My insurer is investigating my claim — what should I do?

What the insurer is entitled to require

In damage insurance — home, auto, property — the Civil Code allows the insurer to require you to disclose, as soon as possible, all the circumstances of the loss: its probable cause, the nature and extent of the damage, the location of the property, the rights of third parties, and any other insurance that may apply. It may also require supporting documents and ask you to attest under oath that your information is accurate (article 2471).

This is a genuine obligation, not a courtesy. If a serious reason prevents you from producing a document in time, you are entitled to a reasonable delay; but ignoring a request is never a good strategy.

What it cannot do: let the file drift

An investigation does not suspend payment indefinitely. The insurer must pay within 60 days of receiving the notice of loss or, if it asked for information and documents, of receiving them (article 2473).

In practice, that clock only starts once you have supplied what was asked for. Send documents in writing, keep proof of each sending and its date, and keep a list of what you provided. That list is what will later show the deadline has passed.

The burden of proof is on its side

Good faith is always presumed (article 2805). An insurer that suspects fraud or exaggeration cannot simply say so: whoever claims that a right is extinguished must prove the facts relied on (article 2803). The standard is the balance of probabilities — a fact more likely than not (article 2804).

In other words, an investigator's doubt is not enough to deny a claim. That is often the first point to raise when a denial arrives without concrete proof.

The real danger: a false statement

Any false statement forfeits its maker's right to indemnity for the risk it relates to (article 2472). The lie need not concern the cause of the loss: an inflated value, an approximate date presented as certain, or a detail invented to fill a gap in memory can all be characterised that way.

The practical rule is simple. Say “I don't know” when that is the truth. Do not estimate a value or date you cannot document. And if you realise you made a mistake, correct it immediately, in writing: a spontaneous correction is nothing like a contradiction the investigator uncovers.

Why some information is withheld from you

You are entitled to the personal information the insurer holds about you. But the law allows it to refuse information whose disclosure would likely hinder an investigation by its internal security service, or affect judicial proceedings in which either party has an interest (section 39 of the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector). A partial refusal during an investigation is therefore not unusual in itself — but it must be explained in writing.

When to bring in a lawyer

The right time is before the sworn statement, not after. The same goes when the insurer asks for documents that go well beyond the loss — months of bank statements, phone records, travel history — or when the tone of the exchanges changes. An investigation properly framed from the start is often resolved without litigation.