Now that Hurricane Ida has passed, we all now begin the process to recover from the damage sustained. One of the most important steps that must be taken on the road to recovery is filing an insurance claim for any damages you have suffered.
If you have homeowners or a business insurance policy, and you have sustained damage from the Hurricane Ida you should make a claim with your insurance company as soon as possible. You may be tempted to wait until you have fully assessed the extent of your damage to make the claim, but the sooner you make your claim the sooner the process will begin, as insurance companies are often swamped with claims after a natural disaster occurs.
During your claim process, you will want to make sure that you document all communication that you have with your insurance company and the insurance adjuster assigned to evaluate your loss. Do not necessarily rely upon an insurance adjuster to document and calculate the amount you are owed under your own insurance policy. You should confirm all verbal conversations with follow emails and/or letters whenever possible so that remains a consistent record of all commitments and requests made throughout the claims process.
Make sure to take photos and/or video recordings of everything that relates to your loss, in real time if possible. This will help in case your insurance attempts to dispute whether certain damage to your property was caused by the storm or whether some other event caused the damage. Documenting this information will help to satisfy any disputers. For any losses of personal property make a list of all lost items. Additionally, you should research online the replacement cost of such items and submit those documents to your insurance company as well.
If you have incurred any additional costs for expenses associated with evacuating, such as gas, hotel stays, and meals or for cleaning up damage caused by the hurricane may be covered under your insurance policy. Make sure to save documentation for any such expenses so that they can be produced to your insurance company during the claim process.
Finally, it is very important that you review your insurance policy. The policy is a contact between you and your insurance company, and it outlines for which losses the insurance company agrees to pay you. It is very important to understand your policy details during the claims process.
If you have any questions concerning the claims process, please feel free to contact our office at 504-828-3313.
