What Insurance Adjusters Wish Homeowners Knew

What Insurance Adjusters Wish You Knew: Insider Tips for Claims That Get Paid

The difference between a claim that settles smoothly and one that becomes a months-long battle often comes down to one thing: documentation.

We've all heard horror stories about insurance claims gone wrong—disputed values, denied items, endless back-and-forth that drags on for months. It's easy to cast insurance adjusters as the villains in these stories, gatekeepers whose job is to pay you as little as possible.

But here's what most homeowners don't realize: adjusters aren't your adversaries. They have clear, specific criteria for approving claims, and when homeowners understand and meet those criteria, everyone wins. The claim processes faster, the payout reflects actual losses, and both sides avoid the exhausting battle that nobody wants.

"Most homeowners have no idea what we actually need," is a sentiment echoed throughout the insurance industry. "I want to pay legitimate claims. I genuinely do. But I need evidence to do it."

So what exactly do adjusters need? We've synthesized insights from industry professionals to give you an insider's perspective on what makes claims succeed—and how to prepare *before* disaster strikes.

The Adjuster's Real Job: Verification, Not Denial

What Adjusters Are Actually Evaluating

When an adjuster reviews your claim, they're not looking for reasons to deny it. They're trying to answer three fundamental questions:

1. Did the item exist?
2. Was it damaged or destroyed in the covered event?
3. What was it worth?

That's it. But without proper documentation, even the most sympathetic adjuster can't approve a claim. Insurance companies have compliance requirements, audit processes, and legal obligations. An adjuster who approves claims without proper evidence doesn't keep their job for long.

Why the Burden Falls on You

Here's the uncomfortable truth: the documentation burden rests entirely on the homeowner. Your insurance company didn't inventory your home. They don't know what you owned, what condition it was in, or what you paid for it.

After a fire, flood, or burglary, *you* have to prove what you lost. And doing that from memory, while dealing with trauma and displacement, is nearly impossible.

This is exactly why proactive documentation matters—and why tools like Squared Away exist. Creating a comprehensive home inventory before disaster strikes transforms the claims process from an uphill battle into a straightforward verification.

Insight #1: Specificity Is Your Secret Weapon

Vague vs. Specific: A Tale of Two Claims

Consider the difference between these two claim entries:

Claim A: "A TV"

Claim B: "65-inch Samsung QLED TV, Model QN65Q80C, purchased March 2022 from Best Buy, $1,299.99"

Which one do you think gets processed faster? Which one gets paid at full value?

Adjusters consistently report that specificity is the single biggest factor in smooth claim processing. When you provide exact details—brand, model number, purchase date, price—there's nothing to dispute. The adjuster can verify the item's value in minutes and move forward.

How to Build Specificity Into Your Documentation

The challenge, of course, is capturing all those details for hundreds or thousands of household items. That's where technology becomes essential.

Squared Away uses AI-powered recognition to automatically capture brand, model, and product details from photos. Instead of manually typing specifications for every item, you simply photograph it, and the system extracts the relevant information. This removes the friction that keeps most people from creating detailed inventories in the first place.

Insight #2: Photos Are Worth Thousands (Literally)

The Power of Visual Evidence

"When someone shows me a photo of the item in their home, I can move forward immediately," is standard industry wisdom. "Without a photo, we're in negotiation territory."

Before photos establish two critical facts: the item existed, and it was in your possession before the loss. A receipt proves you bought something; a photo proves you still had it.

What Makes Photos Effective

Not all photos are created equal. Industry best practices suggest:

- Photograph individual items, not just rooms. A wide shot of your living room doesn't prove what electronics were in that entertainment center.
- Capture multiple angles for valuable items. Show the front, back, and any identifying labels or serial numbers.
- Include context when possible. Items photographed in your home are more credible than items against a blank background.
- Don't forget hidden spaces. Open closets, drawers, and cabinets to document what's inside.

Squared Away's photo-first approach makes this practical. The platform is designed around visual documentation, encouraging multiple images per item and making it easy to build a comprehensive visual record of your belongings.

Insight #3: Organization Accelerates Everything

How Adjusters Actually Process Claims

Here's something most homeowners don't know: adjusters typically work through claims room by room. Kitchen items, bedroom items, garage items—they're evaluated separately, often against different coverage limits.

When a claim arrives as an unsorted list of random items, the adjuster has to reorganize everything before they can even begin processing. This takes time, introduces errors, and creates friction that slows down your payout.

The Room-by-Room Advantage

"When items are organized by room, I can process room by room," adjusters report. "It matches my workflow perfectly. Those claims move twice as fast."

Squared Away automatically organizes your inventory through its location hierarchy system. As you add items, they're categorized by room and space, creating a structure that mirrors exactly how adjusters work. When it's time to file a claim, your documentation is already in the format they need.

Insight #4: Values Need Backup (And Timestamps Matter)

The Challenge of Disputed Values

"If you tell me something was worth $500, I need some basis for that," is a common adjuster refrain. "Otherwise, I have to use my own estimate—and you might not like it."

Original receipts are gold. They provide irrefutable proof of purchase price and date. But adjusters understand that most people don't keep receipts for every purchase. What they need is *some* basis for your claimed values:

- Original purchase receipts (ideal)
- Credit card statements showing the purchase
- Current replacement cost from a retailer
- Reasonable estimates with context (age, condition, comparable items)

Why Pre-Loss Documentation Is More Credible

This brings us to a crucial point: *when* you created your documentation matters enormously.

"When I see timestamped photos from before the loss, that claim is easy," industry experts confirm. "Documentation created after the loss? That requires more scrutiny."

It's not that post-loss documentation is fraudulent—but the opportunity for error or exaggeration exists. Pre-loss documentation removes that question entirely.

Every entry in Squared Away is automatically timestamped, creating a verifiable record that your inventory existed before disaster struck. This seemingly small feature carries significant weight in the claims process.

Common Mistakes That Sink Claims

Based on industry insights, here are the documentation failures adjusters see most often:

1. Waiting until after the loss to document anything
2. Only photographing rooms, not individual items
3. No values or purchase information for most items
4. Ignoring what's inside boxes, containers, and closed storage
5. Forgetting about items in storage units, attics, basements, and garages

The tragic irony? Most of these mistakes are easy to avoid with a systematic approach to home inventory. A few hours of proactive documentation can save weeks of post-disaster stress.

The Ideal Claim: What Adjusters Wish They Saw

Imagine receiving a claim that includes:

- A complete itemized list with descriptions
- Photos of every item, organized by room
- Purchase dates and values with supporting documentation
- High-value items documented with receipts and serial numbers
- Everything exportable in a clean, professional format

"This is maybe 5% of the claims I see," adjusters estimate. "When it happens, I can often process the entire claim in a day or two instead of weeks."

That 5% isn't lucky. They were prepared.

Make It Easy for Everyone

Here's the mindset shift that changes everything: you're not preparing for a fight with your insurance company. You're preparing for a smooth, efficient process where everyone gets what they need.

Good documentation makes the adjuster's job easier. It removes ambiguity, accelerates verification, and eliminates the back-and-forth that frustrates everyone involved. This translates directly into faster processing and better outcomes for you.

Create the documentation adjusters wish everyone had. Start building your home inventory with Squared Away today—your future self (and your adjuster) will thank you.