Effective 8 November 2026.
The Covered Loss gives general information only. It is not legal or insurance advice, and it is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.
General information only
Everything on The Covered Loss (thecoveredloss.com) is general information, published to help readers understand how homeowners insurance claims work in the US. It is not legal or insurance advice, and it does not take your policy, your damage, your state, your mortgage or your circumstances into account. It is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney who knows your facts and the law that applies to you. For help with your claim, your state insurance department’s consumer line and legal aid are free; the NAIC’s directory lists every state’s insurance department.
Not an insurer, agent, public adjuster or law firm
The Covered Loss is not an insurer, an insurance agent or broker, a public adjuster or a law firm. It does not sell or quote insurance, adjust or negotiate claims, represent anyone, or refer anyone to a public adjuster, contractor, roofer, restoration company, appraiser or lawyer. We never review a reader’s policy, estimate or denial letter, and we never contact an insurer, an adjuster or a mortgage company for anyone. Reading this site, using a calculator or writing to us does not create an attorney-client relationship. What you send us is not confidential or privileged the way a conversation with your own lawyer can be.
No view on your claim
Nothing on this site says whether your loss is covered, what your insurer owes, what your claim is worth, what your deadline is, whether you should file a claim, whether to accept an offer, whether to hire a public adjuster or a lawyer, whether to invoke appraisal or sue, or whether an insurer acted in bad faith. Those are decisions for you, with advice from someone who knows your policy and your facts, and some are decided by a court or an appraisal panel.
Your policy may differ from the standard form
Where a page describes policy terms, it names the form it read, such as the ISO HO-3 specimen form in its 2000 or 2011 edition, or the federal flood policy’s Dwelling Form. Your own policy may use a different form or edition, and endorsements and state amendatory endorsements can add, remove or change coverage, deductibles, deadlines and conditions. A specimen form is not your policy. Your full policy, with its declarations page and every endorsement, is what decides. If you don’t have a copy, ask your insurer for one in writing.
Rules vary by state
Most claim rules are state law: how fast an insurer must acknowledge, decide and pay, whether those days are calendar, business or working days and what starts the count, the shortest suit limit a policy may set, notice-of-claim limits, pre-suit notice, public adjuster licensing and fee caps, hurricane and wind deductibles, and matching. A rule on a page for one state does not apply in another, and there is no national claim clock or national suit limit for homeowners policies. Many state day counts are enforced by the state insurance department and do not by themselves give a policyholder a right to sue. Where we have not read a state’s rule, the page says “not confirmed”, and that tells you nothing about what the rule is.
Rules and figures change
States amend their insurance codes and regulations, often after a storm season or a legislative session. Insurers revise their policy forms. FEMA adjusts its aid maximums each year, and Congress extends the flood insurance program’s authority in short steps. The IRS publishes new editions of its casualty loss guidance. A rule is right only for the period and the policies it applies to. Each rule and figure on this site shows its source and the day we read it, and it may have changed since. Check the current rule with the original source, your state insurance department or a lawyer before you rely on it.
Tools show rules and sums, not outcomes
Calculators and lookup tools do arithmetic on what you enter and show the rules, tables and assumptions they name. Their results are estimates. They do not say what an insurer will pay, what your claim is worth, when your deadline is or whether you are owed anything. An actual cash value result shows what a depreciation method gives with the numbers entered; your insurer’s method and your policy decide. A deadline lookup shows the rule we read for a state, such as the shortest suit limit a policy may set there; your policy may give you longer, and facts the tool does not ask about can change the answer. Defaults that are our assumption are labelled, and you can change them.
Deadlines and urgent matters
Claims run on deadlines: notice to the insurer, a proof of loss requested by the insurer or required by a flood policy, an appraisal demand, a FEMA appeal and a suit limit. Nothing on this site, and no message to us, stops a deadline running. If a date is close, read your policy’s Duties After Loss and Suit Against Us conditions, ask your insurer in writing, and contact your state insurance department, a legal aid office or a licensed attorney now.
Tax
Notes on casualty losses, insurance payments and premiums are general and name the IRS publication or Code source they come from. They are not tax advice. Ask a tax professional about your own situation and return.
Forms and letters
We host no claim letters, proof-of-loss forms, demand letters or templates. Where a page explains what a policy form or an official form asks, that explanation does not replace the form, its instructions or your insurer’s requirements.
Accuracy
Pages are checked against the sources they cite, but no check catches everything. Check important details with the original source before you rely on them. See also our terms of use.
How our content is made
Every page is fact-checked against its sources before it is published. Pages appear under The Covered Loss name. Our editorial policy and how we check page explain the process.
Advertising and independence
The Covered Loss is free to read and funded by display advertising. Advertisers have no say over what we publish, and an ad on a page, including an ad for an insurer, a roofer, a restoration company, a public adjuster or a law firm, is not an endorsement or a referral. We use no affiliate links, accept no paid placements, sell no leads, give no insurance quotes and make no referrals. Names of insurers, agencies, form publishers and other organizations are used only to identify them, and we are not affiliated with them.
External links
We link to statutes, regulations, policy forms, agencies and other websites so you can check what we say. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content.
Questions and corrections
If you think something is wrong, email contact@thecoveredloss.com with the page address and a source, and we will look at it. We can’t answer questions about individual claims, review policies or recommend adjusters, contractors or lawyers. See also our corrections page.