Losing your home to a disaster is one of the worst things that can befall a person. It’s where you and your family live and feel most at ease. It’s an investment your long-term nest egg. It’s where you keep all your belongings. Needless to say, a flood or fire can be devastating.
If this has happened to you, it’s natural to feel helpless, devastated, and stressed. In this condition, it’s easy to respond to the disaster less than perfectly. Here are a few tips about what to do should a calamity strike your home.
Take Stock of Your Insurance
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that any catastrophe that damages or destroys your house is necessarily covered. Not all disasters are the same, and coverage doesn’t apply to them evenly or at all. For example, wildfires and windstorms are usually covered, but floods are often excluded. There are also different types of “flooding,” and only some may have coverage under your policy if you do believe that you have a water damage endorsement.
For example, it may seem like “water damage” refers to floods, but it could mean only rain damage or a burst pipe rather than overland flooding and a backed-up sewer. Knowing precisely what coverage you have in the first place helps because you won’t be in the mood to read the fine print after the disaster has struck. However, the insurance company will deny coverage based on their interpretation of the fine print.
Get Legal Help
Many people think they need to file their insurance claim alone and accept whatever settlement the company arrives at. That’s the last thing you would want if your home was damaged in a fire or flood because you may be leaving a lot of money on the table.
Property damage lawyers can help you get a much larger settlement than what the insurance company offers you initially, and they can make the process leading up to it more streamlined and organized. Their experience negotiating these kinds of settlements will help you feel fully compensated for what you are entitled to under your policy.
As insurance claims are on the rise, sometimes your insurance adjuster may be inclined to try to wrap things up quickly. They may offer a lower number at the outset, hoping you don’t push back. You may want things wrapped up quickly too, but if you can get significantly more out of the settlement, it’ll be worth the wait and attention to detail throughout the process to ensure that you are receiving everything that you are entitled to.
Document What’s Lost
You’ll have a stronger case with the insurance company if you have solid documentation of everything that was lost in the disaster. The more thorough it is, the better.
This means photos and videos of the belongings lost and structural damage. You may be in a heated dispute, so the more high-quality evidence there is, the better off you will be.
Mind Your Expenses
Even if the settlement you receive is fair, there’s no guarantee that it will arrive quickly. It’s often a slow process that is unreasonably delayed.
You could be waiting for years, making do on your own, or drawing modest cash advances from their claims until a resolution is reached.
Responding to a natural disaster with precisely the right steps is very difficult, given the complexity of various processes and the intense emotions you’ll be feeling at the time. Hopefully, keeping these tips in mind will help you out.