Flooded Basements After Hurricanes And Insurance Coverage

Hurricanes abound and there's nothing you can do about them. They will come. They will do damage. They will cause problems. It's inevitable. But what you do and how you react makes all the difference in the world. I like that insurance slogan, can't exactly remember the company right off hand, but their slogan is "People First". People suffer from the effects of hurricane's, do I have to remind anyone of Katrina? Take a more recent hurricane like Irene. Residents that were in the path of Irene are going thru those effects right now with downed power lines and trees and flooded basements. What are they going to do to clean up their basements and will their insurance coverage take care of it?

When it happens to you, it can all seem a little overwhelming. You might even be wondering where you can turn for help or what to do when you experience these types of natural disasters. In an effort to help you know what to do to your storm-related questions, here are some helpful tips for you to remember and follow.

1. First priority is to be safe. But if you see any downed power lines or trees, destroyed buildings or flooding, you need to report it. Most all local city governments have a hotline of some sort setup during these disasters for you to do so. It's not only important for you to, it's imperative. These cities use this information to help calculate the total damage costs of hurricanes and other disasters. These figures are then in turn used to apply for federal disaster relief programs.
2. Second, standard insurance policies for both renter's and homeowner's normally do not cover flooding. So if you have a flooded basement you may just be out of luck. However, water damage due to disasters like hurricanes and other natural forms may actually cover this type of flooding. You should contact your local insurance agent to find out for sure and to also fill out a loss form as quickly as possible.
3. To help in filling out that Notice of Loss form, you are going to need to go through every room in your home so get a pen and paper ready. On the paper, state what room it's in, what the damaged or destroyed item is (be sure to include a description of the item), how much it cost, what brand it was and if you can find the model number or serial number, include that as well. During this time, a camera is your friend. Take lots of pictures.
4. It's important at this point for you to realize that you should not throw anything away just yet. You need to keep the items until such time that an insurance adjuster can come out and take a look at it all. Yes you've got pictures, but they need the actual "stuff".
5. If you have a flooded basement, please be aware of why it's flooded and survey it really well. That water may actually be helping to keep the overall structure of the home stable. If you simply get down there and start pumping out the water, releasing that water pressure rapidly could actually cause the basement walls and floors to crack and possibly even collapse.
6. If you are removing the flood waters from your basement yourself, it's recommended that you pump out the water slowly and possibly in stages. To do this, all you have to do is only remove a couple of feet at a time. Be sure to mark the water level before you start and once you've got a segment of it removed, wait. Give it at least 12-24 hours before you start removing more. You are doing this to see that the water stays out and doesn't come back thus revealing a larger problem or something else. If after waiting it does increase again or come back to the original water level line you marked the day before, it may just be too early to try and get it out as it has no where to go yet. If this is the case, wait a little longer, maybe another day, and then repeat the process trying to get the water out of your basement.
7. Mold can be a tremendous problem in these types of situations and getting exposed to it can lead to serious illnesses. Knowing this, it's important to get it out as soon as you are able to or hire someone to do it for you. If you do this yourself, just make sure you wear protective gloves (something waterproof), a face mask to cover your mouth and nose and goggles to keep it out of your eyes. Don't use bleach! A simple solution of mild detergent mixed with water and some elbow grease and you can get it. Just make sure to dry it all completely.