Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions for Baltimore Equitable Insurance Policyholders. If you do not see an answer to your questions please feel free to contact us!

How do I file a claim?

Baltimore Equitable makes it easy to file a claim. The most direct way is to call our office. If the office is open, a representative will speak with you and gather information about what happened. A Claim Reporting Form will be sent to you. You will need to complete this form and send it back to us. In the meantime, our Claims Adjuster will contact you if necessary.

In addition, we've made it easier to file a claim right from our Web site. Just download the Claim Reporting Form in a PDF format, fill out your information on your claim, print it, sign and date it, and send it back to Baltimore Equitable Insurance at: One Charles Center, 100 North Charles Street, Suite 640, Baltimore, MD 21201, Phone: 410-727-1794.  You may also fax it to us at 410-539-1073.

If you call when the office is not open, our answering service will take your information and we will receive it the next business day.  If you need assistance right away, your call will be directed to an adjuster who will contact you as soon as possible. 

If there is an emergency and you need to take immediate action to protect your home and possessions from further damage, please do so.  If you have structural damage requiring emergency repairs you can contact Carl Sherfey of Hayes Construction Company at 410-365-3625 or 410-795-2179.  Be sure to advise him you are a Baltimore Equitable client.

If you need to clean up of a flooded basement you can call Maryland Restoration Services at 410-780-9100.  Again, be sure to tell them you are a Baltimore Equitable client.  However, you should know that intrusion of exterior water into the basement is covered only by endorsement and only under specific conditions.

If I remodel my kitchen, do I need to let Baltimore Equitable know?

Maybe. If you are doing a remodel that does not change the existing appliances and adds no new square footage to your home, you probably do not need to let us know.

However, if you are doing a significant upgrade to your kitchen, bathroom or any other portion of your home, please contact us prior to the work being done. This may add to the cost to rebuild your home, and we may need to make an adjustment to your coverage.

I have started a small business in my home. Do I need to let Baltimore Equitable know about this?

YES. There are specific exclusions and limitations of coverage on business property and liability. There are also endorsements you may purchase at very nominal rates to extend coverage to this new business endeavor.

Even if you think you don’t need anything extra, consider that if you order items for your business and the delivery person trips on your steps while they are delivering said items, there is no liability coverage under any homeowners policy for that.

Please call us if you have any questions about this situation as it may apply to you!

I own several pieces of jewelry, as well as art and antiques. Are these items covered under my policy?

Yes, but the coverage may be limited. For certain valuable items there are specific limitations of coverage listed in your policy. This is especially true for silver, jewelry, coins, money, and so on. Please check your policy for the specifics. If you have valuable items that you wish to be fully covered under the policy, you should consider a “valuable items endorsement.” This will require some type of current valuation of the items and an additional deposit. Please call our office it you believe you need this type of special coverage.

I have a valuable hearing aid. Will you cover that under my homeowners policy?

It is covered only for certain causes of loss. If the loss is caused by fire or theft, yes, the hearing aid is covered. If it is lost or broken or damaged by your pet, the hearing aid is NOT covered. When you purchased your hearing aid, you were advised that you could purchase protection from that company. We suggest that this offers you the best coverage available.

I have a sump pump. If it fails to operate and my basement is flooded, is that covered?

It is covered only if you have a special endorsement called “Water Backup of Sewers and Drains” – and then only the damage caused by the water is covered, not the sump pump itself. This would also apply to any water that enters your home through drains that are clogged. The damage done by the water is covered, the repair to the pipes and/or drains is not.

What is “Replacement Cost Guarantee”?

This is an endorsement that is added to a policy to provide an added 35% of Coverage A in the event a total loss were to occur and exceed the Coverage A written in your policy at the time of the loss. For example, with this endorsement, if your dwelling (Coverage A) were covered for $200,000 and you had a fire loss that required repairs to that dwelling of $250,000, Baltimore Equitable would cover the entire $250,000 even though your actual dwelling coverage was $200,000.

This endorsement requires that you keep 100% of what we feel would be the total cost to rebuild (not re-buy) your dwelling. This means that you will probably have to increase the coverage on your home annually as the cost to rebuild escalates.

If you have this coverage and you do not wish to make any more increases, we will simply take the endorsement off your policy and the actual written amount for Coverage A will be the limit that we will pay in the event of a loss to the dwelling.

If you do not have this endorsement, but you decide you would like to add it, you will have to increase your coverage to equal 100% of what we believe would be the total cost to rebuild your home (not re-buy), if necessary, and pay a $350 deposit for the endorsement. That $350 is also refundable.

I’ve just had the main sewer line to my house fail. Is that covered by my policy?

Unfortunately, it is not. A broken pipe and the damage it causes is covered when the pipe is located within the house. If a pipe is located outside the house, there is no coverage for the broken pipe, nor the damage it causes.