The recent storms that caused widespread damage to states such as Kentucky, Tennesse and Florida (including Tampa and St. Petersburg) will require that many residential and commercial policyholders submit an insurance claim. The public adjusters at Tutwiler & Associates urge policyholders to take the proper steps to protect their claim and avoid settlement problems. 

March 5, 2012 / TAMPA, Fla. / 

As a result of the tornados and wind damage that hit Tennessee, Kentucky and Florida, thousands of homeowners will be contacting their insurance companies to file an insurance damage claim. Only after the storm passes should you check for damage.

Here are a few tips to remember for filing your insurance claim:

1. Do not go back into your home or mitigate damage until you know it’s safe to do so. If returning to your home after an outage, do not turn on the power right away, especially if your home has been flooded by broken water pipes. Have an electrician check the dwelling first.

2. Contact your insurance company as soon as possible. While waiting for an insurance adjuster to arrive, take steps to prevent further damage (mitigate) to your property. But do not make permanent repairs until the adjuster has inspected your property.

3. Take extensive photographs of all the damage, and keep all your receipts and documents, as well as records of conversations with the insurance company.

4. Make an itemized list of all the storm-related damage noting any structural damages and damage to personal property.

5. If your home is uninhabitable, most insurance policies will pay for additonal living expenses and rental costs while your home is being repaired, but make sure to keep all transactions on a credit card so you can provide proof to your insurance company adjuster.

6. Be proactive but patient. Make sure to hire the right professionals to help document the loss and damage. If you feel overwhelmed or intimidated by the process or feel your insurance company is not offering a fair settlement, consider hiring a public insurance adjuster to help with your claim. Public adjusters are typically compensated on a percentage of your recovery. In disaster situations it is typically no more than 10%. Be prepared when the insurance company adjuster shows up and respectfully request an “advance payment” until an agreement can be reached on the rest of your claim.

If you have questions regarding any property insurance related issues caused by these storms please call 800.321.4488 or contact a public adjuster to submit a question to one of our insurance claim experts. As always, the professional public insurance adjusters at Tutwiler and Associates are here to help with any questions you may have. Please visit www.PublicAdjuster.com  to stay updated on the insurance claims process and tips for your insurance claim.

CONTACT:
Tutwiler and Associates
Email:
Phone: (800) 321-4488
For more information, please visit www.PublicAdjuster.com

About Tutwiler and Associates: Tutwiler and Associates is a firm of public adjusters licensed in 10 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands specializing in commercial and residential property loss adjusting. With well in excess of $113 million in client success stories over a 27-year history, the Florida public adjusters work exclusively on behalf of policyholders to help them achieve the maximum settlement amounts they can fairly and honestly recover based on their loss and their policy provisions. Professional help from the adjusters at Tutwiler and Associates can help clients obtain a fair recovery under their policy. The Gulf Coast based public adjuster firm is committed to public service and strives to educate its clients about commercial and residential windstorm and hurricane losses, flood damage, fire, smoke and water damage, collapse, hidden decay and mold losses, sinkholes, loss of stock, and business interruption.