Dealing With Home Damage? Know How To Prepare And File A Claim

20 November 2014 by Elijah Steward

If your home has been damaged from fire, water damage, or theft, you are likely going to want to file a claim with your homeowner's insurance. This is especially true if you are dealing with damages that are extremely costly and not wanting to pay for the repairs out of pocket. Unfortunately, not many homeowners know how to prepare and file a claim through homeowner's insurance. Without knowing this, it can be difficult to receive the full amount for damages that you are seeking. Here's what you should know:

Give Immediate Notice:

As soon as the damages have occurred to your home, you are going to want to call your agent, like one at John C. Beckett & Associates Inc, right away and inform them of the damages you feel you need to file a claim for. When you first call your agent, he or she is going to provide you with information on what steps you need to take next depending on what your homeowners insurance policy covers specifically. Also, be sure you write down the insurance agent's name and phone number so you can refer back to them if you ever receive contradicting information from another agent in the future.

Document Damages:

Documenting the damage done to your home is extremely important. You can use a video camera or take pictures of all the damage that you notice right away. This way, when you document future damages, it can clearly be see from your previous photos that this damage was a result of the first damages you noted. 

Make Temporary Repairs:

During the time you are waiting for your claim to go through, you will want to be sure that you are limiting the amount of repairs that can be done in the future because of the current state of your home at the moment. This will ensure that there aren't many repairs that your homeowners insurance will expect you to pay out of pocket for. You should place a tarp over holes in the roof that are leaking, and also be sure to save receipts for the cost of these temporary repairs and the supplies that you need for them. This will ensure there is potential to have these costs reimbursed. 

Make List of Missing Items:

Because of the damages created, there is a chance some of your stuff has gone missing in the fire or because of theft. You want to write down these items to ensure you can be reimbursed for these items as well. 

By ensuring that you follow these steps in filing a claim, you can receive proper reimbursement where it is due. The insurance is more likely to take your claim seriously, as well. 

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