After the Storm Resources

Detailed guidance if your home or business has been damaged by a storm.

Immediately After the Storm:

• Before you begin clean up, take pictures or video of the damage that occurred both inside and outside your home. Find more advice on Cleaning Up After the Storm.

• Make temporary repairs to your property to prevent further losses from the elements and to secure your property. This would include boarding up windows, placing plastic tarps over holes in the roof and drying out wet carpets and furniture. Keep receipts for materials used and keep a record of the repairs you make for the adjuster.

• You can pull wet stuff out of your house so it doesn’t cause mold, but do not throw anything away until an adjuster has seen it.

• Do not begin permanent repairs until after you have been instructed to do so by your insurance adjuster.

• File for Additional Living Expenses (ALE). Many homeowners policies include provisions to cover the extra expenses you encounter while displaced from your home. ALE is supposed to cover the difference between what you would normally spend on things like food and other essentials while you are at home and when you are displaced. It is designed to cover additional expenses, not ordinary bills. Find more information on ALE here.

Filing a Claim:

• Contact your insurance agent as soon as possible. Gather as much information as you can about your policy including how much time you have to file a claim. For example, policies from the National Flood Insurance Program require claims to be filed within 60 days.

• An insurance adjuster should be sent out within 30 days to inspect damage after you file your claim in a catastrophe. More information about working with an adjuster is available here.

• Homeowners policies do not cover flood damage, so you must file a separate claim if you had a flood insurance policy. Click here for more information about flood insurance.

• Click here for detailed guidance on filing an insurance claim.

Working with Your Insurer:

• Know your storm deductible. This is the amount you have to pay out of pocket before your insurance coverage will pay for the claim. A storm deductible typically ranges anywhere from 2%-5% of a home’s total insured value - so if a home is insured for $200,000 and has a 5% deductible, the first $10,000 in repairs must be paid out of pocket by the policyholder.

• Cash your claim check. It does not mean that you agree with the amount of money that the insurer paid you. The initial claim payment represents what the company believes it owes you based on what its adjuster saw. Start your repairs and ask for more money if you need it.

• File a supplemental claim if the actual damage to your home is more extensive than what was documented in the original adjustment. A supplemental claim adds the newly found damage or additional cost to the original claim. The insurance company may send an adjuster to review the new damage or tell you to document it with pictures and video on your own, but you should not repair the damage until it has been documented. This right to file supplemental claims is controlled by policy language but is generally available for up to two years.

• Keep filing supplemental claims. You can file multiple claims for supplemental damage until your home has been restored to its pre-storm condition. If your contractor discovers even more damage when they begin the job, you can go back to your insurer again. This process can repeat itself until all damage caused by the hurricane has been repaired.

• Insurers often start by paying the “actual cash value,” or depreciated value of your property. If you have a “replacement cost value” policy, the insurer will pay you the remaining value of the damage or loss when you file receipts demonstrating that you have repaired the damage or replaced the items.

Rebuilding and Working with a Contractor:

• Never sign your insurance check over to a contractor.

• Use your insurance money for rebuilding, not for paying off your mortgage.

• Only work with a licensed contractor. You can check licenses at the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

• Before any work is started, request a clearly worded, itemized contract that includes the name of the builder. Review the document with the contractor and make sure you understand and agree with everything before signing it.

• The contract should also include proof of insurance from the construction start date to finish date. It’s also a good idea to ask the contractor’s insurance carrier to mail a copy of the contractor’s certificate of insurance coverage directly to you.

• The contract should also specify that you plan to pay the contractor in installments as they reach certain milestones in rebuilding. Never pay in advance for work. A typical arrangement calls for paying in installments of 30% of the value of the contract as milestones are met, and pay the final 10% when all punch-list items have been completed and the time for a lien to be filed has expired. The American Institute of Architects has sample contracts for home construction for review.

• Rebuilding is an excellent time to increase the resiliency of your home so you’re less likely to have an insurance claim – and have to pay a named storm or hurricane deductible in the future. Rebuilding stronger only costs a little more, but it greatly increases the insurability of your home and may qualify you for mitigation credits from your insurer.

• For tips on how to rebuild stronger, check out the Institute for Business and Home Safety and the LSU Ag Center’s Louisiana House.  You should also call your insurer to find out about the mitigation discounts they offer, and read more about Louisiana’s mitigation program here. 

Contact LDI for Assistance:

• If you have general questions about your insurance policy, the Louisiana Department of Insurance Office of Consumer Advocacy can help. Dial 1-800-259-5300, option #4.

• If you believe your insurance company has not handled your claim properly, you may file a complaint with the Louisiana Department of Insurance. We will determine whether your insurance company has followed Louisiana law and abided by the terms of your policy in processing your claim. File a complaint online here.  

• Contact the Louisiana Department of Insurance Office of Consumer Services at 1-800-259-5300, option #3.