Tornados that hit several townships have left many homeowners and businesses with significant damage, especially in the Fox Chapel, Allison Park, Hampton and Franklin areas. Our local Pittsburgh Public Adjuster, Zach Flora reports widespread wind and tree damage. Policyholders with tornado damage need to understand some of the basic insurance claim adjusting procedures that will play an important role to achieve a fair, expeditious claim settlement and avoid delays. Insurance companies and their teams of catastrophe adjusters may be overwhelmed given the breadth and severity of the tornado damage in Pittsburgh and volume of calls. Here are some tips and common mistakes to avoid while preparing yourself for the insurance claim process.

The EF2 tornado that started in Pinellas Park and touched down several times all the way through Polk County will have many filing property insurance claims. The industrial claim damage will be especially complicated given property damage, business interruption and inventory loss issues that will arise. As a local Tampa Bay public adjusting firm serving the area since 1984 we are ready to assist policyholders with their claims. Here are some tips and common mistakes to avoid while preparing yourself for the insurance claim process.

If your home was destroyed or severely damaged from the Chattanooga area tornadoes to the extent that it is uninhabitable for you or your family to live, your insurance policy may provide a coverage called “Additional Living Expense” or “A.L.E.” But after speaking with some homeowners who have gone without power for weeks it appears, they need to press the issue with their home insurers. Checkout this recent local news story that makes our point: Ooltewah man still without power six and one half weeks after tornadoes

In Nashville, scenes of absolute devastation still remain as if the March 3, 2020 tornadoes sliced through just yesterday. Several tornadoes were reported during the March 3^rd storm with three consisting of an EF-2, EF-3, and one large EF-4 wedge tornado that carved the largest swath of destruction throughout the Music City and surrounding areas nearly 3-months ago. Adding to the misery, the Chattanooga  - East Brainard area suffered a devastating tornado barrage on Easter Sunday as 7 tornadoes were reported to have touched down in the Tennessee Valley. The fury began around 8:15 pm and then at 11:19 pm, an EF-3 tornado with estimated wind speeds up to 145 mph touched down staying on the ground for 14 minutes.

With the extensive wind and damage caused by the Nashville tornadoes, we are seeing policyholders rushing to get damages assessed. Both insurance company adjusters and many inexperienced contractors are eyeballing roof damage and recommending partial repairs based on simple visual inspection. This is going to cause terrible problems in the future as flying debris can damage the membrane of roofs and set people up for severe water damage in the future. In disaster situations some adjusters simply do not spend enough time assessing policyholder’s damage or taking into effect the increased cost of materials and repairs.

Building codes require structures to be built to certain minimum standards. In areas likely to be hit by tornadoes, for example, buildings must be able to withstand high winds. If your building property was damaged and was not in compliance with current local building codes, you may have to rebuild the damaged sections according to current codes.