Claim FAQS

Clean up should begin as soon as the flood waters recede. Once it is safe to enter your home, follow these guidelines: Remove carpeting that has gotten wet. Take a picture, cut it up and drag it outside. Wet carpeting promotes mold growth and should be removed as quickly as possible. If flooding exceeds 6 inches of water, take pictures of the watermark in each room and remove the drywall up to the water line to initiate the drying process. It is important to begin this process as soon as possible. Once the damaged drywall is removed, dehumidifiers and fans will help speed up drying and prevent mold.

If you have contents coverage, create a detailed room-by-room list of all damaged personal property and separate the damaged and undamaged items. Have the list available for your adjuster on his or her initial visit. Save any damaged personal property and take photos of it. It is the adjuster’s responsibility to verify contents damage. If you throw something away before the adjuster arrives, you must have a photograph of the item showing the damage in order to claim it.

The adjuster will take pictures of the damage to your insured building, as well as any damaged personal property if you have contents coverage. They will take measurements, scope out any building damage and conduct an interview with you. When working with the adjuster, it is important that you both come to an agreement about the “scope of damage,” meaning a consensus about what needs to be repaired or replaced without a dollar amount. The adjuster will discuss this with you as they inspect each room.

In most instances, you will be eligible for an advance payment to help start the recovery process. Inform the adjuster if you need an advance or partial payment on your loss.

The Standard Flood Insurance Policy pays no more than $2,500.00 per loss for the following items:
• Artwork, photographs, collectibles or memorabilia including but not limited to figures and sports cards
• Rare books or autographed items
• Jewelry, watches, precious or semi-precious stones and articles of gold, silver or platinum
• Furs or any article containing fur which represents principal value
• Personal property used in a business

This is an extremely important point. Replacement cost coverage (which pays to replace or restore a structure or item) is only available on a limited basis and ONLY for a single-family dwelling that is a principal residence. To receive replacement cost coverage on this structure, you must be insured to at least 80% of the building’s replacement cost at the time of the loss or the maximum amount of coverage available, whichever is less.

Contents losses are ALWAYS adjusted on an actual cash value basis. That means that you only receive what the item was worth as of the day of the loss. For example, if you bought a $1000.00 color television three years ago and it was damaged in a flood, you might only receive $700.00 if that is its worth at the time of flooding. Your building loss is also adjusted this way unless you qualify (as stated above) for replacement cost coverage.

No. When rain enters through a wind-damaged window, door, wall or roof, the National Flood Insurance Program considers the resulting water and damage to be windstorm-related rather than flood-related.

The Standard Flood Insurance Policy provides coverage for one building per policy. The only exception is 10% coverage for a detached garage. However, the total payment for flood damage to the detached garage and the house combined cannot exceed the building policy limit. For coverage to apply, the garage must be designed and used only for parking and storage. Any other use voids this coverage.

If your questions have not been answered here, please send an e-mail to claims@jacclaims.com to receive a prompt reply from our team.