Yes, claims is a Scrabble word!

Verb

1. Assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing

2. Demand as being one's due or property; assert one's right or title to

3. Ask for legally or make a legal claim to, as of debts, for example

4. Lay claim to; as of an idea

5. Take as an undesirable consequence of some event or state of affairs

Noun

1. An assertion of a right (as to money or property)

2. An assertion that something is true or factual

3. Demand for something as rightful or due

4. An informal right to something

5. An established or recognized right

6. A demand especially in the phrase "the call of duty"