Top 5 Valuable Insurance Tips for After the Storm

What are some insurance tips for after the storm? I get asked this question often by my readers. As a kind person, I do give them a couple of tips free of charge because I understand the significance of it. Now, if you are reading this, chances are that you found the post by “googling” the exact same question. If that’s right, below are the tips you seek:

What Are Some Insurance Tips for After the Storm?

1. Shut off the household power and unplug everything from electrical outlets to prevent possible electrical disasters. Isn’t it daft to let your home flood from a storm without shutting off the power? Not really. Matter of fact, there are many circumstances under which your home may get flooded with the household power still on.

For example, stormwater can fill up your house at night when you are deep asleep or when you went on a short trip out of town. Either way, be sure to take the necessary precautions while attempting to shut off the power to avoid being electrocuted. If you don’t feel safe undertaking this step, it’s a good idea to let a trained electrician do it. 

2. Document your loss by taking photographs or videos and recording the details of the damaged items. It will go a long way in helping to substantiate the value of your loss to the insurance company. This will eliminate the chances of delay, underpayment, or even denial of your claim.

Of course, your insurance provider’s representative will come to inspect the damage, but it’s also a good idea for you to have your evidence of the same just to be on the safe side. Plus, many insurance providers will ask you to submit your version of the event. 

3. Contact your insurance provider immediately after documenting your loss. Not only will this begin and expedite the compensation process, but it will also ensure that your claim amount isn’t affected or rejected in the end. Don’t forget that failing to notify your insurer immediately after an applicable tragic event is one of the factors that can affect your claim amount and the validity of your claim. 

Notably, insurer adjusters tend to visit clients with the most severe damage first following a catastrophic storm. That means you want to give an exact description of the extent of the property damage, explaining how severely the damage has affected you.

Finally, don’t forget to provide your adjuster with your policy number and the most reliable phone number as well as the email address at which they can get back to you. Be sure, to ask them when you can expect to be contacted so you’re ready for the visit.

4. After the adjuster has assessed the damage, you’ll require emergency home restoration services to help in different ways such as de-flooding your home, fixing your damaged roof, door, windows, or any other component of your home temporarily. While there may be many home emergency restoration services near you, your insurer probably has its list of approved emergency services.

In other words, they don’t work with just about any services around. To avoid complicating your case, you should only engage home restoration emergency services that are approved by your insurance provider. Find out from your adjuster if you don’t know any. 

5. Take advantage of SMS/text alerts offered by your insurance provider. For starters, many insurance entities have SMS/text message alerts to notify clients of the status of their claims.

By signing up to those, you’ll receive notifications of where your claims process has reached through text messages on your phone, so you don’t have to keep on dialing the number of your adjuster for the same purpose. You’ll also see when your compensation is likely to be and has been made. 

Final Thoughts

Having the right knowledge and tips at your fingertips can be key to getting the most compensation out of your insurance policy following a storm. It begs the question; what are some insurance tips for after the storm? First, shut off the household power and unplug everything from electrical outlets to prevent possible electrical disasters.

Second, document your loss by taking photographs or videos and recording the details of the damaged items. Third, contact your insurance provider immediately after documenting your loss.

Fourth, get emergency home restoration services to help restore your home and make it habitable again even as you wait for compensation. Fifth, sign up for SMS/text alerts offered by your insurance provider to stay updated with the status of your claims process.