If you have an insurance claim, you can bet there’s going To Be a general investigation. The fact is, if investigations weren’t done there would be a lot more insurance scams. You should not be offended, because it is common procedure with most insurance companies.

General investigations usually do not take that long, but you will not get your settlement until the investigation has been concluded. There have been quite a few unsavory individuals who have set up a mock burglary to collect on an insurance claim. Unfortunately, this has led to everyone having a general investigation on a burglary claim against their insurance.

You can expect several things through your general investigation. First, you are going to need a police report.you may have to provide documentation that the property actually existed, because you won’t believe the amount of cases that have included people who try to say something was stolen that they never even owned.

In some cases evidence of your items may be family photos that you or a loved one may possess. If voters were taken during holidays, are there any with the items in the background? In other cases it will be credit card transaction history, bank statements or store receipts. Maybe you have a warranty on the item? Was it registered? There is almost always a way to prove you owned an item. If you can’t prove it then you may not be able to claim it.

If your belongings were damaged in a burglary, then be sure you do not throw them away. You may need to photograph everything after the burglary, but make sure the police have done their investigation before you begin photographing the scene. You do not want to jeopardize possible evidence.

You need to contact your insurance company immediately after the crime occurs. As a matter of fact, they should be your second call, with the police naturally being your first. Make sure you read your claim front to back, because every policy is different. They should have someone on staff to help navigate you through the process. Keep a journal of your communications with your insurance agency as well as the conversations that take place between you and them.

Double check things like a deductible, agent’s name and confirm whether or not things will be replaced or reimbursed as well as what the value of the merchandise will be based upon.

Keep all of your original copies, and again, start a journal and an expense record. These are very important things to have. This is especially important if you start to experience problems with your insurance company.

For the most comprehensive information so you can make the best possible informed decisions regarding investigative services contact the professionals at Seca Investigations.

Seca Investigations:
Phone 61 3 9544 6865 / 61 3 9544 8279
Fax 61 3 9558 8980