How to File a Homeowner’s Claim After a Hurricane

If your home or property had been damaged in a storm there are some things you need to know about filing an insurance claim. There are some very basic things that you can do in order to ensure your claim is processed in a timely fashion with few headaches. Remember that your homeowners will cover a variety of damage to your personal property as well as your home. Here are some ways to file an insurance claim for your home, property or automobile that has been damaged by the hurricane.

The most important thing you can do is to read over your policies. The majority of homeowner’s policies will not cover water damage unless a pipe bursts. Therefore, you are likely not covered for flood, seepage or flash flooding. Once in a while, a policy has a special endorsement that will cover seepage from a storm, but there are many conditions by which the policy will pay. It is also very important to read your policy to determine if you have replacement cost on your contents. This means that you are given the price of replacing the item with today’s costs for an item that is used. This is a very important detail to add to your policy. It makes sure you can purchase new items for those damaged and not receive the price of what your used item is worth.

As soon as it is safe, make sure that you take lots of pictures of the damage. Pictures of the damage before clean up are essential for an insurance adjuster to help process your claim. Then you should do what a prudent individual would do to protect your property. For instance, if a limb has penetrated the home, do your best to cover the open area as soon as possible. Make a written record of the date and time the damage occurred with the damage. It will help you to better report your claim with accuracy.

Create an inventory list of all property that was damaged. Gather receipts of any items that you can. If you have a big ticket item like a television that had been damaged this will come in handy. If you do not have receipts for these items, look up their value to the best of your ability. In some cases you may have to look up the replacement cost of a similar item if your item is no longer available. This includes items you may overlook. Carpeting, window dressings, furniture, clothing, books, everything that was damaged should be recorded.

Phone the insurance company right away. It is important to have your policy information and the list of damage with you when you place this call. Remember that these companies are getting large numbers of calls after a bad storm, have patience. You may have to wait a long time in order to get a live person. If you can, some insurance companies will allow reporting of a claim online. This is a great option to use if you are having a hard time getting a live person.

When the insurance adjuster comes to your home, be sure to have extra copies of your pictures and a property damage list with costs available. This will help to process your claim quickly. It is important to be matter of fact with adjusters; their job is to gather information. Answer questions to the best of your ability without inflating the situation. The adjuster will leave their name and number along with their report. Keep this information in a safe place. You should hear from your insurance company within three business days with respect to processing. It may take longer to actually resolve the claim, but by providing information you have helped to speed the process along.


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *