Run your side of a burst-pipe home insurance claim with Claude: receipts, logs, policy checks and pushing back on delays (partial)

Posted

Sep 2, 2026 by wellpast (Hacker News)

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Last checked

Oct 19, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Outcome

Two months after a water pipe burst in their house, wellpast is using Claude to run their side of the claim with a large insurer. It reads the policy, organises and files scans of receipts for additional living expenses (ALE), reads and flags messages from the agents, logs all correspondence, work estimates and invoices, points out when the insurer is delaying or not keeping promises, and challenges coverage decisions based on the policy. The adjuster gets very tidy, documented receipts and logs. The delays have been bad enough that Claude now insists they should file a complaint with the state insurance department. Without Claude, they say, they'd probably have given up from fatigue.

Agent

Claude

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me manage my side of a home insurance claim from start to finish.

What I'll share as we go:
- My policy documents: [ATTACH]
- What happened and when: [DETAILS]
- Receipts, estimates and messages from the insurer so far: [ATTACH]

You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Summarise what my policy covers for this kind of damage, quoting the clause each time.
- Keep one log of every message, call, promise and deadline, and flag anything the insurer is late on.
- File receipts by category (living expenses, repairs, contents) with running totals.
- When I disagree with a decision, draft a polite reply citing the policy, and tell me when it may be time to contact the state insurance regulator.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A claim log, a receipt summary and draft replies for me to send.

You'll know it worked when: the claim is paid fully for what my policy covers, with nothing lost for lack of paperwork.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me manage my side of a home insurance claim from start to finish.

What I'll share as we go:
- My policy documents: [ATTACH]
- What happened and when: [DETAILS]
- Receipts, estimates and messages from the insurer so far: [ATTACH]

You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Summarise what my policy covers for this kind of damage, quoting the clause each time.
- Keep one log of every message, call, promise and deadline, and flag anything the insurer is late on.
- File receipts by category (living expenses, repairs, contents) with running totals.
- When I disagree with a decision, draft a polite reply citing the policy, and tell me when it may be time to contact the state insurance regulator.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A claim log, a receipt summary and draft replies for me to send.

You'll know it worked when: the claim is paid fully for what my policy covers, with nothing lost for lack of paperwork.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me manage my side of a home insurance claim from start to finish.

What I'll share as we go:
- My policy documents: [ATTACH]
- What happened and when: [DETAILS]
- Receipts, estimates and messages from the insurer so far: [ATTACH]

You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Summarise what my policy covers for this kind of damage, quoting the clause each time.
- Keep one log of every message, call, promise and deadline, and flag anything the insurer is late on.
- File receipts by category (living expenses, repairs, contents) with running totals.
- When I disagree with a decision, draft a polite reply citing the policy, and tell me when it may be time to contact the state insurance regulator.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- Give me a one-page status summary I can send the adjuster each week.

Output: A claim log, a receipt summary and draft replies for me to send.

You'll know it worked when: the claim is paid fully for what my policy covers, with nothing lost for lack of paperwork.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49536267