Rockwall Fire Department offers tips to help with water damage insurance claims

ROCKWALL, TX – February 19, 2021 – From the Rockwall Fire Department:

We know it is stressful dealing with damage to your home as a result of broken water pipes. We wanted to offer a few tips to help ease some of your burdens.

SAVE ALL RECEIPTS!

Get things as dry as you reasonably can. If you use your towels, keep a count of how many have been used. Your insurance may reimburse you for laundry costs or replace the towels.

Take pictures of everything that got wet, if you can. Be sure to photograph any labels or other identifying information on all items. Make a list; it will make handling the claim faster if you do this as you go. Note the brand, make/model, where you bought it, and how old it is. Don’t throw out anything until your insurance company has approved it.

Take pictures of the carpets, padding, flooring, drywall, etc., before ripping it out. Save a 12×12 piece if you can since the insurance may need it for sample analysis (aka getting you more money). We recommend not doing any repairs until they have been approved by your insurance company. It is normal to want to jump in and get your life back on track, but making repairs before getting approval from the insurance company, preferably in writing, could mean not getting those costs covered. Only do what is necessary to prevent further damage. Everything else needs to wait.

Keep track of how many hours you spend doing mitigation. Your insurance may reimburse you.

If you rent a dumpster or trailer, keep the receipt.

If you need to go to a hotel because your house is unliveable (no power + no water), save the receipt.

If you need to buy food or order food because your food at home was unusable, save the receipts.

Take pics of the food in your fridge/freezer, in detail if you can. Your insurance might reimburse you.

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