The difference between a claim that moves and a claim that stalls is usually decided before an adjuster ever opens it. A file that passes a consistent set of intake checks arrives ready for assessment. A file that skips them arrives as a problem to be solved later.
Here is the sequence we apply to every property FNOL at intake. They fall into two buckets: completeness (does the file have what an adjuster needs) and internal consistency (does the file hold together). None of these checks makes a coverage or liability decision. Each one simply confirms the file is worth an adjuster's time.
Why a Checklist Beats a Glance
A trained intake clerk can spot an obviously broken file. What a human glance cannot do, reliably, at catastrophe-season volume, is apply the same checks to the four-hundredth file of the day with the same rigor as the first.
Consistency is the whole value of an intake gate. Every file, checked the same way, every time, regardless of volume.
Completeness: Required Fields
Start with the basics. Is the insured named? Is there a policy number, a date of loss, a property address, and a stated peril? A file missing any of these is not yet a claim an adjuster can pick up, and it is the cheapest gap of all to catch at the door.
Completeness: Required Photos
Confirm that every photo the firm requires for this claim type is present and usable. This is more than counting files.
- Presence: the required close-ups, not just the wide overview shots, are attached.
- Usability: no zero-byte files, corrupt images, or duplicates standing in for distinct views.
- Your rule, not ours: what counts as a required photo is defined by your book, not an off-the-shelf template.
Consistency: Date of Loss vs Policy Term
The reported date of loss should fall inside the policy's effective term. A loss dated before the policy took effect, or after it lapsed, is an internal contradiction worth surfacing before the file is assigned. This is a consistency check against the policy on record. It is not a coverage determination, and it is not a check against any weather data.
Consistency: Peril vs Documented Damage
The peril the claim states should be consistent with the damage the file documents. If a claim states wind damage to the roof plus interior water intrusion, but only the roof is shown, the interior portion is unevidenced. That gap deserves a second look while the file is still fresh, not after an adjuster has spent time on it.
A file that clears these checks is not approved. It is ready. The adjuster can open it and immediately begin the work that actually requires their judgment.
Where the Gate Stops
It is worth being precise about what these checks are not. They do not decide coverage. They do not detect fraud. They do not validate whether a storm happened, and they do not audit estimate pricing or material specs. Those are different products and different decisions.
The gate confirms that every claim reaching a human is complete and internally consistent, flags the exceptions with a clear reason, and drafts the follow-up your team approves and sends. That is the whole job: keep adjuster attention pointed at the claims that are ready for it.
