Resources, Insurance
A claim runs on a clock the state sets, on paper you write, and on a policy you have not read since the closing. Here it is in the order it happens: the first call, what the policy pays and refuses, the deadlines the carrier owes you, who is who on the file, and where to go when it stalls.
Water moving right now?
Mitigation does not wait for an adjuster. Take photographs, then call {{PHONE}}. A person answers at any hour.
The Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, DIFI, regulates every carrier writing homeowners policies in this state, and it has written down what it expects from a policyholder with water in the house and what it expects from the carrier. Most of what goes wrong in a West Valley claim goes wrong because one side did not know those rules. Every statute and number below is linked in the Sources band.
DIFI’s own water damage guidance, in the order it gives it.
DIFI’s wording: "Prior to calling a contractor, call your insurance company/ adjuster." The claim number from that call is what every photograph, reading and invoice attaches to.
"Take pictures of the damage before any water mitigation, plumbers, or restoration contractors show up." The policy also asks you to "Protect the property from further damage", so the photographs are your record of what you found before you acted.
DIFI asks for "a log of times, dates, names of techs and equipment (dehumidifiers, air movers, air purifiers, moisture detectors)". Equipment and readings are logged on every job; keep your own copy.
"Do not sign on any device (phone, iPad, tablet) where the contract is not able to be viewed." Ask for paper or a full screen.
DIFI says to check at roc.az.gov before signing and to avoid "high pressure sales, and people who are coming door to door offering their services without being requested". How to check a restoration contractor is the walk through.
DIFI: "Home Insurance covers sudden, accidental damage and catastrophic losses." On water: "Water damage and mold remediation, not caused by a flood, may be covered if they are the result of a sudden or accidental event." A supply line that lets go under the kitchen sink is sudden. A fitting that has wept into the slab for a year is not, and the standard form excludes wear and deterioration and, in most current editions, repeated seepage over weeks or months. The evidence decides which you have.
The standard homeowners form, ISO HO 00 03, also excludes, verbatim:
Flood insurance has a waiting period.
DIFI: "There is generally a 30-day waiting period before a new National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy takes effect." FEMA’s exceptions: coverage required by a government backed lender at a loan closing, or a purchase tied to a community flood map change. FloodSmart, the NFIP’s own site, reports that from 2014 to 2024 nearly a third of NFIP claims, 29 percent, came from outside the mapped high risk areas. The Flood Control District of Maricopa County: "You do not need to live near water to be flooded." A floodplain determination from the District is free at 602-506-2419, or look the address up on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center.
Arizona Administrative Code R20-6-801, the unfair claims settlement practices rule.
Write the dates down. The log DIFI asked for in step three is also the record that shows a carrier missed a deadline.
The policy sets it, and in most cases the homeowner pays it. An estimate padded so the carrier’s payment covers the deductible is a statement to an insurer that "fails to state any material fact" under A.R.S. 20-463, the fraudulent claims statute. Anyone offering to waive it is telling you how they run the rest of the job. DIFI adds that a claim close to the deductible "can result in increased premium at renewal".
A.R.S. 32-1158 requires residential contracts over one thousand dollars to be in writing, with the scope, the price and the payment terms. Restoration work usually crosses that threshold. A verbal go ahead is not a contract.
A document that transfers your policy benefits for the claim, and the dealings with the carrier, to the contractor. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ consumer guidance is to understand what you are giving up before signing. Ask why the job needs one.
On a large loss the carrier’s check is usually made out to you and your lender together, and the lender may release the money as the work is completed and inspected, as the Insurance Information Institute and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describe. Call the lender’s loss department early.
DIFI investigates "Claim-handling delays, denials, or unsatisfactory settlements". File online at the DIFI complaint form or call the department’s main line, (602) 364-3100. Two things to know first. Each complaint, the carrier’s response and many related documents become a public record under Arizona law. And filing "will not extend any time limitations specified in policy provisions, statutes, or regulations", so a complaint is not a pause button on your policy’s own deadlines. Put your request to the carrier in writing before you file, and keep the copies.
Usually not. Water that was outside and flowed inside at ground level is flood under DIFI’s definition and is excluded from a standard homeowners policy, whatever FEMA zone the house sits in. An NFIP flood policy pays for it. Rain through a roof the wind opened is a different peril and is usually a homeowners claim.
Under R20-6-801 the carrier owes you a reply within 10 working days to any pertinent communication and a completed investigation within 30 days of notice unless it explains why it cannot. Put the request in writing with the dates, keep a copy, and if the silence continues, file with DIFI.
No. Under A.R.S. 20-463 a statement to an insurer that omits a material fact is a fraudulent claim, and a padded estimate is that statement. We do not waive deductibles, and the contract we sign with you shows the same price the carrier sees.
We document the loss to the standard the carrier needs and coordinate directly with your adjuster. A person answers, 24 hours a day.