Contact insurance agent before making repairs to home

Aug. 31--In the aftermath of Harvey, it may be quite some time before residents are out of the woods. One of the first steps to recover from a natural disaster is reaching out to insurance companies.

"Be quick in making contact with your insurance company," said Laura Adams, senior insurance analyst for Insurance Quotes.

Insurance Quotes is a website that allows people to shop and compare insurance quotes online for auto, home, health, life and business.

"Most of these insurance companies are going to struggle with the amount of staff handling so many claims at once," Adams said. "You must be patient with these companies, but don't let it go on too long where you haven't made contact or seen an insurance adjuster in over two weeks."

Germania Insurance is one of many insurance companies that have set up an outdoor office to reach out to their local customers.

Germania' set up its office at 2001 E Sabine St. this week to help customers file their claims.

"We are currently at the front end of the operation and getting adjusters to start going out and looking at properties," said Sean Ivy, a claims unit manager for Germania Insurance.

There are a couple thousand Germania Insurance customers in the Victoria area who are encouraged to come out to begin the process of getting an adjuster out to their property, Ivy said.

"We've already had about 500 to 600 claims made since we came out here on Monday," Ivy said.

A majority of homeowners insurance policies include four essential types of coverage that includes the structure of your house, personal belongings, liability protection, and additional living expenses if you are temporarily unable to live in your home because of an insured disaster.

Renters with renters insurance have coverage for personal belongings that are damaged by covered perils, such as windstorms and fire.

Although, an issue that has become a concern with policyholders is determining whether or not your home's damage was caused by water rising from the ground or from wind and/or driving rain.

"Flood insurance ultimately comes from the federal government," Adams said. "It is not a part of a typical homeowners or renters policy and must be purchased separately."

Flood insurance will not cover an event where water is rising from the ground.

Adams said those in Houston who are affected by massive amounts of flooding have become a concern because about 80 percent of homeowners do not have flood insurance.

"This is going to affect people in a lot of different ways and will bring quite a financial strain to those in Houston," Adams said.

"It's important to protect your property, take lots of pictures, and keep your receipts," Ivy said.

Germania insurance will be working with customers on site until Friday to get residents on the road to recovery.

"When word gets out, we do anticipate more people to show up over the next few days," Ivy said.

"We are out here to help people and keep the promises that we make."

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