Storm Damage Versus Flood Damage

8/20/2021 (Permalink)

You may not think there is a huge difference between storm and flood damage, but your insurance company sure does. It's absolutely vital to make sure that your Clifton business is covered for both types of damage. Doing research on the ins and out of your insurance company can prevent you from spending thousands of dollars in property damages.

The Difference Defined
Differentiating between the two types of damages can be tricky.

Insurance companies typically label the accident as storm damage if the destruction was a result of one or more of the following:

• Heavy rainfall
• Cyclones and tornadoes
• Hail storms
• Hurricanes and other tropical storms
  

The Insurance Code of Practice defines flood damage as "the covering of normally dry land by water that has escaped or been released from the normal confines of any lake, river, creek or other natural watercourse, whether or not altered or modified, or any reservoir, canal or dam."

Even though it is obviously possible for the above storms to cause flooding in your building,your insurance company will not see it that way.  While it is absolutely possible for the above incidents to cause flooding, your insurance company won't see it that way.

How to File a Claim
If your commercial building is covered, then you need to file your insurance claim as soon as possible by contacting your insurance company.

Separate your damaged and undamaged property and make a itemized list of both, including the items model number, serial number, and brand name. Do NOT throw anything away until your insurance company sends out an adjuster to inspect it.  If you still have any receipts or bills, include them in the report.

Both severe storms and floods can cause massive amounts of water damage, but your insurance company still treats them like separate accidents. Make sure to contact remediation experts if your commercial building has recently suffered from storm or flood damage.

Contacting a professional restoration company such as SERVPRO of Clifton can do all the work for you. Our technicians will come in prepared with all the required insurance paperwork, will take photos of all salvageable and salvageable content, as well as all structural damage. We will create detailed itemized lists of all content for your adjuster and we will submit all information to your insurance and work with your adjuster.

Our technicians are on call 24/7 365 days a year- they can be called out on a moments notice if your business experienced flood or storm damage, because we know how precious time is when dealing with property damage.

SERVPRO of Clifton 973-928-3705