Insurance claim is the application made and is the first step taken by the policy holders to avail the benefits provided by an insurance company. . Policy holders must first file an insurance claim with the insurance company from where they have taken the insurance coverage, before any payment is disbursed by them which they feel is covered in the insurance.. The insurance company may or may not approve the claim, based on their own assessment of the circumstances

Insurance policies taken out for life, health, home, automobiles require regular periodical payments called insurance premiums. The period of insurance coverage, the mode of payment of premium are decided when the policy is taken. The premiums should be paid correctly so that any insurance claim is not denied outright.

Generally, the insurance claim is filed with a local representative of the insurance company. This agent becomes responsible for investigating the specific details of the insurance claim and negotiating the payment from the main insurers. The agent usually is the link between the insurance company and the claimant.

It is not necessary that insurance claims should be filed through the insurance agent. Professionals like doctors, automobile workshops, building contractors will usually file their claims directly to the insurance company. There are also instances when the policy holder may not want to file an actual insurance claim if the damage is minor or another party has agreed to pay out-of-pocket for their mistake.

After an insurance claim is filed, the insurance company usually sends out an investigator called an adjustor or appraiser . The insurance adjustor's work is to objectively evaluate the insurance claim and determine if the amount claimed by the policy hold is reasonable. This is to prevent possible fraud by contractors who may inflate their bills for additional compensation. Insurance companies tend to accept the adjustor or appraiser's evaluation as the final word on the insurance claim.