After a storm or hurricane, many homeowners become aware of storm damage to their roof through the discovery of an interior leak. Not only is finding damage to your home stressful, but you may be confused as to what your next steps should be. Regardless of whether you ultimately decide to file a claim with your insurance company, your policy likely requires that you protect your property from additional damages.
What does additional damages mean? Any damages that in theory could have been prevented by the homeowner utilizing items designed to protect the home from additional damage. For example, prior to a hurricane, most people remove any items that could become projectiles and affix shutters and/or plywood to their windows to protect their home from damages. Similarly, when you become aware of a roof leak, you should protect your home from additional damages from that leak by placing a tarp to the roof.
The importance of taking steps to protect your home from existing damages continuing to deteriorate and additional damage cannot be overstated. Not only do you benefit from not having further water damages accumulate in your home, but you are abiding by your policy by protecting your property. Failure to take steps that protect your home from ensuing damages could be a barrier to a successful claim altogether, and could also reduce the value of a potential claim even if your claim is covered. Many insurance companies cover tarp services through Emergency Services provisions in their policies, so it is important to be familiar with the terms of your policy before and during weather events that could damage your home. If you are unsure of what tarping or other services might be included through your insurance coverage, that is where Cohen Law Group can assist in explaining your policy rights to you. Regardless of whether the insurance company will assist in tarping your home, it is very important to ensure your home is protected, and you are free to hire any licensed entity of your choosing to tarp the roof.
At Cohen Law group, we can help you navigate the claim process and make sure you are taking all of the appropriate steps to protect your property. Our goal is to ensure that you take all the necessary steps required by your policy while also removing a large portion of the confusion from the process.
Jennifer Kerwin, ESQ.
