What To Do When Weather Damages Your Home?

What To Do When Weather Damages Your Home?

The weather can be unpredictable and we are becoming more and more aware of it's impact due to the climate changes. And when it comes to your home, it can be downright devastating. From flooded basements to trees crushing your roof, weather can directly impact one of your greatest investments. Here’s what you should know when mother nature strikes at home.

Document everything

A lawyer was recently overheard saying, “The legal system is now based on reading emails.” Why? Because email is a strong record of events. The moment there is damage to your property, start taking photos and emailing them to whoever you think needs to see. If you rent, email photos to your landlord, they’re going to need them. Email photos to other accounts to act as receipts if someone denies receiving your emails.

In fact, the documentation should start before you ever need to make a claim. Take photos any time you update your home. Keep an inventory of the things you have in your home; it can be difficult to prove something is missing if there’s no record of it.

• Keep it organized
• Keep it up to date
• Keep it in multiple places

If you do those three things, you’ll have a leg up on any conversations you’re having with your insurance provider or landlord.

Mitigate damage

Once you’ve assessed and documented the damage, start to mitigate its effect on the rest of your home. A tree branch through the roof? Get a tarp over it. Seal up any windows that were damaged. Turn off power and water if necessary. Start pumping the water out of your basement.

Keep documenting everything while you work to stop, or at least slow, the damage being done. It might not be common—but it has happened—but insurance companies have denied claims saying the damage was caused by the homeowner. Be cautious about making the problem worse.

Make contact

Depending on what happened, start calling, emailing, texting, or posting on social media to get in contact with the right folks.

If there are power lines down or other utilities exacerbating the damage, contact the proper utilities and let them know. A tree branch through your front window is bad. The powerlines the branch brought down in your yard are worse. Chances are you won’t be able to address the branch without getting the power lines taken care of first.

Save everything

Tarps, plywood, or anything else you spend money on to mitigate the damage to your home is probably reimbursable by your insurance. Or if you rent, your landlord should reimburse you. Don’t only save the physical receipts but also take photos. Follow the same steps you did with the initial damage: send the documents to those who might need them. Send them to a second account to keep them stored safely.

When you get to the repair stage, you’ll want to be on top of every receipt that you get from contractors. Get all quotes in writing. If you can, document when they start work and leave. Keep track of as much as possible. Hopefully, no one makes you dig that deep to fulfill your claim, but it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Don’t forget to breathe

Things happen. No matter how prepared you are, there is always something that can catch you off guard. And it’s your home, one of the costliest investments you’ll ever make. Having something go wrong can be devastating. Panicking and over-reacting are only going to make the situation worse. It never hurts to write out a plan of what to do when things go wrong ahead of time. Then when something does happen, you have a list to follow to help you direct your actions instead of having to improvise along the way.

If you’re looking for a home or home insurance, talking to your credit union is a good start. Even if your credit union doesn’t provide insurance, they probably have a few recommendations you could investigate.