claim, please reach out to your Lacher Team. We’d be happy to help you.