Most homeowner’s insurance policies require the policyholder to take specific actions when filing an insurance claim.  Many of these requirements are common sense, but the policyholder’s actions or inactions – regarding the requirements of the policy – can determine the parameters of what will be covered and how much of money the homeowner will have to pay out of their own pocket.

Whatever the scenario and regardless of the extent of the loss, the following are crucial steps in the path to restoring your property once it has been damaged.

Before you call your agent, before you start picking up debris or taking pictures, there is one thing you must do: make sure no one gets hurt. If there is glass inside your home or out on the sidewalk, clean it up; if it looks as though the roof is going to fall in where that giant oak tree landed, get out.  Not securing your property after a loss may result in a denial of coverage by the insurance company to anyone who may be injured, a liability claim, leaving you to foot the bill.

Most policies state that homeowners have 60 days from the Date Of Loss (DOL) to inform their insurance company of damages.  When you call your agent or your insurance carrier’s claims hotline and advise them that you have damages and want to make a claim, a claim number will be established; sometimes you will be given it right away, sometimes later. When you are given a claim number, write it down and, this cannot be stressed enough, DO NOT LOSE IT!  When you report damages make sure you are specific about what has occurred.  The more severe the damage, the higher the priority the claim and the more information available to the insurance company the better they will be able to serve you.

If a large patch of shingles are blown from your roof, if a door or window gets blown out, or a water pipe bursts, not only is making any and all temporary repairs to prevent further damage common sense, but according to your policy, it is a requirement.  The objective of making temporary repairs is simply to prevent further damages, to prevent a small loss from turning into a big loss or a big loss into a total loss. The insurance word for preventing further damages is mitigation.  If a homeowner is negligent in not making temporary repairs, any further damages resulting from that negligence may be excluded from coverage.  By making necessary temporary repairs, you are not only being a good homeowner and policyholder, but you’re protecting yourself against an unnecessary denial, the cost of having to make repairs yourself and the possibility of a lengthy lawsuit.

So you’ve been a good homeowner and secured the safety of your property and made any necessary temporary repairs. But you had to call a professional service/contractor to help out and now they’ve given you a bill; or your house was made unlivable and you’ve had to stay in a hotel and eat meals at restaurants.

The most commonly overlooked receipt or bill is the one that homeowners don’t receive, the one they don’t ask for or don’t even think about. If a neighbor or a family friend charges you for any temporary repairs or similar work–tree debris removal, patching your roof, or hauling damaged items to the curb–and you’ve paid them, it is reimbursable. In this situation, ask them to write you a receipt with their name, date, address and phone number on it so you are able to claim it.  Any invoices and receipts that you receive make copies and give the copies to the insurance company. Always keep the originals for your own records; this goes for any form of documentation.

Photos and videos often make the most dramatic and indelible impression; they tell the story of your loss by framing the damages and resulting repairs into a discernable context and temporal sequence, they provide essential details and general facts that are as integral to a claim as any other form of documentation and often can substantiate and verify other documentation, especially if you’ve had to make temporary repairs. It goes without saying, but if you do make temporary repairs, you’ll want to take photos of the affected area(s) beforehand.

It may sound strange to some, but often the most important photos or videos a homeowner may ever take is before any damage occurs: in a case of a total loss, fire, hurricane, tornado, earth quake or even a smaller loss, having numerous photos and/or videos showing undamaged building and personal property, interior and exterior structural details, the materials used in construction and the overall layout of your dwelling as well as any outbuildings can expedite your claim, answer any questions that may arise and aide you in the unbearable task of remembering every little detail of your house and what was inside it. While most homeowners never think of taking photos or videos of a home for the sake of general documentation, it is something that every homeowner needs to do. But taking pictures and videos aren’t enough: make sure that copies of any photos or videos are stored in a fire-resistant safe, a safety deposit box or a secure on-line server.

So you have this pile of stuff that used to be attached to your house and you’re not quite sure what to do with it. Instinct says pitch it, lob it onto the curb and wait for the siding and shingle undertaker to do what you wish he could do with the rest of your problems and make them disappear.

Santa Claus has it right: make a list, check it twice, though we can forgo the naughty or nice part, ’cause everyone’s a little naughty some of the time. Once you’ve secured the premises, made temporary repairs, and taken pictures, take out paper and pencil and begin to list everything that was damaged everything–not just roof, siding, gutters, carpet, etc., but look around and see if your patio furniture, flower pots, bird houses, anything outside or inside, was damaged: furniture, blankets, pillows that may gotten stained or soiled when your ceiling or walls leaked.  Except for your lovely plants and trees (which if you were paying attention, are only covered in certain circumstances), it’s all covered and needs to be documented. If possible, list building/structural and personal property items separately.  Homeowners have a duty to prove their loss and under most policies they are required to display the damaged property at the request of the insurance company.  If you can help it, don’t throw anything away, but more importantly, don’t have a contractor or other person make permanent repairs before the insurance company inspects the damages.

Any work you or your relatives perform due to an insured loss, temporary repairs, safety measures, tree or other debris removal, and which is not part of routine maintenance, upkeep, and cleaning, can be claimed. Most of the materials purchased for these tasks can also be claimed, but with limitations. The general rule is if the materials are applied directly to the damaged property/area, they can be claimed. For example: if a tree branch punctures your roof, the tarp used to cover the hole, as well as nails or screws to attach the tarp can be claimed, but not the ladder you had to buy to access the roof.

The key to getting paid, naturally, is documentation. If there is occasion for you to perform necessary labors such as temporary repairs and debris removal, start a log in your claim file or folder and list out the dates and number of hours each person worked and note what general task they performed. The more specific you are as to what each person did and when he did it and how much time he spent doing it, the quicker your claim will be resolved.

The claims process can be a very confusing experience for most homeowners.  However, taking the time to organize yourself can help expedite the process and make your job, and the job of your adjuster, a lot easier.