Guide to Preparation for Potential Hurricane Damage Claims

Summer in South Florida often falls into a hypnotic pattern centered on enjoying the water and avoiding the midday heat. Schools are out, and there’s a vacation mindset for locals as well as tourists. Chores get pushed back until sometime later. It can be a lazy season.

But the tranquility of summer rests on a fault that could lead to disaster at any time. Hurricane season starts right after Memorial Day and continues until the end of November. At any time during the season, but particularly during the peak months of August and September, you might suddenly find yourself underwater, or your world could literally turn upside down.

Staying prepared at the start of the season can allow you to progress through the next several months without unnecessary concern. But you can’t live your life with your hurricane shutters down and all your outdoor furniture locked away during the entire season. Instead, the type of preparation we’re talking about involves being prepared in case you need to file an insurance claim. A few steps ahead of time can reduce your stress if a storm causes damage—and it makes it much more likely that you will be able to be fairly compensated for your losses without excessive delays.

Understand Your Insurance Coverage

We are starting with the least appealing part of the preparation process. Reading an insurance policy is nobody’s idea of a good time. The language can be confusing and have specialized meanings. Sentences are lengthy and strung together into paragraphs designed to bring sleep to even the most desperate insomniac. 

Sometimes, we wonder whether policies are intentionally written in dull language to discourage policyholders from reading the terms. But in reality, we know that insurance policies use language that has been tested in court for decades or even centuries. When new circumstances arise, instead of changing policies to adapt, insurance companies simply add extra new language to try to cover potential new claims.

The resulting policy language is so long and convoluted that most people have no idea what losses their policies actually cover, or the limits of their coverage. They also don’t know the steps they need to take to fulfill the insurance company’s requirements to pay claims. This is true for personal homeowner’s insurance, wind and hail coverage, flood insurance, marine insurance and car insurance, but it also holds true for commercial insurance policies such as business interruption coverage. 

It is vitally important to understand your risks, know the extent to which your risks are covered by your policies, and know what you need to do to receive the proceeds if necessary. For instance, how soon do you need to notify the insurance company about a loss? What steps are you expected to take to mitigate damage? Does your coverage provide amounts that represent the current value of damaged property or do the amounts cover the full replacement costs?

You can talk to your insurance agent or an insurance attorney about the terms of your policy, and don’t be shy about asking questions. If your coverage leaves you open to risks that you don’t want to assume, the time to add coverage is now, before the need arises.

Conduct an Annual Inventory

It is hard to prove that your car or boat was in pristine condition before the storm when it is currently in pieces. The same holds true for your business or home property. So it is helpful to take a detailed photo or video inventory every year at the start of hurricane season to document your property and show its condition. This makes it difficult for insurance companies to claim that damage was pre-existing or due to routine wear.

The more detailed your inventory is, the more helpful it can be. Take wide-angle images of rooms and vehicles as well as close-up shots. For high-value items and electronics, capturing images of model and serial numbers can save time and establish the value of your losses.

Damage to external structures is common in hurricanes, so ensure that your photo or video inventory covers external features such as the condition of roofing materials, siding, landscaping, and other outdoor features and equipment.

In addition to photo inventories, it is also useful to have a spreadsheet to keep track of new purchases, including the price paid, purchase date, and model numbers. Your photo inventory should be date-stamped and information stored in a secure location. This could include a cloud drive or a memory stick stored off-site in a safe deposit box or other place not vulnerable to storm or fire damage.

Know How to Follow Through on Protection and Mitigation Obligations

Your policy may require you to take specific steps before and after a storm to maintain coverage. For instance, if you received a discount for installing storm shutters, you may have to lock the shutters into place to receive full coverage. 

Even if your policy does not require preparatory steps, taking those steps can save tremendous headaches later. Plan to move outdoor décor and other projectiles indoors, clean gutters to minimize water pooling, and move vessels and vehicles to the safest possible locations. Taking these preparatory steps makes it harder for the insurance company to claim that your negligence contributed to the property damage.

It is important to understand what you are required to do after a storm to maintain coverage, as well as general “best practices” after storm damage has occurred. For instance, no matter how desperately you want to protect your property, it is essential to wait until officials declare it is safe to return. Then take extensive photos before touching anything.

Many policies require you to take steps to mitigate further damage. If windows are broken, for instance, you may be expected to cover them with tarps to prevent further rain damage. Keep a list of your obligations with your property inventory for reference. When you take steps to mitigate damage or start repairs, keep copies of your receipts, along with receipts for living expenses.

If the Insurance Company Acts Unreasonably, Talk to an Insurance Attorney

While insurance companies do get overwhelmed after major storms, they also tend to use those storms as an excuse to delay or deny reasonable claims. When an insurance company acts in bad faith or otherwise fails to honor obligations to policyholders, intervention from an experienced insurance attorney can often bring a quick resolution.

At Ver Ploeg & Marino, we have decades of experience litigating complex insurance disputes, and we know that prompt intervention can sometimes prevent a major impasse. If you are in dispute with your insurance company, we invite you to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss how our team may be able to help.

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