The Covered Loss

How We Check

Where The Covered Loss gets its claim rules and figures, how rules in force are dated, why unread state rows say not confirmed, and how often they are checked.

Homeowners claim rules are easy to get wrong. Most of them are state law, a day count means little without its unit and what starts it, policy forms come in editions, and old figures keep circulating long after they change. Florida cut its claim clocks in December 2022, to 7 calendar days to acknowledge and 60 days after notice to pay or deny (Fla. Stat. 627.70131, read 8 November 2026). Since 18 October 2026, a Washington insurer must tell a policyholder within 30 calendar days of notice of a claim whether it accepts or denies it, or explain why it needs more time (WAC 284-30-380, read 8 November 2026). A wrong deadline can cost someone their claim. This page sets out where our rules and figures come from, how rules in force are dated, why some state rows say “not confirmed”, how often everything is rechecked, and where our limits are.

General information, not legal or insurance advice, and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Your policy’s wording and your state’s law decide, and both change. For help with your claim, your state insurance department’s consumer line and legal aid are free.

Where rules and figures come from

We go to the source that makes the rule, and link it at the claim:

  • Policy forms, by name and edition: the ISO HO-3 specimen form, a standard form many insurers base their own on, in its 2011 edition (HO 00 03 05 11, the Maine Bureau of Insurance’s copy) and its 2000 edition (HO 00 03 10 00, a specimen hosted by the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group). Every policy term on a page names the edition it comes from, and we say that each insurer’s own form, its endorsements and later editions can differ. The forms are copyrighted, so we describe them in our own words and quote only a few words.
  • State insurance codes and regulations: each state’s statutes and administrative rules in the legislature’s or the state’s own official text, such as Texas Insurance Code chapter 542, Florida’s 627.70131 or Washington’s WAC 284-30-380.
  • State insurance departments: their bulletins, orders and consumer pages, read on the department’s own site. The NAIC’s directory points us to each department; it is not itself a source for a state’s rule.
  • The federal flood policy and FEMA: the NFIP’s Standard Flood Insurance Policy, Dwelling Form, in 44 CFR part 61, appendix A(1), FEMA’s appeal rule in 44 CFR 62.20, and FEMA’s yearly aid maximums in the Federal Register.
  • Mortgage rules: Fannie Mae’s servicing guide on insured loss events (B-5-01) and HUD’s FHA fact sheet on hazard and flood insurance proceeds, each for the loans it covers.
  • The IRS: Publication 547 on casualties, disasters and thefts, named by edition, and the IRS’s own pages on changes since, such as the casualty loss changes from 2026.
  • Other federal sources: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and the US Code, each named at the claim.
  • Model laws: the NAIC’s model acts and regulations are pointers to what a state might say, never a state’s law. Pages say “many states follow a model that says”, and give a state’s rule only from its own code.
  • Insurer, agent, quote, law firm, public adjuster, roofer and restoration pages: never a source for a rule, a figure, an example or a statistic. An unofficial copy of a statute or regulation can point us to the official text, but it never carries a figure on a page.

How a rule gets on the page

Each rule and figure is sorted by how directly it was read, and that decides how we word it:

  • Read in the official text: the statute, the regulation, the department’s own bulletin or page, the federal rule or the named policy form. We state it plainly and give the citation and the date we read it. Before a writer uses a rule, the whole section is read again, not just the sentence that matched a search, because exceptions and extensions often sit further down.
  • Read only in part, or only in an unofficial copy or a summary. It is not stated as a flat rule, and its day counts and figures do not go on the page. If a page has to mention it, it says what we could and could not confirm.
  • Not read. It stays off the page, or the page says “not confirmed” and links that state’s official code.

Why some state rows say “not confirmed”

Our state tables cover all 50 states and DC, but we only fill in a row once we have read it in that state’s official text. Some legislature and code websites refuse automated access or don’t load, some state codes are published only through a commercial host behind a bot check, and some departments’ pages could not be opened when we checked. In those cases the row says “not confirmed” and links the state’s code, rather than borrowing a figure from a law firm, a public adjuster, an insurer or a form site.

“Not confirmed” says nothing about what the rule is. It means we have not read it in a source we would stand behind. When we can’t find a law on a point, such as a cap on public adjuster fees or a rule on matching, we say “no rule found in the sections we read” rather than “there is none”, because an absence in the sections we read is not a statute.

How rules in force are dated

A rule is right only for a certain period and certain policies, so we give that, not just the number:

  • Clocks with their unit and trigger. Texas gives an insurer until the 15th day after it receives written notice of a claim to acknowledge it, until the 15th business day after it receives all the items it asked for to accept or reject it, and until the 5th business day after accepting it to pay; after a weather-related catastrophe or major natural disaster as defined by the commissioner, these deadlines run 15 days longer (Tex. Ins. Code 542.055-.059, read 8 November 2026). Pages give each clock in the unit the source uses and say what starts it.
  • Changes with a start date. Where a rule changed recently, such as Washington’s 30-day rule from 18 October 2026, pages give the date it took effect and, where it matters, what applied before.
  • Suit limits as floors, not deadlines. A state rule often sets the shortest suit limit a policy may contain, and a policy may give longer. Texas voids any contract limit shorter than two years (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.070); the ISO HO-3 specimen form says two years after the date of loss in both editions we read. Pages say “the shortest limit a policy may set in this state is”, never “your deadline is”.
  • Federal figures with their period. FEMA’s maximum housing assistance and other needs assistance are $46,400 each for disasters declared on or after 1 October 2026 (91 FR 70094) and were $44,800 each for disasters declared from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 (91 FR 61429), both read 8 November 2026. The flood policy’s maximums and time limits are given with their section of the Code of Federal Regulations.
  • Tax rules by edition and year. As of 8 November 2026 the IRS’s Publication 547 is the edition for 2025 returns. Rules for 2026 losses come from the IRS’s own page on the changes, and pages say which year a rule is for.
  • A read date on every state row. In text, tables and graphics, each state rule carries its citation and the day we read it, and each page ends with the date its sources were checked.

How calculators work

Our calculators show rules and sums, not outcomes. They do arithmetic on numbers you enter and on the policy terms and rules they name, show each step and say “estimate” on every result. The actual cash value and recoverable depreciation tools show what a depreciation method gives on your figures and how a first check and a holdback work under the named form; they never say what an insurer will pay. The deductible calculator turns a dollar or percentage deductible into dollars on your figures, with the state hurricane rules we have read. The claim deadlines lookup shows the clocks and suit-limit rules we have read for a state, with their units and triggers; it never says what your deadline is. The public adjuster tool shows a state’s fee cap applied to an amount you enter. The mortgage check tool shows the release rules Fannie Mae and HUD set for the loans they cover.

Each formula is tested against answers worked by hand before the calculator goes live. Every default that is a rate or a rule says where it comes from and when we read it, or that it is our assumption, and you can change it. We found no primary source for how long a roof, a floor or an appliance lasts, so useful-life figures are yours to enter.

How pages are checked

After a page is written, a separate fact-check compares each day count, unit, trigger, suit limit, cap, deductible rule, figure, date and policy term with its source, and reworks every sum on the page. A final review looks for errors, gaps and anything that could mislead a reader about their coverage, a deadline or a step in their claim. A page with a serious problem still open does not go out.

How often rules are rechecked

  • State rows (claim clocks, suit limits, notice rules, public adjuster rules, hurricane deductibles, matching): each 1 January and 1 July, when many state laws take effect, and again after each state’s legislative session.
  • FEMA’s aid maximums: each October, because new maximums apply to disasters declared from 1 October.
  • The flood insurance program’s authorization: monthly, because Congress extends it in short steps.
  • Policy forms, mortgage rules and IRS publications: when a new edition or update is published, such as a new edition of Publication 547.
  • Laws and regulations with a known start date: when the date arrives.
  • Everything else: at least every six months, and sooner when we learn a source has changed.

A page shows an updated date only when its content really changed. Between rechecks a law can change without our knowing, which is why each state rule shows the day we read it.

What is an assumption

Where we work something out ourselves, we say so. Arithmetic is shown step by step. A total built from confirmed parts is labelled as our arithmetic. A date counted from a rule is labelled as our count. A conclusion a source does not state is labelled as ours. We give no average or typical payout, settlement or premium increase unless it comes from a dated public dataset named in the same sentence, and never as what a reader can expect.

How we treat claims seen elsewhere

Claims from sellers are reported as claims, never as fact, and we don’t name a seller when we question one. Some lines you may see, checked as of 8 November 2026:

  • “You have one year to sue your insurer.” Not as a national rule. The ISO HO-3 specimen form says two years after the date of loss (2011 edition), Texas voids contract limits under two years (CPRC 16.070), and Florida gives five years from the date of loss (95.11(2)(e)) and voids shorter contract terms (95.03). A federal flood policy claim is different again: suit within one year after the written denial (SFIP VII.O). See claim deadlines by state.
  • “Insurers have to pay within 30 days.” Not as a national rule. Each state sets its own clocks, in its own units, from its own starting point: Texas counts business days from acceptance, Florida 60 days from notice of the claim, Washington 30 calendar days from notice to accept, deny or explain why more time is needed.
  • “We’ll cover your deductible.” In Texas, a seller who promises or does this without the insurer’s consent commits a Class B misdemeanor (Bus. & Com. Code 27.02), and Florida bars contractors from offering a deductible waiver, rebate or other inducement in exchange for a roof inspection or a roof claim (Fla. Stat. 489.147), both read 8 November 2026. See the deductible calculator.
  • “The mortgage company keeps your insurance check.” Not as a rule. For loans Fannie Mae owns that are current or less than 31 days late at the time of the loss, its guide has the servicer release contents and living-expense money to the borrower and an initial amount of repair money up to the greater of $40,000, 33% of the proceeds, or the amount by which the proceeds exceed what is owed (B-5-01). We have not read Freddie Mac’s or the VA’s rules, so for those loans we say to ask your servicer for its written process. See the mortgage company and your check.
  • “Public adjusters get you 30 to 50% more.” We found no primary source for any figure like this. See public adjuster fee caps by state for what the states we have read allow them to charge.
  • “If the wind pushed the water in, homeowners insurance covers the flood.” Not under the ISO HO-3 specimen form (2000 edition), which excludes flood and surface water “whether or not driven by wind” (HO 00 03 10 00). Your own policy’s wording decides. See flooding and homeowners insurance.

Our limits

Some sources can’t be read in full, because they block access, only load in certain browsers or have not been posted. As of 8 November 2026 the official codes of Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Mississippi refused every connection we tried, so their rows say “not confirmed” and link the official code. We have not yet read official claim rules for Arkansas, Tennessee or New Mexico, Freddie Mac’s or the VA’s rules on insurance proceeds, or a FEMA or congressional text giving the flood insurance program’s current authorization date, so none of these is stated on our pages. We have not read any state’s consumer phone line on its department’s own page yet, so pages link the department rather than print a number. We read statutes, regulations, department pages and the policy forms a row depends on, not every court decision or every insurer’s own form. No check catches everything, so please tell us if you find a mistake. Fixes are logged on our corrections page, and our editorial policy covers the rest of how pages are made.

Before you rely on a rule here, check it with your policy, your insurer in writing or your state insurance department, or ask a licensed attorney or legal aid. If a proof-of-loss date, an appraisal demand or a suit limit is close, don’t wait for a recheck of ours.

Sources on this page checked on 8 November 2026.