What to Do Immediately After a Hurricane Damages Your Home

Personal safety must be confirmed before any claim-related activity begins. Homeowners should not enter a hurricane-damaged structure until verifying there are no gas leaks, downed power lines, or structural collapse risks. If gas is detected, evacuate immediately and call the utility provider.

A safe post-hurricane property assessment includes these steps:

• Check for downed power lines and exposed electrical wiring around the home
• Look for standing water, which may be contaminated or electrically charged
• Inspect the roof and exterior walls from a safe distance for visible structural compromise
• Identify unstable trees or debris that could fall
• Contact the Red Cross or local emergency management if emergency shelter is needed

Electrocution and structural collapse are commonly cited as significant post-hurricane safety hazards. Only after confirming the property is safe to enter should homeowners begin the documentation and claims process.

Documentation is what a hurricane claim is paid on. Insurance companies evaluate claims based on the evidence submitted. Thorough documentation before cleanup preserves the evidence the claim is paid on; damage that cannot be shown is easy for a carrier to dispute.

Effective hurricane damage documentation requires:

1. Take hundreds of photographs, not dozens, covering every room, wall, ceiling, window, and exterior surface
2. Shoot wide-angle photos showing overall scope, then close-ups of specific damage points
3. Record video walkthroughs with verbal narration describing visible damage
4. Photograph the water line on walls if flooding occurred
5. Document roof damage from the ground (never walk on a damaged roof)
6. Photograph damaged materials and keep small samples where it is safe, but remove anything wet, moldy or contaminated that is a health hazard promptly, and keep a list of what you threw away

Industry best practice is to use timestamp-enabled photos and, where available, 360-degree video or 3D scanning to create evidence that is difficult for insurance carriers to dispute. Insufficient or incomplete documentation is one of the most common reasons hurricane claims are underpaid or denied.

Homeowners should make only temporary, emergency repairs to prevent further damage. Standard homeowners insurance policies include a duty to mitigate clause requiring policyholders to take reasonable steps to prevent additional harm. Before permanent repairs, give the insurer a reasonable chance to inspect. The Texas Department of Insurance guide says to make only temporary repairs until the company has seen the damage. Necessary safety work and reasonable steps to prevent more damage should not wait for the claim to be resolved.

Acceptable emergency repairs after hurricane damage include:

• Tarping a damaged roof to prevent water intrusion
• Boarding up broken windows and doors
• Removing standing water with pumps
• Running dehumidifiers to prevent mold growth
• Shutting off utilities to damaged areas

Keep itemized receipts for emergency work and temporary living expenses. Submit protection and drying costs for consideration under the applicable property or mitigation provisions. Keep hotel and increased meal expenses separately for potential additional living expenses (ALE) coverage. ALE generally concerns necessary increases above normal living expenses when a covered loss makes the home uninhabitable. Reimbursement depends on the policy and loss.

A hurricane insurance claim should be filed by phone as soon as possible, providing only basic facts. Homeowners should report when the hurricane occurred, that the property sustained damage, and that a claim is being filed. Policyholders should not speculate about the cause of specific damage or estimate repair costs during the initial call.

Texas law holds insurers to deadlines for acknowledging, deciding, and paying claims, and it provides remedies when handling falls short - evaluating either is attorney territory, not public adjusting. What the policyholder controls is the record: keep every request and response in writing, with dates.

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) requires all insurers operating in Texas to comply with these deadlines. Policyholders should request a complete copy of the insurance policy, including all endorsements and declarations pages, immediately after filing. Understanding coverage limits, deductibles, and exclusions before the insurance company adjuster arrives gives homeowners a significant advantage.

Delayed acknowledgment and slow claim handling are among the more common policyholder complaints after major storms. Documenting the date and method of every communication with the insurer creates the record that any later regulatory or legal review relies on.

Yes. The ideal time to hire a public adjuster is before the insurance company completes its inspection. A public adjuster is a licensed insurance professional who works exclusively for the policyholder, not the insurance company. Public adjusters inspect damage independently, prepare comprehensive estimates using Xactimate (the same software insurers use), and negotiate directly with the carrier.

Public adjusters identify damage that insurance company adjusters may overlook, use complete and current Xactimate pricing in their estimates, and apply all available policy coverages the policyholder purchased. Outcomes depend on the specific policy, the facts of the loss, and the carrier's evaluation - results vary and are not guaranteed.

Hiring a public adjuster before the insurance company inspection provides three specific advantages:

1. The public adjuster documents all damage independently, creating a comprehensive baseline
2. The public adjuster can attend the insurance company's inspection to ensure nothing is overlooked
3. The public adjuster's estimate is ready for comparison and negotiation immediately after the carrier issues its estimate

Public adjusters typically work on a contingency fee basis, meaning the policyholder pays nothing unless the public adjuster recovers additional funds. At Dependable Claims Specialists (DCS PIA), every hurricane claim is personally managed by a licensed public adjuster with direct experience handling Texas and Florida hurricane claims.

The most costly mistakes in hurricane claims involve accepting low offers, destroying evidence, and missing deadlines. Property insurance disputes are a common category of consumer complaints after major storms, and the trajectory of a claim is often set by what the homeowner does (or does not do) in the first week.

Homeowners should avoid these common hurricane claim mistakes:

• Accepting the first offer without review: Compare an offer with your documented repair estimate and identify any unexplained differences before accepting it
• Signing documents without understanding them: Some forms waive the right to dispute the settlement or reopen the claim
• Hiring contractors who offer to waive or absorb the deductible: Texas Insurance Code Chapter 707 addresses the payment and waiver of insurance deductibles on property claims. A contractor that offers to "cover" or "waive" the deductible in exchange for the insurance work is engaging in a practice that exposes both the contractor and the homeowner to potential legal risk; consult a licensed attorney or TDI for the specific statutory framework and how it applies
• Losing safe evidence without documenting it: Photograph and inventory damaged property when safe, but promptly dispose of hazardous items and retain safe samples and disposal receipts where practical
• Failing to keep copies of all correspondence: Written records are the evidence of how the claim was handled, and any later review - regulatory or legal - depends on them
• Failing to document damage before repairs: Give the insurer a reasonable opportunity to inspect before permanent repairs where practical. Do not postpone necessary safety work or mitigation while waiting for final settlement; preserve records and safe samples

Hurricane damage claims are among the most complex property insurance claims, frequently involving roofing, siding, windows, interior finishes, electrical systems, HVAC equipment, and personal property. Routine hurricane claims often settle in weeks to a few months when properly managed, but underpaid or disputed claims can take substantially longer without professional representation.

The trajectory of a hurricane claim is usually set in the first thirty days. Documentation captured during emergency mitigation, an FNOL composed of observable facts, and a written claim file that builds toward a single defensible scope all produce a different settlement than a reactive claim that responds to whatever the carrier sends.

DCS thirty-day hurricane workflow:

• Pre-mitigation photographic record. Every surface, every elevation, every interior room is photographed and date-stamped before any tarping, board-up, or drying begins. The photographic record is the foundation for both scope and supplement work.
• FNOL scripted to preserve scope. The notice of loss identifies the peril ("hurricane wind and water intrusion") and the damage ("roof, exterior walls, interior finishes, contents") without narrative that can trigger maintenance or wear-and-tear exclusions.
• Emergency mitigation logged contractually. Tarping, board-up, water extraction, and drying are performed by licensed mitigation vendors with signed scopes and itemized invoices. Each invoice maps to a specific policy provision.
• ALE activation from day one. Lodging receipts, food differential, pet boarding, mileage, and storage charges begin a daily log. ALE is contractual and is one of the most commonly under-claimed components of a hurricane file.
• Adjuster-meeting preparation. The carrier's field adjuster inspection is treated as a formal evidentiary event - DCS attends, presents the photographic record, walks the scope item by item, and follows up in writing promptly.

Free hurricane-claim reviews are available statewide in Texas and across South Florida. DCS public adjusting works on contingency: no recovery, no fee. You pay nothing upfront for our public-adjusting service; the fee comes out of the money recovered. Texas law caps a public adjuster's fee at 10% of the insurance settlement. For Florida homeowner and condo unit-owner policies, fee limits are generally 10% for claims about a Governor-declared emergency made during the year after the declaration, and 20% for other claims. Lower limits and other restrictions can apply. For Florida commercial claims, check the fee terms in the written agreement and under Florida law.

Call 833-4UR-LOSS or request a review at dcspia.com/hire-dcs. TX Firm #3134924 | FL Firm #W820363. Educational only, not legal advice.