Hurricane Ike, Other Natural Disasters - Speed Up Homeowners Insurance Payments

As i write this, Hurricane Ike has left a path of destruction in Galveston, Texas as well as major power outages. According to information found at CNN.com here:www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/13/hurricane.ike.texas/index.html President Bush decided that 29 Texas counties were disaster areas. People are coming back to homes that have been flooded, assaulted by high winds and damaged by debris and the sheer force of this hurricane.

Eventually, Galveston homeowners who endured Hurricane Ike may need to check their homeowners insurance and see if they do indeed have hurricane insurance. There are some basic steps that may speed up the process of getting payment to rebuild or restore damaged homes and find housing and protection until that occurs.

Hurricane Ike and homeowners insurance - in the wake of shock, homeowners insurance may not be the first concern

While I feel lucky that I've never faced the wrath of a hurricane, we did go have to face an unexpected and very sudden natural disaster. Just a couple of years ago, we were at home when a massive hailstorm hit. Much of our city was damaged and our neighborhood was hit particularly hard. Car windows shattered, roofs were torn to pieces and even home windows were broken by the sheer force of that hail. My son called me, breathless, after witnessing nearly every car on one local Indianapolis street get cracked or completely broken by the hail. He'd never seen anything like it. Neither had I, although I've seen many hailstorms.

Grateful that my son wasn't driving during the storm, homeowners insurance was the last thing on my mind. For those who got through Hurricane Ike, checking an insurance policy may not be the first thing that comes to mind either - not with power out and so much more to handle. Eventually, though, people's thoughts may turn to rebuilding their lives and homes.

Hurricane Ike and homeowners insurance -steps to take to get quicker payments

State rules can vary, a fact we learned after relatives who went through hurricanes in Florida told us about the differences between their hurricane coverage and that in other states. Also, during the particular natural disaster we faced, the hailstorm, our insurance policy covered the complete cost of a new roof. But oher homeowners on our street didn't have the same coverage. Based on this, my first suggestion would be to....

Find your homeowners policy and check the terms and coverage for hurricane damage

For those who had the foresight, it would have been a good idea to check it before the hurricane hit. But that might not have been possible. Some people thought they'd stay and decided to leave at the last minute. Perhaps others hoped the storm would weaken.

We certainly didn't consider calling our insurance agent right after a hailstorm hit. For one thing, I was too busy putting pans under one very leaky area of our roof and mopping up water! However, when possible, find a copy of that insurance policy.

Homeowners insurance and hurricanes - understand that flood and wind damage may be handled differently

This was indeed the case for our relatives who survived a hurricane, having to argue with their insurance agent about whether damage was caused by flooding or wind. Some policies only cover certain types of damage during a hurricane and it can be...well, a nightmare, really....to figure out the distinction between wind, rain and flood damage. At one point, our insurance agent did question whether one part of our roof was damaged by the hail falling during the hailstorm - or by the wind. However, we argued the point and won.

Hurricanes and homeowners insurance - know if extra insurance agents will be in your area

After the hailstorm, so many parts of our city were eligible for automatic coverage, suffering catastrophic damage. Because of this, local insurance agents seemed to be overwhelmed. When we called, we were often put on hold or had to wait hours or days to get our calls returned. We came very close to missing the deadline to file for insurance coverage. Luckily, that deadline was extended. Finally, special homeowners insurance agents who'd been sent to our city visited our home.

You may speed up payments if you get several estimates from qualified companies, roofers and builders

We got at least three estimates and then we got another. This helped a great deal when it came to negotiated with the representatives of our homeowners insurance company. Also, the agents who came to our home were not familiar with local companies so we had their references and other information about normal payments in our area. Because of this, we got enough money to get a decent roof repair and roof replacement. It wasn't easy to get roofing company reps to get out here quickly but they did eventually appear.

Hurricanes and homeowners insurance - know who to call if you have flooding

We didn't have any major flooding but those who went through hurricanes, including Hurricane Ike, may not have been so lucky. They'll want to contact the National Flood Program or similar sites for tips and advice to get speedier payments after the hurricane. The National Flood Program can be reached here: www.floodsmart.com/index.htm to answer questions for those who have flood insurance.

Network with neighbors and share tips- it worked for us when it came to our homeowners insurance payments

A neighbor helped us find a reputable roofing company that would give a fair estimate, with a supervisor who was used to negotiated with homeowners insurance companies. Until then, we'd been literally besieged by fly by night roofers who we think saw a potential chance to make some quick money. We were wary of these companies because we'd heard some horror stories about the type of roofing jobs they'd done. Also, once they left town, there weren't any local representative if anything went wrong. So we went with a local roofing company. They've been available for questions. We can always reach them quickly and have called them to ask about maintaining our roof.

Hurricanes and homeowners insurance - understand that you might have to prevent further damage until repair can be made

One of the more frustrating things we endured was having to live with a leaky roof until repairs could be made. Because roofers were overwhelmed, we had to cover our roof and do our best to prevent further damage. We wanted to do this because I didn't want to haul out pots and pans and put them under the roof every time it rained, running from room to room. So check your policy and make sure you know what steps you are required to take to prevent more damage.

Take plenty of photos to help make sure you get appropriate insurance coverage after a hurricane

We weren't willing to live with huge tree limbs in our yard, plus lots of other debris. We did take photos of the massive tree that had to be cut down and also saved receipts for other expenses before our insurance company reimbursed us. This extra step made a huge difference. So get out that camera and take photos!

While not exhaustive, I hope some of the information on this list will come in handy for those who got through Hurricane Ike or who may face hailstorms, tornadoes, flooding, earthquakes and other natural disasters. I hope all those with homeowners insurance and/or hurricane insurance can get back to living normal lives as quickly as possible after a natural disaster.