Claims processing is initiated by a policyholder to collect on some loss or damage that falls under some coverage of the policy. This process can of course get quite complicated and drawn out.

The major steps of the claims process:

• Notification
  • The policyholder notifies the carrier of a loss
• Verification
  • The carrier verifies the party is a policyholder
  • The carrier verifies the policyholder's coverage for the loss (there is an initial verification and then a drawn out process)
• Appraising
• Adjusting
• Settling

Verification, appraising, adjusting, and settling can be a complicated process with ongoing discovery of information about the loss, all the parties involved, determining faults, negotiating, etc.