Businesses and homeowners filing with insurance companies and hiring contractors due to damages caused by Hurricane Harvey need to keep two things in mind, said Greg Bowman of Commercial Insurance of Texas. Bowman’s company specializes in providing windstorm and other insurance policies for commercial business in the Coastal Bend.
First, he recommends calling in claims as soon as possible. Claims are processed on a first-come, first-served basis, even if you have not totally assessed all the damage.
Second, keep the details of your insurance estimate confidential when getting bids from contractors.
“Contractors are going to be flying down here like crazy,” Bowman said. “You don’t know who you are going to be dealing with.”
They will want to look at your insurance estimate, Bowman continued, and recommend you hand over the insurance check.
“They will say, this looks good, give me the insurance check, and I’ll do the work for that,” Bowman said. “Don’t do it.”
Treat your repairs like you would a remodel or full build. Have contractors work up a quote on their best deal without knowing what the insurance company said the work was worth. The best way is to gather two or three quotes before rewarding the work.
Most important, pay them as they do the work — don’t turn over the insurance check.
“That’s where people get very frustrated and don’t understand the process,” Bowman said.
To get that process going quickly, after calling in your claim to either your insurance agent or insurance carrier, be sure to take pictures to document the damage before you clean any of it up. Businesses leasing space should contact their landlords.
The claim goes first to an estimator, who will visit the property to assess the damage. The estimators give the information to adjusters, who research damage and costs before negotiating a settlement with the client.
Bowman has already been out in the field surveying damage. Corpus Christi faired pretty well compared to communities farther north, he reported.
“Port Aransas and Rockport just got devastated — a gut-wrenching kind of devastation,” he said. “Entire houses and businesses are gone.”
The Texas Department of Insurance has posted information on what property owners need to do after assessing damages. TDI’s consumer hotline can be reached 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at (800) 252-3439.
Separate wind and hail policies with the Texas Windstorm Association should be reported to (800) 788-8247.
Damage to automobiles should be reported to your auto insurance company.
For more information on how to pick up the pieces after Harvey, check out the website at http://www.tdi.texas.gov/consumer/storms/recoverytips.html.