Being prepared for your insurance adjuster’s visit will help expedite your claim.

Restoring your home after a flood is a long and difficult process – even when you have flood insurance – but being well-prepared for filing your claim can help speed the settlement, which in turn will help you get things back to normal sooner.

The first and most important step is to call your insurance agent to report your flood claim, or contact the insurance company directly. Then, to prevent further water damage from rains, put temporary tarpaulins over roof leaks and attach plastic over any cracked windows.

The Flood Experts at Bankers Insurance Group, one of the nation’s leading carriers of flood insurance, have these additional suggestions for starting the cleanup process and expediting your settlement:

• Before beginning any clean-up, take photographs of everything “as is,” indoors and out, to show the water level and extent of damage. Make a room-by-room inventory of missing or damaged items, and try to locate receipts for major purchases.
• Wear boots and heavy gloves during cleanup. Flood water can be severely contaminated and/or carry snakes and insects.
• Separate damaged and undamaged property. Remove all wet upholstered furniture, draperies and other large items to a garage or other area where it can be stored until you can determine whether it can be cleaned, reupholstered, or salvaged.
• Remove all wet carpet and carpet padding, but save a large piece of both carpet and pad to show your insurance adjuster. Once all the wet furniture and carpets have been moved out of the way, remove any standing water and mud that remain and then clean the floor with soapy water and disinfectant.
• Use disinfectant and soapy water to remove as much dirt and bacteria as possible from hardwood furniture and other solid surfaces.
• Advance or partial payment of your claim may be possible. Ask your adjuster about this.