Over the weekend, Richmond said goodnight to Hurricane Irene and good morning to extensive damage and power outages that have lasted days.
Homeowners have more expensive repairs to worry about than renters.
One thing both have in common is the food costs incurred from loss of power due to the storm.
A lot of perfectly good food perished. Condiment collections must be completely refreshed. Eating out has been a splendid indulgence, but face it, many of us don’t have bloated wallets. After days without power and eating out, the wallets are actually looking pretty skinny.
What a lot of people might not know is that food expenses could be covered by homeowner and renter’s insurance. We make no promises, but urge you to check your policy or with your agent.
It's an opportunity that you don’t want to miss.
You will need to make a list of the items you had to throw away and price them at the grocery store. Hold onto receipts from dining out due to power outages. One local homeowner said that her policy provision kicked in after two days without power.
Also keep receipts from emergency repairs and for temporary housing. These costs may be reimbursable under the “additional living expense” portion of your homeowner’s policy.
Irene’s turbulent path up the East Coast has resulted in gads of homeowner claims and billions of dollars of damages. So don’t be shocked if the path to an insurance settlement isn’t smooth, or doesn’t move as quickly as Hurricane Irene did.
“Because so many consumers experienced claims problems in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, we urge homeowners dealing with losses caused by Hurricane Irene to be vigilant with their insurance companies to ensure that that they receive a full and fair settlement,” J. Robert Hunter, Director of Insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, said.
The Consumer Federation of America offered the following tips to filing claims:
• Review your policy right away to find out how and where to report a claim. Many agencies have set up methods to report on your mobile phone.
• Don’t hesitate to file legitimate claims.
• Report your claim as promptly as possible, as insurance companies generally handle them on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Once your claim is reported, be sure to write down your claim number.
• When your insurance company sends an adjuster to survey your damage, ask whether he’s an employee of the insurer or is an independent adjuster. If he is an independent adjuster, find out whether he’s authorized to make claim decisions and payments on behalf of your insurance company.
• Once you file a claim, you should immediately start compiling a notebook documenting all of your contact with the insurance company. List the date, the time and a brief description of each exchange. Document if an adjuster said they would come and did not show. It helps to have taken photos of your house and possessions before the storm.
• Hold onto receipts for emergency repairs and for temporary housing. These costs may be reimbursable under the “additional living expense” portion of your homeowner’s policy.
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