Insurance claim questions

[Paul Farley]

Hi everyone,

My mother passed away last May and since then I have been living in the home. I am paying her mortgage and am going through the Probate process right now. The house will be transferred to my name. I have questions regarding an insurance claim I want to file.

Within the mortage's Escrow account I pay taxes and home insurance as part of the mortgage. When the house transfers to my name, am I able to make an insurance claim if I am not on the mortgage? The mortgage is a second mortgage with not very much left to be paid.

Do I have to get own home owners insurance to file a claim?

Could anyone provide me with any insight in this matter? If you need any more information, please ask.

Thanks!

[Shane H.]

@Paul Farley

Paul please ignore KMarie's advice.  I've worked as a claims adjuster for 11 years and in regards to property/casualty claims if a company looks for "every" reason to not pay a claim they would get sued and lose for "bad faith"  in the court room.  Health Insurance companies on the other hand have a different reputation.  I know what KMarie typed out seems to be the word on the street, however this simply could not be further from the truth.  More often than not, when someone is saying this they've had a negative experience due to customer service, or something was not covered due to language in their policy they did not understand.  The policy always will spell out what is or is not covered.  There really is not much grey area at all.

That being said, if your mother had a reputable company insuring her home, their job as the claims adjuster is to look and find coverage if there is an active policy in place.  If they do not do this they are not doing their job.

Each state has its own rules/regulations as to the statue of limitations on filing a claim, in KS depending on the situation, it's typically 2 years, I'd guess Ohio is similar, but I do not know.  If you look up your states insurance commission, they will probably have a number you can call and they should be able to provide you the specifics as to the statute of limitations on filing a storm claim.   Having a policy holder pass away is nothing new to the insurance company and they will walk you through what you need to do in order to present a claim and in order for them to deal with you in regards to your  mothers policy.

#1 which is obvious - find out who the insurance carrier is.  I'm sure you can find paperwork somewhere or at least get a copy of the escrow statement from the CU that says where the bank has been sending payment for the insurance premium.  

If your mother had an agent, probably best to go in their office - they should be able to walk you through the process.

If she had some sort of no name or small company, they will probably make it a bit tougher on you, however you'll still be entitled to file a claim. As has been alluded to, death certificates or obituary will likely be needed, and then executor of estate or a POA will be needed. They will more than likely issue payment to your mother, or to her estate and then it will be up to you to have the appropriate paperwork on your end in order to cash the draft or proceed with finding a contractor to perform repairs etc.

First and foremost - find out to the ins carrier is, if there is an agent, get in there and talk to them.  

Secondly - at this point you would not be able to take out an insurance policy of your own as you do not "own" the property -- There are ways around this and it would take too much time to type out or explain.  But the basic premise is if you are going to insure something, you either need to be the legal owner, or the legal owner needs to be on the insurance policy with you.  You'd also be complicating matters as it appears there is already an active policy in place, and that would need to be canceled first etc.

Find the agent -- they should be able to help you.  I'd be glad to assist with any other questions to the best of my ability.  

Sorry for your loss.