Know more than your adjuster expects you to.

Actual Cash Value (ACV) is what your stuff is worth today — replacement cost minus depreciation for age and wear. A 6-year-old couch that costs $2,000 new might have an ACV of ~$1,000.

Replacement Cost Value (RCV) is what it costs to buy it new now — the full $2,000.

Here's the trap: many carriers first pay only ACV, even when your policy includes replacement cost coverage. The withheld difference — "recoverable depreciation" — is usually payable to you after you replace the item and send receipts. A huge number of homeowners never claim it. If you have RCV coverage, don't accept an ACV-only payout as final.

Claims run on a clock most people never see:

Prompt notice — report the loss "as soon as reasonably possible." Waiting can be used against you.

Proof of Loss — a sworn statement of your losses, often due within 60 days of the carrier's request. Miss it and you can jeopardize the whole claim.

Suit limitation — many policies bar lawsuits filed more than 1–2 years after the loss. Calendar all three the day you file.

1. Report promptly and get your claim number.

2. Read your policy for limits, sublimits, and deadlines (ClaimFair decodes this for you).

3. Inventory everything — item, age, condition, and replacement cost. Photos and receipts beat memory every time.

4. Get your own estimates for structural damage; don't rely solely on the carrier's adjuster.

5. Track living expenses if you can't stay home (Loss of Use / ALE).

6. Put disputes in writing and ask for line-by-line explanations citing policy language.

A public adjuster is a licensed professional who represents you (not the carrier) and negotiates your claim. They typically charge 10–20% of the settlement on contingency.

They're often worth it for large, complex, or denied claims — studies have found policyholders with public adjusters recover meaningfully more. For smaller or straightforward claims, a flat-fee tool plus your own documentation may get you most of the way. ClaimFair helps you do the documentation yourself, then connects you to a licensed public adjuster when the claim warrants one.

1. ACV-only payments → claim your recoverable depreciation.

2. Lowball line items → provide your own itemized values + receipts.

3. Quiet deadlines → calendar Proof of Loss and suit limitation.

4. Applying the wrong sublimit → check special limits for jewelry, electronics, cash.

5. Disputing scope → get independent estimates.

6. Delay → reference your state's prompt-payment / good-faith rules in writing.

7. "Final offer" pressure → you can dispute, invoke the appraisal clause, or hire a licensed pro.

Under a replacement-cost policy, the carrier often pays ACV up front and "holds back" depreciation. That held-back amount is recoverable — you get it once you actually replace the items and submit proof.

Steps: confirm you have RCV coverage, replace the items, keep every receipt, and submit them before the policy's deadline to recover the difference. On a big contents loss this can be thousands of dollars most people leave on the table.