Should I File a Small Homeowners Insurance Claim or Pay for It Myself?

Call your insurance agent before you file. For a small loss, filing can cost you more over the next few years than the check you receive.

That surprises people. Insurance is there for the big, expensive things, and your claims history follows you. We'd rather talk it through with you first than have you find out afterward.

Darlene Baxter is a licensed California insurance agent and owner of Darlene Baxter Insurance Agency in Pleasant Hill, CA, helping homeowners, families and business owners get covered with real choices: their main company first, and other companies through the brokerage when it isn't the right fit.

Insurance companies look at your claims history. A homeowner with two claims in five years will have a very tough time finding a homeowners policy, and when we do find one, it's going to be expensive. Water claims count the most.

A claim you file and then have denied can still show up on your record. So the question isn't only whether the insurance company will pay. It's also what the claim does to your record afterward.

No. A claim is what insurance is for, and a big loss is the reason you carry the policy. If your home has serious damage, you should file.

The gray area is the small loss. A repair that costs a little more than your deductible may pay you a small check and leave a claim on your record for years.

We go through three things with you.

• How big the damage is next to your deductible. If the check would be small, paying it yourself may cost you less over time.
• Whether it's covered at all. Maintenance is never covered, and damage that built up slowly is likely to be denied. Our post on water damage shows the difference.
• How many claims you've had in the last five years. A second claim in that window matters far more than a first one.

Calling us to talk it through costs you nothing. Then the decision is yours.

Darlene Baxter is a licensed California insurance agent and owner of Darlene Baxter Insurance Agency in Pleasant Hill, CA, helping homeowners, families and business owners get covered with real choices: their main company first, and other companies through the brokerage when it isn't the right fit.

If something has happened at your house and you aren't sure whether to file, call the office at (925) 940-6970 or send us a message before you do. Tell us what happened. Our process page shows how we work with you.