When Natural Disaster Strikes, Contents Restoration Becomes an Urgent Priority

Fire, flooding, and other natural disasters can cause significant damage to the structure of a home or office. For many property owners, it’s damage to the contentsof the building that proves most painful. Precious items, such as family heirlooms, vintage photo albums, and gifts from loved ones, are often left waterlogged, smoke-damaged, or otherwise compromised.

Due to the sentimental value of these items, the thought they could be lost forever is naturally a source of sadness. Thankfully, even items marred by water, soot, and smoke can sometimes be recovered. Packout and contents restoration professionals may be able to salvage and rehabilitate these assets, potentially breathing new life into them. Similarly, these services can sometimes salvage expensive electronics and other high-dollar items, shielding the insurer and policyholder alike from costly replacement needs.

Insurance adjusters can help to prepare policyholders for the contents restoration process – advising them on how to proactively protect their valued items and also on how to ensure a smooth, friction-free experience.

Safeguarding valued items from cataclysmic events

One of the most meaningful ways for insurers to serve policyholders is by preemptively educating them about preserving key assets, including items that have significant value, whether monetary or strictly sentimental. It’s important to consider guidelines for both fire and flood protection.

For example, one way for property owners to mitigate fire damage is to round up important documents and digitize them. These items – passports, birth certificates, wills, healthcare directives, cherished photos – can be scanned and uploaded to secure cloud-based storage platforms, such as Google Drive.

When it comes to truly one-of-a-kind photos and documents, including heirlooms or historic relics, policyholders may also wish to invest in fire-resistant bags or even safes. This is one of the best ways to ensure the originals, not just scans or copies, can withstand unexpected disasters. It’s worth noting that not all fireproof bags and boxes are created equal; the most durable and effective are those rated for temperatures of 1,550°F or higher.

For items with a greater monetary value – think high-end electronics – policyholders are advised to keep a thorough inventory. Maintaining digital photos or videos of these items, including clear images of any serial numbers, can be helpful when it comes time for insurance adjusters to perform valuations and seek replacement items. (This is a particularly important consideration for offices, where high-end electronics are often mission critical.)

In addition to protecting specific items, it’s worth pursuing fire mitigation more broadly. At the very least, property owners should have smoke detectors on each floor of their home or office and be sure to test the batteries on a monthly basis. Having fire extinguishers on hand, especially in the kitchen and garage, can further reduce the risk of widespread damage. For office settings, ensuring compliance with local fire codes is a must.

To protect important photos, documents and heirloom items from flood damage, it’s best to store them in waterproof plastic containers, using duct tape to ensure a tight seal. These containers can be stored at higher points of elevation, such as the attic, to further guard against flood damage.

Property owners may also benefit from the installation of a sump pump in their basement, ensuring heavy rain waters can be directed away from the building – potentially mitigating the effects of major storms as well as ruptured pipes within the home or office.

Helping policyholders in their time of need

Insurance companies should maintain positive relationships with contents restoration and packout services known for accuracy, efficiency, and customer satisfaction levels. It’s important insurers be ready to dispatch contents restoration teams early in the claims process, not only raising the likelihood key items can be salvaged but also communicating to policyholders their prized property is being taken care of.

Beyond having pre-vetted teams to dispatch, there are several other ways in which insurers can support homeowners—ensuring they have a smooth and low-stress claims process, even in the wake of a traumatic event.

More than anything else, insurers should stress to their policyholders the value in initiating the claims process as quickly as possible. Regularly sharing documentation guidelines—letting policyholders know what kinds of photographs and other details to submit—can be especially helpful.

Triangulating communications, ensuring contents restoration professionals and policyholders share regular updates, is equally important. For instance, assigning a common contact person or liaison to specific cases is an easy way to keep everyone on the same page.

Living through a fire, flood, or significant storm is always challenging—and all the more so when priceless possessions seem to be damaged beyond repair. Offering the expert assistance of a contents restoration professional is one of the most consequential ways in which insurers can be there for policyholders, letting them know they’re not alone even in the midst of great uncertainty.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Gavilanes

David Gavilanes is the training manager for Blue Kangaroo Packoutz, which works with insurance professionals and homeowners to deliver expert contents cleaning and restoration services across the country. For more information, visit www.bluekangaroopackoutz.