Summertime is now in full swing, bringing not only sunny days but also potential summer storms. Summer storms have the potential to cause serious damage to your home and property.
If there is damage to your house or property, you may need to make a claim on your homeowner’s policy. Here are a few tips that can make the claim process easier, not just in summertime but all year round as well:
- Keep an Up To Date Home Inventory - Keeping an up to date inventory of your household belongings is key to making the claims process go quickly. This is especially true for the more expensive items in your home, including jewelry.
- Keep receipts in a fireproof box if possible or keep a copy of receipts by scanning them and saving them electronically.
- Take photos and video of your belongings while you narrate with the description of the item and the price paid.
- Store these files online so you can access them from anywhere.
- It is not necessary to photograph every book and CD you own...taking a photo of your bookcase or china cabinet will be sufficient.
- Use a Home Inventory app – there are several apps available for IOS and Android that allows you to store all the important information you need including pictures, receipts, registration/serial numbers, purchase date and more! Here are two I found that are available for iPhone and Android: Sortly and Encircle: Home Inventory.
- Contact Us Immediately – It is important that you give us a call quickly to get the claim underway. It doesn’t matter if you experienced a small amount of damage or have a huge hole in your roof… the quicker you call the better. We can help walk you through the claims process as well as document hotel expenses if you have been evacuated out of your house. (These may be reimbursable later.)
- Document the Damage and Make Necessary Repairs – You should document the damage as soon as it is safe. Take photos or video of everything that has been damaged, including any damage to the structure of the house and your personal property. Do not make any permanent repairs or hire a contractor until you have started the claims process. Cover any broken windows or holes in the roof to prevent any further damage. You should take photos of the damage before you make any temporary repairs. While it may be tempting to drag damaged furniture and other household items to the curb, do not discard anything until an adjuster has been able to take a look at them.
Hopefully you will not have to make a claim on your homeowner’s policy at any time, but if you do, use these tips to help make sure that the claims process goes as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Published with permission from BGI Systems. Source.