When you have an accident or experience damage to your home or property, you no doubt will feel overwhelmed and you may not instinctively know what steps you should take to ensure recovery. A little preparation is your first prescription for getting through the experience.

Your safety is always the most important concern. If it’s your home, look for unsafe conditions such as: downed power lines, the smell of natural gas and unstable structural conditions. If it is safe to proceed, protectively shut off the utilities before inspecting the damage. If it’s an auto accident, make sure everyone gets out of harm’s way and emergency medical care is summoned for the injured. If a crime has been committed, or if there is an auto accident with injuries or significant damage, be sure to call the police immediately and take pictures of everything.

Gather as much information as you can. If your home is damaged, you will need to protect it from further damage by removing accumulated water, boarding windows, etc. In the event of an auto accident, exchange insurance information with drivers, obtain witness names, ask for a police report and take photographs. If your car is not drivable, you will need to get it towed to a safe location.

As soon as possible, call our agency or contact your insurance carrier directly with a report of your claim. They will walk you through the claims process and assign an adjuster to your claim.

If your home and contents are damaged, the assigned adjuster will determine the cause of damage and itemize the property that has been damaged. You will want to make sure that nothing is overlooked. The placement of values on the damaged property will not occur at this time. Appraisals, repair estimates and inventories will be obtained later to establish values. Every policy is different, but a typical homeowners policy will pay your additional living expenses to relocate while repairs are being made (save your receipts).

If there has been an auto accident, you will need to make your car available for inspection and provide a statement about the incident. The adjuster will advise you about getting estimates for your damaged car.

Our agency is prepared to guide you in this process.