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Michigan Farm Bureau Family of Companies

Assessing The Loss

Your claim representative will help you through the process of settling your claim. Following are the first steps he or she will take in assessing your loss:

  • Investigate the claim. This may require taking a recorded statement from you or any other interested parties to the loss.
  • Determine the cause and origin of the loss.
  • Inspect the damaged property and estimate the cost to repair or replace it.
  • Take photographs of the damage.
  • You will be asked to obtain and submit estimates from local contractors or suppliers. If you do not know any, your claim representative can give you names of contractors in your area.
  • The contractor of your choice will inspect the damaged property and prepare an estimate of repair for the covered property.
  • The claim representative may also prepare an estimate. All contractors’ estimates will be submitted to the claim representative for comparison.
  • Damaged goods or property may need to be inspected as part of the investigation – please do not dispose of damaged items until your claim representative has indicated that it is okay to do so.
  • At the time your property is inspected, be sure to display all damaged property. This will help speed the process along.
  • You will be asked to list all lost or damaged items on an inventory form. It will have areas to accurately identify the make, model, age and place of purchase for all property being claimed.

We recommend that the inventory forms be completed room by room. It may help to visualize each room separately as far as furniture, wall decorations, knickknacks, items in desk drawers, etc. It may help to have another family member look at your list to double-check it. We can provide a list of items that are commonly found in homes to help jog your memory.

  • It is not necessary to list each and every item in your home. Many similar items can be grouped together, such as undergarments, socks, shirts, linens, towels, DVDs, etc., using average age and pricing.
  • The inventory form includes information about each item to accurately identify the property being claimed. Your claim representative can help complete the form and will also calculate any depreciation that is necessary.
  • You will have 60 days to complete your inventory list. Additional time may be provided upon request.