Photo Documentation Matters in Water Damage Claims

With a little forethought and 15 minutes of effort, you can clear up a lot of questions about your water-damage insurance claim before they occur.

All you need is your smart phone and a little spare time. Then, if you have a water-damage insurance claim, you’ll be on solid ground when you begin to assess the damage of a flood, broken pipe or sewer emergency.

Take your phone and put it on the video mode. Enter your home through the front door and video the first room as you come in. Slowly pan the camera through the room and show the way the room looks and the contents therein.

For example, in the living room, show all the furniture, show the drapes, show the rugs, document the tables and chairs, and be sure to focus in on heirlooms and valuable keepsakes.

Go through the rest of the house and do the same thing – the kitchen, the bathrooms, the bedrooms, the laundry room – don’t miss a space. And be sure to take your time. You want to document every part of the house and show all possessions – regardless of their value.

Unless you live in a mansion, this should not take very long.

Then, when you’ve finished with the video, change the camera setting to photos. You’ll then repeat the same process, only this time snapping photos. You can focus in to show details of furniture or labels that detail the value of high-priced items. Don’t miss a thing.

If you own a business or a multi-family dwelling, you should follow the same steps. It may take longer, but it’s well worth the effort.

When you’ve finished, create a folder in your phone and move all the video and the photos into that folder. Label it something that you won’t accidentally delete – “My home inventory” for example.

If you don’t want it eating up the memory in your phone, you can move it to your computer or to an external hard drive. You might have a personal Dropbox or Google storage account. Just make sure it’s somewhere safe that isn’t going to be erased or deleted.

Hopefully you’ll never need to see those videos or photos again. However, if a disaster strikes and you’re filing an insurance claim, those photos can serve as valuable evidence about your contents and condition of your home.

It will be simple to show the before and after condition of your home or business. And since the smart phones leave a time stamp on them, you’ll have proof of ownership and be able to rebuff any claims the insurance company may try to deny.

First In Restoration recommends you do this once a year, because your possessions will change. You’ll acquire new things, purchase new furniture, buy a new computer or cell phone, paint or re-tile the kitchen. You can just add those items to you proof or re-do the entire video.

Just do it. Hopefully you’ll never have to make a water-damage insurance claim, but if you do, the video and photographic proof will help ensure you get the proper settlement that you’re due.

If water damage affects your home or business, contact First In Restoration as soon as possible. Our team provides 24/7 emergency response, professional water extraction, drying, moisture documentation, and restoration services to help protect your property and support the insurance claim process.

Call 678-483-7284 or visit www.firstinrestoration.com.