A big storm accompanied by heavy rain, strong gusts of wind and heavy hail can seriously damage a home. Here you will find the details you need to report the damage caused by the storm to your fire insurance.
Take a look at what you can find out here in this article:
This Article Contains
Step 1. Assistance in the event of a storm
If you have purchased fire insurance, then you need to get in touch with the insurance company for quick assistance. The company will send a professional who will take care of urgent protective measures. If the roof of your house is severely damaged to an extent that it has made your house uninhabitable, then its contents will be stored in a safe place, and accommodation will be sought for you.
Step 2. For the owner and the tenants
If you own your home, your fire insurance will compensate for the damage that the storm will have caused to your roof and other parts of the house. If you are a tenant, your responsibility cannot be engaged in case of damage to your rental following a storm. It is the owner of the building, who must declare the claim to his insurance company.
Step 3. Contact your broker
Then contact your broker as soon as possible in order to collect with him all the elements necessary for the declaration of a claim with the insurance company. Consider the following in particular:
- Your policy number
- The date and place of the incident
- The specific circumstances and the cause of the incident
- A possible estimate of the damages incurred
- Photos of the incident
- Your account number
Step 4. Storm damage to neighbors
If the parts of your roof have flown into your neighbors’ houses and done a significant amount of damage, then the insurance company will also compensate for those. You will have to inform your broker, but your neighbors will also have to enter a declaration with their insurance.
Step 5. Ensure that damage from the storm does not worsen
You must wait for the green light from your broker before you begin to repair the damage. In the meantime, however, you can take various measures to limit the damage. For example, check that no tiles are loose, cover your roof to prevent water or rain from causing other damage, protect your furniture with old sheets, and prevent water from infiltrating your home if you notice a leak in your roof. You can also possibly make makeshift repairs, but always after having discussed them with your broker. Keep all the damaged parts, so you have excellent proof of your claim. These “rescue and conservation costs” are compensated by your fire insurance.
In addition to storm damage, roof damage can occur for a variety of reasons. Check out our other article about unexpected threats to your roof and gutter. In short, you need to make sure that your roof is covered with storm damage.
Step 6. Recognition of the state of natural disaster
It sometimes happens that the administration of your town or municipality asks you to fill in a form indicating the data of the damage suffered following a storm. This allows them to make an inventory of the damage incurred in your city or town and to submit a request for the storm to be recognized as a natural disaster.
If the storm is recognized as a natural disaster, the disaster fund can intervene to compensate part of the damage – only the part that is not insurable. This means that the disaster fund will only compensate for the claim if it is not covered by your fire insurance.
The fire insurance covers damage caused to residential houses and their contents by floods, earthquakes, sewer overflows or back-ups, landslides, and subsidence. You cannot, therefore, rely on the calamity fund to compensate you when you are hit by a disaster of this type, but on your fire insurer.
Step 7. Compensation for storm damage
In some cases, an insurance expert comes on-site to be able to estimate the damage, and therefore the compensation you will receive. It depends on the extent of the incident:
When the claim is limited, the presence of an expert is not normally required. Your broker will settle the claim completely by himself or after consulting with the company. However, an estimate of the damage and clear photos are also necessary in this case.
When the disaster is more significant or specific, an expert comes to your home. He determines the extent of the damage and writes a report.
Step 8. Repairing storm damage
You can start repair work as soon as you and your insurer agree on the compensation.
Your broker assists you
To summarize… When you have a disaster due to a storm, you can contact your assistance provider for quick assistance. Then contact your broker to report the claim with him. He will accompany you throughout the procedure so that the claim can be settled as soon as possible.
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