What Not to Tell a Home Insurance Adjuster?
Avoid guessing at causes, admitting fault, or saying "it's fine" when asked how you're doing. Stick to facts about the damage.
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The adjuster's job is to figure out what the insurer owes, and what you say becomes part of that record, sometimes recorded or written into their notes word for word. If you speculate that the pipe might have been leaking for months, or say you probably should have fixed the roof sooner, that can be read as a timeline or maintenance problem, and either one can shrink or sink the payout. Answer what's asked, describe the damage you can see, and if you don't know how something happened, say that instead of guessing.
A denied claim is still worth a second look
If the payout came in low or the claim got denied, that is not always the final word. Comparing what your policy promised against what you were offered is worth doing before you accept either one.
What questions should you actually answer, and which ones should wait?
An adjuster will ask a mix of questions, and not all of them need an answer on the spot. Questions about what happened, when you noticed it, and what rooms or items are affected are fair ground. Questions about your repair history, how often you maintain the house, or whether you considered fixing something earlier can wait until you've had time to check your records or talk to someone who knows your claim. There's nothing wrong with saying you want to check a date before confirming it.
Be careful with recorded statements, especially early in the process. You can ask when it will happen and ask for a short delay if you need time to walk through the damage again or gather repair estimates. You don't have to answer in the moment just because the adjuster called. A claim does not expire because you took a day to collect your thoughts.
Avoid putting a number on the damage yourself before you have estimates. If an adjuster asks what you think repairs will cost, it's reasonable to say you're waiting on quotes from contractors. An early guess, especially a low one made to seem cooperative, can end up anchoring the whole settlement even after real estimates come in higher.
Keep a written log of every conversation, including the date, who you spoke with, and what was discussed. If the adjuster makes a verbal promise about coverage or timing, ask for it in writing or follow up yourself with an email summarizing what was said. Insurers work from the written file, and what isn't in it did not happen as far as the claim is concerned. This habit matters just as much after a denial as during the first visit, since the record you built is often what a second review or an appraisal depends on.
What should you do before the adjuster even arrives?
Walk through the damage yourself first, with a phone and a notepad, before anyone from the insurance side sets foot on the property. Photograph and film everything, including angles that seem repetitive. Water stains from three different spots in the same room, the underside of damaged flooring, the attic above a leak. You want more documentation than you think you need, because you cannot go back and reshoot a wall after it's been torn out for repairs.
Make a written list of damaged items as you find them, room by room, with approximate age and where they were bought if you remember. This is tedious and worth doing anyway. An inventory built from memory during a stressful week is harder than one built from receipts or photos you already have on your phone from past years. If you have any prior photos of the rooms or items, from a holiday, a listing photo, a social media post, pull them now while they're easy to find.
Separate temporary repairs from permanent ones. Most policies expect you to prevent further damage, so covering a broken window or shutting off water to a burst pipe is reasonable and often required. Keep receipts for anything you buy to do this. Do not start permanent repairs or throw out damaged materials before the adjuster sees them or before you've been told it's fine to proceed, since removed evidence can become a dispute later about whether the damage was as bad as claimed.
Check your own policy before the visit, not after. Know your deductible, look at what your declarations page lists for dwelling coverage and personal property, and read the section on additional living expenses if the house is not livable. Walking in already knowing what your policy promises makes it easier to notice if the adjuster's assessment seems to leave something out. It also means you're not learning the terms of your own coverage for the first time from the person deciding what to pay you.
Before anything else
Pull up your declarations page and check your dwelling coverage, personal property limit, and deductible against whatever number you've been offered or denied. That comparison is the starting point for deciding what to do next.
