How Does Homeowners Insurance Work After a Disaster?
You already own your own home and carry a good homeowners insurance policy, but so far, nothing has happened that has caused you to cash in on that policy. Then a huge storm hits. Your roof is damaged by hail, and the living room’s picture window is smashed into glittering fragments by a stray tree limb. Now what do you do? How does homeowners insurance work now?
Well, there are a few steps you need to take now, and they’ll take some time and patience. Don’t worry, though. If you’ve found a good insurance company who takes care of customers, you’ll have help through this process, and it shouldn’t take to long. Here’s what you should do for your homeowners insurance after a disaster.Home Insurance
1.Call your agent or insurance company immediately. Be sure that your insurance agent’s phone number is always somewhere that you can find it; keep a copy in your home and in your car just in case one or the other is damaged in a disaster. As soon as the incident happens, you need to call your agent or company and be sure that your insurer is aware that you’ll be making a claim.
2.Check out the damages. Take a camera, notepad, and a pen with you around your home, and figure out what the damages are. Go through every room, and figure out what was hurt or what’s missing, in case you’re dealing with a break-in. It may be helpful to ask your family members what they see that’s missing or damaged, as they’ll probably think of things you would have left out.
If the damages are in places that you can’t accurately assess, such as your roof, which can be damaged by hail without seeming to be hurt in the least, you may have to hire someone to assess the damage. Some companies will give you a free damage assessment to get you to hire them to fix the issue, so you may be able to find a deal like this.
3.Use your best judgement to make temporary repairs. If there’s a huge hole in your front window that you don’t put plastic over, the insurance company won’t pay for the damages to your floor when rain comes in for days and days. Keep your receipts from any repairs you make, as you can be reimbursed for the materials as long as they’re within reason.
4.Be patient. This is the one that many people have trouble with, but remember that you aren’t your insurance company’s only concern. If your problems are due to a regional disaster like a huge hail storm, the company will take care of the people who can’t even live in their homes before they’ll take care of broken windows and slightly leaky roofs. It may take a while to get a check for repairs, but it will come. In the mean time, stay in contact with your insurance agent without, of course, becoming obnoxious by calling him or her every three hours.
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