How Do I Make a Water Damage Claim?

11/12/2022 (Permalink)

The first thing you should do if you have water damage is to contact your insurance company.

How to Make Sure Your Claim Is Processed Quickly?

Whether you’re a homeowner or renter, water damage can be a stressful experience. You may have experienced a flood as the result of a broken pipe or an overflowing sink or tub. In any case, your first priority is to minimize the damage and get things back in order as quickly as possible. And while insurance companies do offer expedited claims processes for certain types of disasters like flooding, they can still take several days or weeks to complete their investigation before issuing payment. If you need immediate help recovering from this type of emergency, here are some tips on how to make sure your claim is processed quickly.

The first thing you should do if you have water damage is to contact your insurance company. They’ll be able to tell you exactly what will be covered by your policy and how long it takes for a claim to go through.

1) Review Your Policy

Check your water damage coverage. First, check your policy to see if you have any water damage coverage. If not, consider purchasing an add-on rider for a few bucks more per month that will cover any damages caused by burst pipes or overflowing toilets (but not floods).

Next, determine whether or not you have a deductible and how much it is. A $500 deductible might seem reasonable if the cost of repairing your home's sewer line exceeds that amount; however, if you don't want to pay anything out of pocket for repairs—or are unable to do so—you may wish to purchase additional insurance from a third party at an added cost.

Lastly, take note of any time limits on filing claims under your policy before contacting them about their process (which we'll go into further detail about below).

2) Call Your Agent

If you have an insurance agent, call them immediately. They will be able to help you with the next steps and can get a claim started for you. If not, call your insurance company directly and ask if they have someone who can help with making a water damage claim.

3) Take photos

Take photos of the damaged item. If you have a camera, take some photos of your damaged item. If not, contact a professional photographer or get into contact with your insurance company and they may be able to help you out with this step. Be sure that the first few photos are of the undamaged area and then proceed onto taking more photos as needed (e.g., close-ups).

Take photos of the areas around damage location(s). In addition to taking pictures of your damaged property, it's also important that you take pictures of all surrounding areas where there isn't any visible damage so we can better assess how much coverage is needed for those areas as well!

4) Obtain a Professional Opinion

Obtain professional opinion. If you have a damaged home, it's best to get an estimate for repairs from a company like SERVPRO of Hyde Park/ Central Austin before making any claims. This will ensure that the damage is covered by your policy and that it's not something else that caused the water leak.

If you don't have coverage, purchase it. If you don't have home insurance and need to buy one after your water damage claim, be sure to do so as soon as possible so that there isn't any lapse in coverage while you wait for your new policy to begin (a period of time known as "the waiting period").

The process of making a water damage claim can be very simple, but it can also be complicated. Follow these steps and call SERVPRO to get your Austin, TX home back to normal as quickly as possible.