If the title of this post caught your interest, you are likely a step ahead of many of your neighbors that are still waiting for any kind of response from their insurance company. Upon receiving the insurance claim settlement check, you will likely find that they included your Mortgage Company as a payee on the check…what now?
Welcome to round 2 – Getting your mortgage company to endorse the check and give you your money!
As Public Adjusters, we have been through this process enough to know that mortgage companies can be difficult to work with when trying to get them to endorse or release your money. I wanted to share a few tips that we have found to be helpful over the years.
- Do Not Send the Endorsed Check to your insurance company until you know exactly how the process is going to go, we prefer to get this in writing when possible.
- If your mortgage company has local branches, go in and sit down with them and try to get the check endorsed. If you have a good relationship with the bank, they may be able to assist in the process.
- If no local branches, call your mortgage company and let them know that you have received a claim settlement check with their name on it. They will typically refer to this as the “Loss Drafts Dept.”
- When you call into your mortgage company, the first person you will likely speak with will take your information and respond to you exactly as directed by their computer. They should then send a package explaining the procedure and what is required from you and/or your contractor. Do not waste much energy arguing with this person as your efforts will likely go unrewarded.
- When the repairs have already been done, you should never have to send an endorsed check. Request an inspection immediately. Once passed, you should be able to mail in the unendorsed check for the bank to sign and send back to you for you to deposit.
- If not satisfied with what your being told by your mortgage co, request to speak with a “Specialist”. Once you get to this person, be very nice as they are the one that may be able to actually help you!
- Ask for an “exception” to their standard procedures. When asking, remember that their main objective is to protect their investment. Do not exaggerate the damages as that will only make them more skeptical and less likely to try and help you.
If you follow these tips, you should be on your way to getting your mortgage company to endorse your check or at least understand how they are going to be releasing your money. When all else fails and you are forced to go through the process, read the documents very carefully. If there is anything that you do not completely understand, get answers before sending anything. When submitting the documents double check that you are giving them everything that they are asking for. If there are documents that they are requesting that you are having difficulty in obtaining, contact the specialist and discuss the issue.
Need help with your case? Call us today @ (754) 456-7897 for free consultation.