Glossary

Duties after loss

The steps a homeowners policy requires after damage occurs: reporting it, protecting the property, documenting the loss and cooperating with the insurer.

Also called: your duties after a loss, post-loss duties, policy conditions after loss

Duties after loss is the Section I condition in the standard ISO homeowners form that lists what you must do when you have a claim. In summary: give prompt notice to the insurer or agent; report a theft to the police; protect the property from further damage, making reasonable and necessary repairs and keeping a record of what you spend; cooperate with the investigation; prepare an inventory of damaged personal property with quantity, description, actual cash value and amount of loss, attaching bills and receipts; show the damaged property and provide requested records as often as the insurer reasonably requires, including submitting to an examination under oath; and send a signed, sworn proof of loss within 60 days after the insurer asks for it.

These are conditions of coverage, not suggestions. Skipping them, especially in ways that hurt the insurer's ability to investigate, such as reporting months late or discarding the damaged items, can reduce or defeat a claim. In some states the insurer must show it was actually harmed by the lapse, but do not count on that.

Start a claim log on day one. The steps are laid out in the first 48 hours after damage, and the guide on your duties under a homeowners policy covers the rest of the conditions.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026

In the index now

Related terms

First notice of loss The first report you or your agent makes to the insurer that damage has occurred, which opens the file and starts the insurer's response deadlines. Proof of loss A signed, sworn statement of what happened and what you are claiming, which most policies require within a set number of days. Mitigation of damages Your duty to take reasonable steps after a loss, such as tarping a roof or shutting off water, to keep damage from spreading; the policy usually pays for it. Contents inventory An itemized list of belongings that were damaged, destroyed or stolen, with quantity, description, age and cost, used to support a personal property claim. Examination under oath A formal, recorded question-and-answer session under oath that an insurer can require of a claimant, usually led by the insurer's attorney.

Related guides

Making an additional living expenses claim How to claim living costs while your home is unlivable: the baseline, the receipts, advances, what adjusters question, and how to ask for more time. Arson, staged losses and fraud investigations How insurers and fire investigators test a suspicious fire or theft, what the intentional loss exclusion does, and what to do if your claim is investigated. Assignment of benefits: what to know before you sign What an assignment of benefits gives a contractor, what you give up, how it differs from a direction to pay, and how Florida and other states treat it. Claims for hidden damage discovered later Can you claim damage found months after a storm, leak or fire? What decides it: cause, timing, late-notice rules, deadlines that run from the loss, and proof. Claims-free discounts and when to skip a small claim How claims-free discounts are earned and lost, what a claim leaves on your CLUE record, and a way to weigh a small payout against the long-term cost. Deadlines to sue over a home insurance claim The ISO policy allows two years from the date of loss to sue. State law can cut that to 12 months or stretch it to five, and talks rarely stop the clock.

Related tools

Home insurance claim checklist Work through the steps of a homeowners claim in order, with extra steps for water, wind, fire or theft, and tick them off as you go. Additional living expenses (loss of use) calculator Estimate your monthly extra living costs if a covered loss forces you out of your home, and how many months your loss of use limit would last.