Photo: Christian Abraham, Connecticut Post
If Sandy’s wake has left you with lost or damaged possessions or property you’ll want to file an insurance claim. Here are some tips on getting a quick, fair settlement from your insurance company after a disaster.
✦ Collect all policy numbers and insurance company phone numbers. Plan to file a claim even if your home or property is not covered for the type of disaster that occurred because consequential damages may be covered.
✦ Find out how the company will process claims. If damage is widespread, the company may set up special procedures and send extra personnel and claims adjusters.
✦ Make an accurate list of the damage. Ask your friends, neighbors, and family members to help you in preparing the list. Use the list when you file a claim to prove that a loss took place and to confirm the value. If possible, photograph or videotape the damage. Check the list against any inventory you may have made before the disaster occurred, or make a pre-disaster inventory from memory.
To jog your memory for items you had before the disaster, walk the aisles of local stores, look at newspaper want ads, or leaf through catalogs. Surviving photographs or videotapes taken in and around your home also may help. If necessary, draw floor plans or sketches of your home’s interior. Repeat the process in two or three weeks, because it’s likely you will remember additional items. Important: Don’t consider your first list to be the final one. Give yourself time to remember additional items later.
TIP! Use the DivaDocs app to keep track of your home repairs by going to the DivaDwellings Category and clicking on Major Home Repairs.
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