What immediate actions should you take after suffering hurricane damage to your insured home to aid in your insurance claim?

The following actions should be taken after the storm is passed and it is safe to do so:

1. First, document the extent of your damage with videos and photos.  This should be a good 20-minute walk around your house both outside and inside to capture any water or wind related damage from the storm (and if you have flooding coverage under a separate policy any flooding damage as well).
   1. Video any active dripping of water from damaged ceilings, damaged door casings or seals, or damaged window casings or seals.
   2. Photograph wind damaged roof tiles, shingles, membranes, underlayment, or sheathing that appear to have been ripped off your roof and landed on your yard or the surrounding areas.  Standing back with a view of your roof take photos of newly missing tiles, shingles, membranes, and any other damage conditions.
   3. Photograph any suddenly occurring water stains on ceilings, walls, baseboards, casing materials inside your home.
   4. Video any abnormal pooling water on flooring surfaces in your home.
2. Second, take action to prevent further damage to your home including:
   1. Drying up water inside your home.  Depending upon the extent of water this may require professional help from a dry out or water mitigation company.
   2. Stopping further water from entering your home thru the installation of roof, window, door, and exterior wall coverings such as tarps, shrink wrap, plastic, and plywood. Depending upon the extent of damage to your roof, window(s), door(s), or exterior wall(s) this may require professional help from a roofer or water mitigation company.
   3. Documenting and removing damaged building materials as well as personal property for storage and later inspection (e.g. furniture, clothing, electronics, etc.)
   4. Be sure to take photos and videos of your damage prevention efforts to document to provide later to your insurance company.
3. Third, get professional help in handling your claim and file your claim as soon as possible:
   1. The extent of damage suffered from a hurricane can be overwhelming and having a professional in your corner to handle your claim from the beginning to end can make a big difference in obtaining money needed to restore your home to its pre-loss condition.
      1. You can either hire a public adjuster or an attorney to handle your claim.
      2. Per Florida law for hurricane claims the maximum fee a public adjuster can charge is 10% of what is recovered on your behalf.
      3. Attorneys can sue an insurance company on your behalf if you are unable to recover a sufficient amount to restore your home to its pre-loss condition through the claims process.  Under Florida law attorneys can seek their attorney fees directly from the insurance company upon winning a judgment in your favor, which means that after a lawsuit is filed, they do not have to take a percentage of what they recover for you, but instead can seek their fees directly from the insurance company on top of what they recover for you. 
      4. The advantages of hiring a professional to handle your claim rather than going it alone is they can help you avoid missteps during the claims process and be there to answer questions about policy reviews to verify coverage, conducting recorded statements, examinations under oath, completing sworn proofs of loss, responding to document requests, getting damage estimates, obtaining mitigation services you will need, and negotiating claim adjustments.
      5. Ensure you timely report your claim with the assistance of your professional 
4. Fourth, keep and store damaged building materials and personal property you removed for future inspection by your insurance company as well as any receipts, invoices, or reports for services you obtained on your loss.  If it is an unsafe health hazard to store damaged building materials and personal property, then ensure you video and photograph damaged materials before discarding.  Receipts, invoices, reports, contracts, etc. from roofers, dry out or water mitigation companies, home repair supply houses, handyman, etc. need to be kept for review later along with their contact information.
5. Fifth, monitor for newly occurring damage at your insured property and document with photos and videos, keeping in mind that the full extent of hurricane damage may not reveal itself for weeks, months, or even years after the storm has passed thru.

Performing these immediate actions after a hurricane can greatly aid in the processing of your property insurance claim later.  If you need help with your claim, give our office a call or send us an electronic message as property insurance claims are what we do.  We look forward to helping you navigate and handle your Hurricane Ian property damage claim. 

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