Are You Covered When Disaster Strikes?
This will depend on the nature of the disaster. Do you live in an area prone to earthquakes, hurricanes or tornadoes, for example? Then you would be likely to take a policy that specifically includes these risks.
Disaster coverage usually means something that is an act of God. So, if a hurricane hits land and your home is damaged, you might be covered. Here at All Dry USA, we have helped service homes and offices with all kinds of damage. Give us a call if you need assistance 1-888-998-2379.
However, it is important to check exactly what your insurance considers an act of God and exactly what they will cover. For example, not all policies will cover flood damage. You may need to add on this coverage separately.
Water & Flood Insurance Claims
In the majority of cases, your homeowners or rental insurance should pay out if there is an accidental leak or water damage that occurs suddenly. So, if a shingle blows off from the roof during a storm, and your ceiling is water-damaged as a result, you should be covered.
But before you start banking on your water damage insurance claims paying out, make sure you are covered. You cannot assume that all flood damage will necessarily be included. If your geyser bursts and the water destroys your carpeting, you will probably be able to get the carpeting redone.
If, on the other hand, your home floods due to a storm, you might not actually be covered unless you had specialized flood insurance.
And do please note, what is covered here are accidents and unexpected events. If your plumbing gets backed up, for example, it is something that is not controllable and so you could be covered.
If, on the other hand, you had a pipe leaking for months and did nothing about it, you will not be covered. The insurance company does put some responsibility on the insured to do regular, preventative maintenance.
Fire & Smoke Claims
Nine out of ten times, if your home has fire damage, your fire and smoke claims will be successful. This will cover repairs, cleaning up the property, repairing water damage as a result of fire control methods and removing any remaining smell of smoke. Your contents should also be covered.
A fire caused by arson may not be covered unless you can prove that the arsonist was acting maliciously and without your knowledge or consent.
Is Mold Damage Covered?
Mold damage insurance claims can be a bit of a tricky issue and is usually dealt with on a case by case basis. Most of the time, the answer will be, “No.” There are some policies that do include mold damage as part of their coverage, but this is the exception rather than the norm.
With most insurers, you will need to have this sort of coverage separately.
What About Normal Storm Damage?
So here we are not talking about something like a cyclone or hurricane. We are talking about regular weather damage. Like when your roof is damaged due to snow, or when a portion of it blows off in a severe windstorm.
Again, we need to reiterate here that this is about standard storm damage. So, if the river swells and floods out your home, that will typically not fall under this kind of coverage. See how we can help protect your home before the storm!
Getting the Best Out of Your Coverage
So, now you have an idea of how insurers might deal with particular events. How do you ensure that you are insured if something terrible happens? By being prepared. Being prepared in this case means reading through all that tedious fine print on your policy.
Know precisely what constitutes a coverable event, and what conditions might void your claim. If you understand the terms and conditions completely, you are in a much better position to shore up your coverage in the areas necessary.
Speak to your broker and explain precisely how detailed you want your coverage to be. It might cost you a little extra every month to specify flood insurance or mold coverage, and it may not seem like such a big deal.
But what happens if your house does actually flood? Think back to Hurricane Katrina and the devastating effect that it had. No one could have predicted that the levees in New Orleans would be so quickly overwhelmed.
It just goes to show, that Mother Nature can cause significant damage, even when we think we are prepared for her.
By ensuring that your insurance will coverage you in most eventualities, you can protect yourself against serious financial expenses in the aftermath of a disaster.
How to Get Claims Paid Quickly
The best way to ensure that your claims are paid out is to do everything by the book. Don’t give your insurer any possible excuse to decline your claim. If you understand the terms and conditions of the coverage in the first place, you are already part of the way there.
Know exactly what your rights in terms of your policy are so that you know exactly what you can claim. Then follow the procedures for the claim to the letter. Complete the claim form as thoroughly as possible and provide any supporting documentation as requested.
Cooperate with the claims adjustor, is one is sent out.
If you have followed all the rules in connection with the claims procedure, you will find that it is a lot easier and faster to have your claim paid out to you.
That, combined with having the full requisite coverage will make sure that you can get your life back to normal as quickly as possible after an insurable event.
