A hurricane claim begins before an adjuster arrives. The first photographs, temporary repairs, receipts, and written notices may become the best evidence of what the storm changed. At the same time, no insurance file is worth entering an unsafe building or climbing onto a damaged roof.
This checklist is organized around the decisions Louisiana policyholders usually face after a storm. The policy still controls what is covered, which duties apply, and when documents are due.
Make the property safe and record the starting condition
Stay away from downed lines, standing water near electrical equipment, unstable structures, and suspected gas leaks. Run generators outdoors and away from doors, windows, and vents. Use qualified professionals for roof, electrical, structural, or contaminated-water hazards.
When it is safe, take a slow video of the exterior and each accessible room before cleanup changes the scene. Follow with still photographs that move from a wide view to the damaged area and then to close detail. Include the address or another identifying view. Keep the original files and back them up.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance advises policyholders to photograph or record damage before cleanup and temporary repairs. It also recommends separating damaged property from undamaged property without throwing items away before the adjuster can review them when it is safe and practical to retain them.
Report the loss and start one claim record
Notify the insurer or agent promptly using a method allowed by the policy. Record the date, time, claim number, representative, and instructions received. Confirm important telephone conversations by email or through the insurer’s portal.
Keep the policy, declarations page, endorsements, claim notices, estimates, photographs, receipts, and communications together. A simple chronology can prevent later confusion:
- when the storm affected the property;
- when each type of damage was first observed;
- when the claim was reported;
- when inspections occurred;
- when documents, estimates, and invoices were sent; and
- when payments or coverage letters arrived.
Ask how the insurer wants additional damage reported and where documents should be uploaded. Save proof of each transmission.
Prevent additional damage without erasing the evidence
Policies commonly require reasonable steps to protect property from further loss. Temporary measures may include tarping an opening, boarding a broken window, removing standing water, or beginning professional drying. Photograph the condition before work, during the work, and after the temporary measure is in place.
Keep contracts, invoices, equipment logs, moisture readings, and receipts. Note who performed the work and why it could not wait. The Louisiana Department of Insurance specifically advises keeping receipts for temporary protective measures.
Emergency work and permanent reconstruction are different. Unless safety requires immediate removal, give the insurer a reasonable opportunity to inspect concealed or disputed damage before permanent repair covers it. When material must be removed, ask the contractor to photograph it in place and during removal.
Build a room-by-room damage inventory
For the building, list damage by location rather than using a single description such as “roof and water damage.” Identify the roof slope or elevation, room, wall, ceiling, flooring, cabinet, opening, or system involved. Connect photographs to the list with file names or numbers.
For personal property, record the item, quantity, brand or model when known, approximate age, condition before the storm, and claimed replacement cost. Receipts, photographs, manuals, credit-card records, and online order histories can help establish ownership and value. Do not invent a date or price when it can be described as an estimate.
Save pre-storm photographs, inspection reports, and repair records. They may help distinguish storm damage from earlier conditions. Our article on finding hidden hurricane damage discusses roof, attic, wall, flooring, electrical, and moisture documentation in more detail.
Track displacement and extra living costs
If the home cannot be occupied, review the policy’s loss-of-use or additional-living-expense provisions. Coverage often turns on the policy language, the reason the home is uninhabitable, applicable limits, and whether the expense exceeds the household’s normal cost.
Keep hotel or rental agreements, meal receipts, mileage records, laundry costs, storage bills, and pet-boarding charges. Add a short note explaining why each unusual expense was necessary. Ask the insurer in writing about advance payments, required approvals, time limits, and documentation standards before making a long commitment.
Separate wind evidence from flood evidence
Homeowners coverage and flood coverage are not interchangeable. A loss may involve roof or opening damage, wind-driven rain, rising water, storm surge, or more than one cause. Report potentially covered damage to each relevant carrier and avoid guessing at the cause when the evidence is incomplete.
Document water lines, debris patterns, exterior openings, roof damage, and the sequence in which water entered or was discovered. Keep the homeowners and flood claim numbers separate, along with the documents sent to each insurer.
An NFIP flood policy is a federal contract with its own requirements. The Standard Flood Insurance Policy ordinarily requires a signed, sworn proof of loss within 60 days after the loss, although FEMA may issue a written extension for a particular disaster. Confirm the deadline that applies to the event and do not assume an adjuster’s inspection or estimate satisfies every policyholder duty.
Review the adjuster’s estimate line by line
An estimate is easier to evaluate when the scope, quantity, unit price, depreciation, deductible, and coverage treatment are visible. Compare the estimate with the photographs, contractor observations, and actual work needed.
Look for missing rooms, omitted elevations, incomplete roof quantities, absent drying work, incorrect materials, and damage discovered after the first inspection. Ask in writing about each material difference. A contractor’s detailed scope can be more useful than a single total because it shows where the disagreement lies.
Do not sign a contract simply because a vendor says insurance will pay. The policyholder remains responsible for the agreement unless it says otherwise. Understand deposits, change orders, cancellation rights, and whether the contractor’s scope depends on insurer approval.
Use supplements when the full loss was not known initially
The first inspection may not reveal wet insulation, damaged decking, concealed wiring, or material behind walls and cabinets. If new damage or cost appears, notify the insurer promptly. Explain when and how it was discovered, provide photographs and estimates, and ask whether another inspection is required before the area is closed.
A supplement should identify the new or omitted item rather than repeat the entire claim without explanation. Keep proof that the supplement was received and track the insurer’s response.
Read every payment and coverage letter
Match each payment to the insurer’s estimate and explanation. Determine whether it is an advance, an undisputed amount, an actual-cash-value payment, a replacement-cost payment, or a supplemental payment. Review any depreciation conditions and deadlines for completing repairs or claiming withheld amounts.
A partial payment does not necessarily show that every part of the claim was accepted. A letter may apply different coverage decisions to different items. Ask for clarification when the stated reason, cited policy provision, or calculation is unclear.
Louisiana has specific statutes governing adjustment and payment of property claims, including catastrophic-loss provisions in La. R.S. 22:1892 and La. R.S. 22:1892.2. Whether a payment was due and whether a statutory remedy applies depend on the policy, proof provided, timing, and reason for the insurer’s action. A delay is not automatically bad faith.
Know when the file needs a closer review
Consider a legal review when the insurer attributes storm damage to wear without addressing contrary evidence, repeatedly requests the same material, refuses to inspect newly exposed damage, closes the claim while a documented supplement is pending, or issues an estimate that omits significant areas without explanation.
Bring the policy, claim chronology, photographs, estimates, payment and coverage letters, repair invoices, mitigation records, and communications. Those documents help determine whether the dispute concerns coverage, cause, scope, price, depreciation, proof, or claim handling.
The firm’s Louisiana hurricane and storm-damage practice page explains the role of legal review. A related article discusses why a storm claim may slow down and how to make a focused response.