The past few days has brought very heavy rain throughout South Florida. Many in Miami-Dade County and Broward County experienced terrible weather. The heavy rains even caused some flash flooding in many areas throughout South Florida as a result of seeing as much as 9 inches of rain in some areas. Especially hard hit are areas that are historically prone to flooding like Sweetwater and Doral. Indeed, these are areas are under water today after some very heavy rain fall recently.
The heavy rains may have also caused water damage to your property. Water damage is one of the most commonly cited reasons in any property insurance claim. After heavy rains such as the ones we just experienced this past weekend may result in some form of damage to your property.
Despite the fact that water damage is a common cause to assert a property insurance claim, not all claims for damages due to similar causes will be paid by insurance companies. In fact, claiming on home insurance against water damage can be complicated, and tricky. If you have sustained damage to your property as a result of the recent heavy downpour, then you should contact our office today for a consultation regarding your potential claim.
Here are some tips to assist you in properly documenting your water damage claim as a result of the heavy rain fall:
• Photograph the outside of the premises, showing the water damage or flooding. Also, photograph the inside of the premises, showing the damaged property and the height of the water if your property was flooded.
• Don’t delay in notifying your insurance company promptly of your damage. Delay in reporting the claim could result in a denial of the claim. This includes notifying both your flood insurance company, if you have flood insurance, as well as your home insurance. You will likely need to prepare some documents required by the insurance company to move the claim forward, and one of our professionals can assist you with the claim process.
• Separate the damaged from the undamaged property and put it in the best possible order for the insurance adjuster’s examination. If reasonably possible, protect the property from further damage.
• Fully cooperate with any and all reasonable requests made by any authorized representative from the insurance company as part of their claims investigation.
• Damaged property which presents a health hazard or which may hamper local clean-up operations should be disposed of. Be sure to adequately describe and photograph discarded items so that, when the adjuster examines your losses and your records, these article are included in the documentation.
• Good records speed up settlement of your claim. Compile a room-by-room inventory of damaged goods, and include manufacturer’s names, dates and places of purchases, and prices. Try to locate receipts or proofs of purchase, especially for major appliances, and note manufacturers’ names, serial numbers, prices, and dates of purchase.