‘Document what you can on your own’: Severe weather could call for insurance claims
By Harry Loomis
Wednesday night’s severe weather didn’t hit St. Joseph as hard as other towns in the area, but hail damage still caused issues for many.
Many reports of hail-related damage came out Thursday, whether it was to cars or roofs.
This is the first instance of severe weather in 2024 and will likely lead to residents trying to file insurance claims in the coming days. Insurance companies would recommend getting as much proof and information as possible for a claim.
“I would definitely document what you can on your own,” said Bethanee Hollandsworth, office manager at Tolly & Associates Inc. “Your adjusters will. So you’re going to have a couple different adjusters that are going to contact you, and your field adjuster that would come out and assess the damages, a lot of times they will meet with the contractor and … document everything on their own. So, take what you can, but they will also do the documentation on their side.”
While documenting damage yourself is a good idea, insurance experts advise only doing so if it’s safe. For example, checking your car for dings and damage is easy to document on your own.
“We would recommend maybe not getting up on your roof,” said Janessa Shewmaker, sales manager at Tolly & Associates Inc. “Call a licensed professional roofer to come out. They can assess, like, your roof if you should make a claim if there is damage.”
It’s important to remember that claims can take a while to progress, as insurance agents and repair crews have numerous clients to help with any severe storm.
Even though the process can take time, it’s possible to be proactive and be ready when the time comes to meet with an agent.
“If you know what your homeowner’s deductible is and you’re confident that there’s enough damage, you are welcome to file a claim just off of that,” Hollandsworth said. “Get a licensed professional to come out and assess the damages … before filing on your autos. It’s pretty easy to call over and get a quick estimate on your autos to get something in your deductible would be deemed whether you would want to file that claim or not.”
