Q. I have a vacation home near Daytona Beach that was damaged by Hurricane Matthew. Because I am in Kentucky, do I need to physically see the damage myself before calling my insurance company or can I go from pictures of my home from my neighbors?

A. If you have photos that show damages from Hurricane Matthew to your insured property, by all means report the loss to your insurance carrier as soon as possible. I would suggest you email the photos to the claim office.  Also make it clear that this is a preliminary notice of loss and you are reserving your right to amend the claim once you and the adjuster have made an inspection of the loss. And remember, you have a duty to mitigate your loss, in other words, you must preserve, protect and prevent further damages. Ask your insurance agent and or adjuster for instructions or recommendation for an honest, experienced, emergency services company to help you with emergency mitigation efforts. Long term, I suggest you may consider seeking out a competent, experienced and licensed public adjuster to help you. If you are considering hiring a public adjuster, check licensing and their experience levels.  A Google search can get you started. Follow up with references. Understand their contract provisions as well as your right to cancel the contract should they fail to perform. A good public adjuster should treat your loss like it’s their loss.

As always, the professional public insurance adjusters at Tutwiler and Associates are here to help with any property insurance related questions you may have. Please call 800.321.4488 or contact a public adjuster to submit a question to one of our insurance claim experts.