 TITLE: What Is an Insurance Claim? CONTENT: How Do Insurance Claims Work?\n-----------------------------\nTo receive payment from your insurance company for a covered event, you'll have to file a claim. This generally involves completing a form documenting the covered event and requesting payment, and then submitting the form to the insurance company. The insurance company will either approve and pay the claim or deny the claim.\nIf your claim is approved, you may have to pay a deductible, which is the amount you're responsible for paying before insurance kicks in. Auto, homeowners and some health insurance policies have a deductible, and how they work can differ depending on the type of insurance. If you file an auto insurance claim for $3,000 worth of damages and your deductible is $500, the insurance will pay out $2,500 ($3,000 minus the deductible).\nThe deductible for a homeowners policy may be a dollar amount (as with auto insurance) or a percentage of the insured value of your home. If your home is insured for $300,000 and you have a 1% deductible, your deductible would be $3,000. Homeowners coverage for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes may have deductibles up to 20%.\nIn some cases, you have to pay the deductible to whoever is repairing your car or home. In others, your insurance company simply subtracts your deductible from the amount they pay out for your claim.\nSome health insurance plans also have deductibles. If your plan has a deductible, you'll have to pay all costs for covered health care or medications until you hit the annual deductible amount, at which point insurance starts to pay out. However, many policies cover certain services, such as preventive or prenatal care, before you meet your deductible—although you may still have a copay for those services.\nFor example, if you have a $6,500 annual deductible, you'd have to pay for the first $6,500 worth of health care and medications each year. But if your plan covers preventive care before your deductible is met, you can go for an annual physical and pay only your copay, rather than the full cost of the visit. END