12 Reasons Your Home Insurance Claim May Be Denied

Getting adequate insurance is one of the first homeowners moves most people make. And when you pay for insurance, you expect that it will be there when you need it.

But it doesn’t always work out that way.

There are multiple reasons an insurance company might deny your claim. While the process is not always within your control, you can go into it more informed and take steps to set yourself up for a smooth insurance claim process.

Here are the 13 reasons your home insurance claim might be denied — and what you need to know ahead of time.

Incomplete information is not the end of the road, but it could lead to a claim denial. So, make sure you provide documentation, photos, or anything else that could help make your case clear.

There are often strict timelines for filing a claim. If you wait too long, you could be denied simply because the claim window has closed.

Not every incident is covered by every insurance policy. Your policy may cover damage from fire or hurricanes, but it’s unlikely to cover damage from earthquakes or floods, for example.

Read your policy carefully to make sure you are fully covered for any event that you could anticipate hitting your home.

If your kitchen window is knocked out in a storm, you need to take immediate action to put up a temporary closure.

If you don’t, you may suffer additional damage from water or anything else during the weeks before insurance pays for the repair. The insurer will not necessarily cover that additional damage.

Your coverage level may be inadequate to cover the claim.

For example, if you have $100,000 worth of coverage and your repair bills come to $200,000, you will be on the hook for the difference.

If you are in an accident with an uninsured motorist, they won’t have insurance to cover you. And your insurance might not cover you either if you don’t carry uninsured motorist coverage.

The same is true of underinsured motorists — you need underinsured motorist insurance to make sure you are covered.

Insurance exists to help you out in the case of an accident, natural disaster, or other event beyond your control.

But even in the absence of a disaster, houses don’t stay perfectly new forever. If normal wear and tear caused your oven to stop working or your siding to fall off, insurance won’t cover the fix.

Making updates to your property can lower your insurance rate because it makes your property less likely to suffer damage.

On the other hand, not making updates can result in damage that occurs simply as a result of negligence.

A neglected property may not be eligible for coverage. Similarly, if you are negligent about dangers — such as leaving an aggressive dog to roam — your insurance may not help you out if, for instance, that dog attacks someone.

Insurance fraud isn’t going to get you very far.

If the insurance company thinks you are lying about how the damage occurred or exaggerating the extent of the damage, your claim will likely be denied and you will face potential repercussions.

It’s easy to let your insurance policy lapse. There are times when you might miss a notice or forget to pay the premium.

If that happens and it coincides with a period when you need to make a claim, you are going to be out of luck.

The stress of an accident or natural disaster can cloud your thinking, so you might accidentally file a claim twice. This can lead to a denial.

This is easy enough to remedy: Simply call your insurer, explain the mistake, and work with them to file again.

Your claim may end up with the incorrect code on your insurer’s end, which could lead to a denial. The best path forward is to reach out and work with the insurer to file again, this time with the correct code.

Knowing that your insurance is active and that it fully covers any scenario is one of the easiest ways to eliminate some money stress.

Also, do what you can to lower your insurance premium and pay less each month. This might mean making specific updates or renovations to your home or investing in specific security measures.