Many home and business owners along the east coast who were recently at the mercy of Hurricane Florence will be filing a hurricane damage insurance claim to help cover the numerous damages to their property.

Currently, residents in the North and South Carolina areas are contending with the aftermath of Hurricane Florence and will most likely file a hurricane damage insurance claim after assessing the damages.

Filing a hurricane damage insurance claim can be a tedious process, and policyholders should take the necessary steps and precautions during the claim filing process to increase the chances of claim approval. Helpful steps a policyholder can take when filing a hurricane damage insurance claim include:

• Contacting their insurance company as soon as possible after the property damage occurs, and include the extent of the damage.
• Writing down the claim number for future reference.
• Taking photographs and video of the property damage.
• Making an itemized list of missing or destroyed items, especially those of high value.
• Taking steps to prevent further damage, such as covering holes or boarding up broken windows. However, they should make permanent repairs and should not throw away any damaged property until after its assessed by the insurance company. If required to discard the item by the county, the resident should photograph or record it.
• Keeping all hurricane-related expense receipts.
• Keeping a record of each time a call is made with the insurance company.
• Keeping all relevant paperwork the insurance company sends.
• Start getting bids for permanent repairs.

Overview of Natural Disaster Claims

According to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), it is estimated that insurance companies will most likely be designating $10 billion for hurricane damage claims.

It is predicted that property insurance companies will most likely bear the brunt of it. Along with hurricane damage claims, people will probably file flood insurance claims if they have the policy, which is notoriously difficult on policyholders.

It is important to note that insurance companies that were supposed to provide coverage for flood insurance claims during Katrina in 2005 and Sandy in 2012 did not do as they were supposed to, which left millions of homeowners to finance the damages themselves.

“Flood insurance claims after both Katrina [2005] and Sandy [2012] were handled very badly. [But] should not deter [people] from seeking fair compensation for losses caused by Hurricane Florence. Insurers should not raise your rate for filing a claim or fail to renew your policy for filing it.” said CFA Director of Insurance J. Robert Hunter, speaking to CBS News.

Even though flood insurance is a separate policy from homeowner’s insurance, it is important to note that in cases where a storm is declared a national disaster, then homeowners may be able to apply for federal aid to cover flood damages caused by the hurricane.

The settlement amounts vary between claims, depending on the policy type, policy limits, temporary living expenses, as well as repair costs. Even if an insurance check was already sent, policyholders may still be entitled to additional funds if the original claim was less than what they were entitled to.