3 Ways to Get Ready for a Visit by the Flood Adjuster
If a flood recently hit your area really hard, your insurance agent is going to be flooded with claim requests. The sooner you call your agent, the sooner you will get on the list to have an adjustor visit your home, evaluate the damage, and help you get the money you need to start rebuilding and reclaiming your home. Here's a look at the steps you should take.
#1: Make the Call
The first thing you need to do is call your insurance company. Let them know the basics of your claim. Let them know what parts of your home were flooded, and let them know the state of the flood, such as if there is still standing water in your home. Your insurance company may be able to send out a team to help you clean-up even before their adjustor gets out there, so the sooner you make the call, the better.
#2: Take Lots of Pictures
Second, you need to take lots of pictures. In this process, you really can't take too many pictures. Take pictures of the damage to your home from as many angles as possible, and make sure that you take pictures of every item and part of your home that is damaged. The more pictures, the better. Your adjuster can look at the pictures to help determine the value of your claim, and as you clean things up before the adjuster arrives, you can use the pictures to show the full extent of the damage so that the adjust has a full picture of what you have had to deal with.
#3: Document the Damage
In addition to taking pictures, you need to start making lists of what was damaged. You can do this by looking at pictures, or by taking a physical inventory of the items in the rooms that were damaged. You are going to have to fill out a proof of loss form at some point during the claims process. This document will be your official claim for damage and will go over everything that was damaged. The sooner you start making a list of everything that is damaged, the more information you will have to fill out ion the proof of loss and the more accurate your settlement will be. You will also be asked to provide values for what was damaged, so the sooner you start the process, the better off you will be.
If your home was damaged in a flood, use these tips to work with a flood damage insurance claims adjuster.