Water damage insurance claim steps in Alaska

What should I do in the first hours after a water loss?

Stop the water, make the house safe, and start the record. Shut the main if you can, keep out of standing water near power, and photograph the damage before anything is moved. Note the time the water was first seen and the time you shut it off.

Photographs are the most useful record you can make in the first hours. Take wide shots of each room, close shots of the water line and the source, and the affected ceilings and walls. Include a reference object, such as a tape measure, so the size of the damage is clear to anyone who looks later.

Write the facts down as you go: what you saw, when you saw it, what you did and who you called. A written note made at the time is worth more to an insurer than a memory assembled a week later.

Why should I keep the damaged materials?

The damaged materials are evidence of the cause and the extent of the loss. An insurer may want to see them before they are discarded, and a failed part, such as a hose or a valve, shows how the failure happened.

Keep a sample of each damaged material, such as a piece of carpet, a section of drywall or the failed hose, until the insurer and the crew have seen them. Where a material is too large to keep, photograph it in place and note its position and size.

If the crew needs to remove materials to dry the house, ask it to list each item removed with a short note of its condition. Keep the list with the photographs, because it records what left the house and why.

Keep a list of the things you throw away, with their age, their approximate value and their condition before the loss. That list is often the only way to show the value of contents that were damaged, and it is easier to write while the details are fresh.

What records should I gather?

Gather the utility's answers about its side of the meter, the crew's written record of the readings and the work, the contractor's written scope and invoice, and the receipts for any temporary repair. Those records together show what happened and what was done about it.

Keep the meter readings, the utility's written answer about its side and any adjustment it made to a bill. Keep the dates of each call and the name of the person you spoke to, because the record of who said what can matter later.

Keep the crew's log, the readings at each visit, the photographs taken during drying and the final dry record. Keep the plumber's or roofer's scope and invoice for each repair, and keep the receipts for anything you bought to protect the house, such as a tarpaulin or a pump.

When should I report the loss to my insurer?

Report the loss as soon as you can, and ask the insurer what it needs from you and by when. Policies often set conditions on how and when a loss is reported, and the policy wording is the document to check for those conditions.

Report the loss by a method that leaves a record, such as an email or a letter as well as a call, and note the claim number and the name of the person who took the report. Ask the insurer to confirm in writing what it has recorded.

Tell the insurer what you have done to protect the house, such as shutting the water off and arranging drying. Insurers generally expect a policyholder to limit further damage, and the records you have kept show that you did.

Some policies include a deadline for reporting a loss or for making a claim, and the wording of the policy should be checked for it. The safest course is to report early and keep the record of the report, rather than relying on a memory of when the water was first seen.

What do policies usually cover, and what do they often exclude?

In general terms, a policy tends to respond to sudden and accidental water damage, such as a burst supply line, and it often excludes gradual leakage, poor maintenance and some kinds of backup or flood unless an endorsement is in place. The policy wording and the insurer decide the outcome in each case.

Backup and flood cover are often separate. A sewer backup or water from outside may need an endorsement added to the policy, and a policy without one may not pay for that loss. Check the declarations page and the endorsements, and ask the insurer which apply to your house.

Mold and long-term seepage are often limited or excluded. A loss that was caught early and dried promptly is often treated differently from one that ran for months, which is one reason the early record matters so much.

Ask the adjuster what the claim will be measured against, such as the cost of repair, the replacement of materials of like kind, or the value of an item at the time of the loss. The way the payment is calculated can change the outcome substantially, and it is a fair question to put in writing.

What does the adjuster usually ask?

An adjuster usually asks when the water was first seen, what caused it, what was done to stop it, what was removed and what the photographs and records show. It may ask to see the damaged materials and to inspect the house.

Answer the questions with the records in hand, and say when you are not sure of an answer rather than guessing. A clear, consistent account, backed by photographs and logs, is easier to settle than one that changes over time.

Ask for the adjuster's name, contact details and the reference number for each conversation. Ask the adjuster to explain any decision in writing, and to say what it would need to change that decision.

If a second visit by the insurer is needed, arrange it while the drying is still under way, so the readings can be shown and the materials can be seen in their state. Ask the insurer to confirm the date in writing and to say which materials it wants to inspect.

What if the claim is denied or reduced?

Ask the insurer for the reasons in writing, and read the policy section it relies on. If you disagree, provide any further evidence you have and ask for the decision to be reviewed. A written request for review keeps the matter on record.

A denial is often based on a specific exclusion or on the cause of the loss. Check whether the insurer has the right facts, such as the date the water was first seen, and whether the cause it has recorded matches the crew's record.

If the review does not resolve the matter, ask the insurer what further steps are available to you and keep every letter. The restoration company cannot decide a claim, but its record is the evidence you will rely on in any review.

How do I keep the file tidy for the repairs?

Keep one file with the photographs, the records, the scope, the invoices and the insurer's correspondence in date order. A tidy file makes the repair, the claim and any later sale or inspection easier to deal with.

Put the original photographs in the file with their dates, and keep a copy of the crew's final record. Keep the insurer's letters in order, with the claim number on each one, so you can find a decision quickly.

Before any repair closes a wall or a floor, make sure the insurer has had the chance to inspect or has confirmed it does not need to. A closed wall that the insurer has not seen can complicate the claim, and a note in the file of that confirmation protects you.