Checklist for Filing a Hail Storm Damage Claim

The distress a serious storm causes can last for days, weeks, or longer when that storm causes significant hail damage to homes and businesses. When it is time to pick up the pieces and file a hail damage claim, the checklist below can be essential to making all the right steps towards protecting your rights and positioning your claim for success.

Preparing to File a Hail Damage Claim?

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After a Storm Causes Hail Damage: The Essential Checklist for Filing a Claim

Document and take pictures of the damage – Carefully note all damage, and take pictures of it. These can include close-ups of finer damage, as well as items that help define the scope or size (like a ruler, for instance).

• Protect what you can – Insurance policies commonly contain terms regarding mitigating damages, meaning the policyholder is obligated to take action to avoid or reduce further damage when possible. Putting plastic or tarps over broken windows, preventing hail from entering a building and causing more damage, is an example of mitigating damages.
• Save pieces of damaged items – If possible, try to save parts of damaged items. These can be evidence of the type and severity of damage incurred. A piece of damaged carpet or flooring is an example of what can be saved and used to prove damage later.
• Save records regarding your losses – If you have incurred any costs as a result of the hail damage, keep all documents related to these expenses and losses. For instance, for a homeowner, this can include hotel receipts if the damage makes the home uninhabitable. For a business owner, this can include documentation regarding lost earnings if the storm damage shuts down the operation.
• Report the damage to your insurance company – This will get the claims process started. In the initial phases of the claim, the adjuster will likely contact you to set up a time to inspect the damage.
• Get a free damage repair estimate – Choose a local, established, reputable repair company to inspect the damage and provide an estimate of how much it will cost to fix. This can help you obtain a better understanding of the involved costs and what the insurance company should pay. Do not, however, move forward with the repairs before the inspection.
• Plan to be present for the property inspection – Attend the property inspection with the adjuster. This gives you the opportunity to see what the adjuster inspects (or doesn’t inspect), how detailed or cursory the inspection is, and other potentially important details (which could be helpful later if there is a dispute over your claim).
• Keep records of all your dealings with the insurer – Keeping a log or journal in which you note each interaction with the insurance company can be important to track the insurer’s actions – and to identify if or when they may have mishandled a claim.
• Carefully inspect any and all repairs before paying for them – This can alert you to subpar or incomplete work while you still have the leverage to get the contractor to properly complete the repair(s).
• Contact the Amaro Law Firm – Our lawyers can guide you at every step of the process, helping you protect your rights and the value of your claim. We have extensive experience successfully resolving hail damage claims. This empowers us with the insight necessary to identify and effectively combat the tactics insurers typically use to avoid paying valid claims.

Get Essentials Answers about Your Claim: Contact a Hail Damage Claim Lawyer at the Amaro Law Firm

Find out more about how a hail damage claim lawyer at the Amaro Law Firm can help you.

Call (713) 352-7975, text (281) 612-8024, or Email our Firm for your FREE consultation and essential advice regarding your potential claim.

At the Amaro Law Firm, we are committed to representing people who face an uphill battle against insurance companies. With former experience in insurance defense, we know exactly how the insurance business works and how to effectively diffuse the strategies insurers use to delay, underpay, or deny valid claims. Tenacious and strategic, we are committed to protecting our clients’ rights and interests in the pursuit of compensation and justice.

In commercial and residential hail damage claims, we represent property owners, business owners, contractors, public adjusters, and others.

The Amaro Law Firm’s record of exceptional representation and success in hail damage claims has earned us excellent testimonials from former clients and 5-star ratings on Google and Facebook.