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Guide

A business insurance claim: keep the evidence in one place from day one.

After a fire, a storm, a burst pipe, a theft or a liability claim, the business is trying to recover while the insurer is asking for proof. The adjuster wants photographs, inventories, invoices, repair estimates and, for a business interruption claim, enough financial history to show what the business would have earned. Many owners also bring in a public adjuster, an attorney or their CPA.

This guide covers the kinds of documents a commercial claim usually involves and how to share them with the insurer and your own advisors in a controlled way. It is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Read your policy, meet its notice requirements and ask your broker or attorney about your rights.

Evidence most claims rely on

The policy and the loss

  • The full policy, declarations pages and endorsements, and your notice of loss.
  • Photographs and video of the damage, taken before cleanup where it is safe to do so.
  • Police or fire department reports, if any.

Property and inventory

  • Inventory records, purchase invoices and a list of damaged or lost items.
  • Repair and replacement estimates, contractor proposals and receipts for emergency work.
  • The fixed asset register, and equipment manuals or serial numbers where available.

Business income

  • Financial statements and tax returns for prior years, and monthly results before and after the loss.
  • Payroll records and evidence of extra expenses incurred to keep operating.
  • Contracts or orders that were lost or delayed because of the event.

Your policy will usually require a sworn proof of loss within a set time once the insurer asks for it. The deadline is in the policy, so check it early.

Building a claim room

  1. 1

    Create the folders now

    Make folders for the policy, photos, inventory, estimates, financials and correspondence, and start filling them on day one.

  2. 2

    Track the adjuster's requests

    Turn each request into an item on a document request list, assign it, and record when it was provided.

  3. 3

    Invite the adjuster

    The adjuster confirms their email with a six-digit code and sees only the folders you allow.

  4. 4

    Keep every revision

    Updated estimates and inventories go in as new versions, so the history shows how the claim developed.

Why a controlled file helps the claim

Claims can run for months, involve several adjusters and generate hundreds of photos and invoices. Without one organized file, documents get sent twice, lost, or sent in different versions to different people. A room gives everyone the same current file, and the audit log records every view, download and upload, chained so alterations are detectable.

Groups let you separate audiences. Your public adjuster, attorney and CPA can see your internal notes and drafts; the insurer's adjuster sees the final evidence. A folder a group cannot see does not appear for it. Payroll and personal information about staff can be view-only, watermarked with the reader's name, email address and the date.

ShareAndGo reads text from documents, including scanned invoices and receipts, and its search finds words inside them with highlighted snippets. When the adjuster asks for the invoice for a particular machine, you find it quickly.

Questions

Can contractors upload estimates directly?
Yes. Send them a request-a-file link, and their documents arrive in the room after a virus scan.
Can we export the whole claim file?
Yes. Export the room as a ZIP with its folder structure and an index of every document, in PDF and CSV.
Should we share everything with the insurer?
That is a question for your broker, public adjuster or attorney. ShareAndGo lets you decide folder by folder.

Related guides

Year-end document collection

Well-kept records make a claim easier.

Preparing for a business valuation

Financial history for a different purpose.

A commercial property transaction

Property records worth keeping in order.

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