Ask An Expert

Hi Deborah,

Your insurance policy will typically not have any specific timeframe for supplying claims. However, the policy will require your cooperation with the carrier’s investigations. This is a subjective standard but usually as long as you are maintaining communication with the carrier to help them understand your progress, that will be enough to assuage their concerns and should buy you some more time.

In South Carolina, whether your potential case involves damage to real property (your house or your land, for example) or personal property, you will typically have three years under the policy to resolve your claims or file suit. So keep this in mind if the claim is still under dispute and you are approaching three years from the date of loss.

Lastly, there are companies that specialize in preparing contents claims that can assist you or you can contact a professional public adjuster. Depending on the magnitude or complexity of the loss, those services can provide a lot of value. United Policyholders has a directory that you can search

Hope this is helpful.

Deborah,

There is no hard and fast rule, nor state law (that I’m aware of) that dictates timing of your contents inventory submittal. Most claims of loss need to be fully communicated within two years, unless your policy says otherwise. I would keep open communication with the adjuster/carrier about your progress in putting together the inventory list. If it were me, I would take my time drafting a thorough list of all of my content, and submit when ready, no more than one year from the date of loss, while pushing to get it done faster if at all possible. I would really try to get it turned in within 90 days of the date of loss, but that may not be realistic in some cases. However, one year is just my opinion on what you could argue is a reasonable time frame, though you may be allotted more time than that based on your policy language.

Hope this helps!

Spencer Turner