After a hurricane or tornado your life will be in total
disarray. No power, no coffee, screaming
kids, no air conditioning, damaged property and the biggest worry… what is going
to happen next.
After filing a claim, the most important thing you can do is document your damages. It is unrealistic to think you can leave everything the way it is until your insurance adjuster is able to schedule an inspection. After a large weather event, it could be many weeks before an adjuster can come to your home.
You will need to clean up the yard, and get any trees off the house. These damages you can photograph easily with your smartphone or camera. Take overview shots of the damage, with just a few close ups. The overview shots are preferred by the insurance companies so they can set an idea of the entire scene not just a close up of one thing. Pictures on your smartphone are easy, snap away.
Any roof damage will need to be covered and temporary repairs made. The insurance companies require under this under the conditions sections of the contract, that you make these temporary repairs to protect the property from further damage. What ever you need to do, weather it is a roof tarp, a wall tarp or window board up, it is imperative to cover all openings.
Take photos of the damage to the roof before the tarp is installed. The adjuster will need to see what is under the tarp so they can make a claim payment, and you will not want to remove the tarp to gain access.
Temporary Repair LLC specializes in roof tarps and wall tarps and will take the pictures from the roof and email them to you, so you have them for your claim records. This is one of the key elements in using a tarp professional, this way can get those pictures you would not be able to access from the ground.
When your adjuster comes out, have the pictures available for them to view. Ask to email them the ones they want so they can stay in your claim record. The adjuster that comes to your home is oftentimes not the person you will be dealing with for the entire claim process. Catastrophe adjusters work all over the country and many times can be sent to a different disaster location before all your repairs are completed. By including your own photos you know exactly what is in the claim file and can refer to these down the line with any additional adjusters you may speak with you have not been to your house, but relying on the photos.