Proper way to document damaged property

After any kind of disaster, whether it was fire, flood, or anything similar, you will have a lot on your hands. The only thing you will have to do is document damaged property which you will submit for an insurance claim. If you’re not sure exactly how to do this, do not fret. Here are some tips to make documenting damaged property simple but effective, even when you are moving with Big Man’s Moving Company Florida. Still, you will do a great job in no time this way. 

You need to know your steps to document damaged property

Before doing anything else during an insurance claim process, it is good to get out a legal pad. In this way, you will easily keep track of every conversation and activity which is relevant to the claim. What is very important here is to make sure you keep everything in chronological order. The best order would be the following:

1. Time and date of the loss
2. What exactly happened – cause of the damages
3. What was damaged
4. All relevant details.

Make sure you note down everything!

Moreover, it is very important to take detailed notes of every conversation over the phone. This is especially the case with those you have with the insurance company adjusters. Pay special attention to appointments with adjusters and contractors, and all other activities related to the damage. However, what is most important is to take a record of every single item which sustained damage or was destroyed. Keep reading to find out exactly how to properly document damaged property! This way, your long-distance move will be stress-free!

Take inventory and document damaged property

In most cases, there are two main areas of property damage insurance claims. One of them is a claim for structural damage, and the other one is for damage to personal property. However, dealing with structural damage may be a little tough. In this case, just do the best you can with taking pictures and videos.

Take photos of everything!

On the other hand, dealing with the damage to personal property can get even more overwhelming. This is especially the case after large losses after a fire, tornado, or hurricane. Since the damage here will probably be huge, the best approach is to take one small step at a time. Getting homeowners insurance claims will definitely help along the way. In any case, you should start in one room, and focus on all corners of it. If there is a need to, zero in on specific furniture items, like dressers and all of their drawers. At this point, patience is key. Since you want to properly document damaged property, it would be good not to work more than 60 to 90 minutes at a time. Namely, you will need breaks and you should take them.

Hiring professional help

Moreover, it all depends on the size and amount of damage you have. If you’re dealing with a large personal property loss, you may want to consider hiring someone to help. This is because the event that caused this damage to happen in the first place will most likely completely overwhelm you. Also, when the claim process begins, you may feel even more stressed. Therefore, it is more than alright to hire someone to help you document damaged property. Since you don’t want to overlook and leave anything out, you will want an extra set of professional hands and eyes. This is especially important if you want to receive full payment for everything that was damaged.

If you want to avoid the added stress of figuring out how insurance works, consider hiring public insurance adjuster Florida. You can move to your new home without issues this way. 

The organization is key to dealing with an insurance company

Ideally, you are already completely up to date with your documentation even before the catastrophe happened. Specifically, you already have a complete inventory of all of your belongings, as well as the date and place of the purchases. Along with this, receipts, owner’s manuals, photos, and similar things are a huge advantage.

Get a binder and keep everything organized

During the insurance claim process, you should take extra care of being as organized as possible. For example, in addition to a legal pad, it would be great to use a folder or a binder. In this way, you will be able to keep all your bills, estimates, receipts, letters, and similar documents in one place. Specifically, if you’re filing a vandalism insurance claim, you will want to have all the possible information and evidence. This will only help you in the long run since you will be able to easily prove all the damage.

Understanding the documentation needed to document damaged property

What you will definitely want to focus on is understanding the documentation. However, this can sometimes be a bit difficult. This is especially the case if someone handwrote the documentation with poor handwriting or grammar. Still, whoever provides the documentation should understand everything they’re giving to you. Also, they should be willing to explain what everything means. This is where the legal pad will definitely come in handy once again.

Make your case to the insurer

Ultimately, there are a few steps you can take in order to document damaged property and keep the claim running smoothly. The most important ones you should keep in mind are:

• Take notes of every single conversation you have about anything in relation to your insurance claim
• Keep track of every document which has anything to do with your claim
• Make sure you understand what the documents mean and what they are for
• Have an organized list of everything that was damaged or lost

If you closely follow these steps, you can be sure that there’ll be no problems during the insurance claim process. Since you did everything needed to document damaged property properly, you should have no further worries. When the insurance adjuster asks you for proof, your organization and meticulousness will be your saviors. Namely, the insurance adjusters won’t be able to do anything except pay your claim promptly and fully. Also, if they still refuse to do so, you will be ready to take things to the next level.