As Puerto Rico begins to pick itself up after Hurricane Fiona and coastal Alaskan communities dry out from Typhoon Merbok, Hurricane Ian is swirling around Florida. Once communities begin to suffer catastrophic losses from this hurricane season, insurance adjusters and contractors nationwide will be working to get covered insureds back to some semblance of normalcy. For those who have flood insurance, the claims process is just beginning, and they will likely have more questions than answers. Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina and other major flood events provided some important lessons for all involved in the adjusting and restoration process. Documentation will be critical for both policyholders and adjusters. What does the policy cover? What damage was sustained? What can be replaced and what can be restored? For adjusters who do not have a lot of experience adjusting flood claims, Canopy Claims Management in New York City offers some recommendations to ensure that critical facets of the inspection aren't missed and to help reduce the number of claims that may need to be reviewed or reopened at a later date. Canopy was involved in reviewing or mediating over 500 insurance claims after Hurricane Sandy and handled well over 1,000 of their own flood claims for insurers. Jeff Major, Canopy's chief operating officer and executive vice president, says it's critical that estimates be as complete as possible and that pricing can be one of the areas where problems arise. "If Xactimate says that the price is different, then you have to change," he explains. He says he's done "five-page estimates just for a kitchen in Xactimate because you have to identify everything." Major recommends taking as many photographs as possible. "Years ago, adjusters were mindful of film developing costs, which are a non-factor now. Photographs should be taken of all sides of the risk and the surrounding area, as well as in every room. Each room should have general photos of the room, each showing at least two walls, and then from the other side of the room," he says. "Additional photographs of each room should show the types of finishes and construction materials as well as damage, and contents photographs should be taken with special attention to unique and high- or low-value items. As many catastrophe adjusters only visit a risk once, having a vast quantity of photographs can answer questions during estimate entry, inventory review and in addressing concerns or questions with insureds or file reviewers. Since claim file submissions usually contain a limited quantity of photographs, it is a good practice for adjusters to have and keep a flash or jump drive for each catastrophe that they work which contains excess photographs in individual files." Major also recommends that every risk be fully sketched. "Adjusters should sketch the entire risk, not just sketch the exterior and only take room measurements. Sketching all interior rooms including closets, offsets etc., noting doors and windows will not only allow adjusters the ability to bifurcate room and footprint scope items, it will also allow them to accurately estimate damages. A photograph of the sketch should be taken and included/saved with claim photographs. Later, when entering line items into the estimating system, the sketch will remind estimators which way doors swing, how rooms connect, and help in the orientation of photographs." The slideshow above illustrates recommendations of areas where adjusters might miss as they prepare to assess damages after a major weather event. This is an updated version of a story that first published in 2016. See also: |

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