Anyone who has ever been through an insurance claim can be fully aware that a lot goes into it. Paperwork, claim numbers, phone calls, and more. Having a house fire or water loss in your home can be a headache and a significant disruption to your daily life. When it comes to mitigating and restoring your property, a lot goes into getting you back to normal. Many different parties get involved, from the homeowner, insurance adjuster, restoration contractor, and rebuilding contractor. Throughout all three phases of the process, you must keep adequate documentation to get you what you deserve while also being fair to your insurance.  

Find a Restoration Team You Trust

While in the insurance and restoration industry, we have seen everything and have the expertise to get you through these difficult and traumatizing times. You may have never had a fire or water loss before and may not know what goes on during the whole process. What all goes into the claims process anyway? It would help if you had someone you could trust and communicate clearly throughout the entire process.    

Good documentation is the name of the game. Moving things out of your home may have to happen, and it gets documented for you; everything that is none restorable gets reported for a replacement to your insurance, and everything that to clean is packed for cleaning. After this process, it might be overwhelming already, and it's only the beginning; but by doing being thorough now, it will be easier for you in the long run.

Take a Complete Inventory of everything

The documentation process takes time, but it is essential to assess the total damage before the demolition and mitigation start for your home—everything from taking photos of damage and measurements of affected areas. In the case of a fire, smoke travels throughout the whole house and gets into everything. Everything you consume should be documented and discarded to prevent further health risks. Taking time to get an inventory of every item in your home is essential.  

Be Fast and Efficient

So how do we keep the job moving quickly while also providing an accurate inventory? There are many ways to do it but having all the tools for in the field inventory, reporting, and pricing all in one application makes doing the work in the field and later compiling for your adjuster so easy. We use the Encircle platform to do this, and it provides easy-to-use and transparent reporting to all the parties involved. Not only do you get a digital PDF of everything moving locations, but you know what room it came out of, what box it is in, and whether it is stored onsite or offsite. If you have any issues or need anything, it is easy to find the things you need quickly and prioritize returning them.  

So if you are ever involved in a house fire or flood, we hope you never are. Make sure you keep adequate documentation or hire a restoration company that will do it quickly and thoroughly for you while keeping your adjuster happy as well. 

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