If your home, investment property, or property you manage has been rendered uninhabitable as a result of a fire, flood, or storm damage, you’re probably focused on one thing: getting your property rebuilt so that you can get back to your normal life as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, it’s not always so simple to know what you should do after fire, flood, or storm damage to your home. If you’re relying on coverage from your insurance policy to help pay for your rebuilding costs, things can get complicated rather quickly. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to expedite the claims process and ensure that you receive a fair settlement.
Document Damage as Much as Possible
When it comes to what you should do about storm, flood, or fire damage to your home, documentation is key to a quick insurance settlement. Whenever it is safe to do so, be sure to get plenty of pictures of the damage that was done to your property. Formal documentation (such as a report from your local fire department) can also come in handy when it comes to speeding up the claims process with your insurance company.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Don’t delay in filing your claim with your insurance company; file a claim as soon as possible, or preferably have your Public Adjuster file for you after the damage has occurred to get the ball rolling. Your Public Adjuster will be able to tell you what kind of further documentation may be needed to complete your settlement. Your insurance company may also want to schedule a time to send one of their adjusters out to your property for damage assessment.
Consult With a Public Adjuster
Unfortunately, insurance adjusters don’t work for you; they work for the insurance company. With that in mind, it’s not uncommon for insurance adjusters to “low-ball” settlement offers to policyholders, even in situations where a complete rebuild is needed.
With this in mind, it’s always a good idea to consult with your own experienced Public Adjuster. After fire, flood, or storm damage to your home – you should hire a Public Adjuster to ensure that you are receiving a fair and accurate assessment of damage from a third party, rather than somebody who is working for your insurance company. This, in turn, increases the potential amount for your settlement and can help expedite the entire process.
In fact, did you know that the average Public Adjuster gets 747% more on a settlement than a property owner simply filing for him or herself? Think about what a difference that could make in the rebuilding of your damaged property.
Schedule Your Free Consultation Today
Dealing with destruction to your property due to a fire, flood, or storm can be devastating. However, you have property insurance coverage specifically to protect you in these scenarios. Working with a Public Adjuster is something you should always do after fire, flood, or storm damage to your home. We can ensure that you receive the full settlement to which you are entitled from your insurance company.
Get started with a Public Adjuster today by scheduling your free consultation with Peninsula Public Adjusters. You can reach our team by calling (800) 883-9397. From there, we can get to work determining how much your settlement is actually worth.
