How to File a Homeowners Insurance Claim After Hurricane Helen, Milton

It is important to understand how to file a homeowners insurance claim after a natural disaster.

Insured losses alone due to Hurricane Helen are now estimated at more than $6 billion.

Meanwhile, analysts expect Hurricane Milton to be a “once-in-a-century” storm with the potential to cause record damage when it makes landfall along Florida's west coast on Wednesday.

Once you are out of harm's way, starting the insurance claim process is an important consideration. Experts say the sooner you report a claim, the sooner your insurance company can start the process and you can start rebuilding.

“Your adjuster is appointed on a first-come, first-served basis,” said Shannon Martin, a licensed insurance agent and analyst with Bankrate.com.

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Your insurance company's processing arm will have “an enormous amount of paperwork and claims coming in,” said Jeremy Porter, head of climate impacts research at the First Street Foundation, an organization focused on financial modeling of climate risks in New York City.

“The longer you wait, not only are you delaying the ability for your claim to be approved and getting to you, but you are prolonging the time that claim will remain in the process of being processed,” Porter said.

Here are three important steps to file an insurance claim quickly after a disaster, according to experts.

Experts recommend including copies of your insurance policies and contact numbers in your disaster preparedness kit, which will accompany you in the event of an evacuation and be stored securely, otherwise.

Once the disaster has passed, immediately contact your insurance company to let them know your home sustained damage from a recent disaster and you want to start the claims process, Porter said.

If you vacate, “you can start a claim from anywhere,” Porter said. “You will eventually have to make an appointment with the insurance company to review and physically inspect the damage.”

But if you decide to wait out the storm in your home, you first need to prevent further damage to the home before calling, said Bankrate.com's Martin.

A typical home insurance policy contains language that requires homeowners to minimize the impact and prevent further damage, she said.

“Then you can call the insurance company, take pictures of the damage and (move) the items to safer locations,” Martin said.

During your call, provide your insurance company with some preliminary details, such as whether your roof was blown off or several windows were shattered, Porter said.

“But they won't actually evaluate them until they come and inspect the damage,” he added.

Even though the insurance company does its own inspection, it's always important to document the damage, including taking photos, so you can align it with the official inspection record issued by the insurance company, Porter said.

That way, you can dispute any claims if you have to later, he said.

In the event of a loss, you have to give prompt notice to your insurance company, and it's your duty to protect the property, said Daniel Schwartz, a professor of insurance law at the University of Minnesota Law School.

You should protect the property from further damage after a storm, make reasonable repairs and have an accurate record of repair expenses, Schwartz said.

The receipts you need to keep on file are for purchased items used to prevent further damage to property already damaged by a covered peril, Schwartz said, meaning wind and trees, but not floods in general unless you have a flood insurance policy. The insurance company will generally reimburse you for reasonable expenses you incur.

He said that if such measures were not taken after the storm, and such inaction led to further damage, the insurance company was not obligated to cover the loss.

Materials purchased to protect a home before a natural disaster strikes — for example, plywood to cover windows — are often not covered.

Experts say you also want to keep a record of receipts when you start working with contractors to rebuild from damage.

One reason you might want to document the damage immediately with your insurance company is so you can attach it to the event itself, making it more likely the event will be covered by your home insurance, Porter said.

“Filing the claim immediately is the most important thing to do,” Porter said.

He said it was important to trace the source of the damage, and obtaining evidence could help avoid problems in the future.

The Port files a claim for someone whose home suffered wind damage from Hurricanes Debbie or Helen, but did not file a claim before Milton made landfall and caused flood damage.

“Suddenly, you have an issue where the National Flood Insurance Program, which covers floods, and your home insurance company, which covers wind, can start arguing about the actual cause of the property damage,” Porter said.

“You want to make sure you file any claim within three to five days of the accident,” Martin said. As long as you provide all your information in time for the first incident, if something else comes up, you can show the adjuster that it happened from a second incident, she said.