What homeowners can do now to prepare for insurance claims

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It’s important to note that the percentage is based on your insured value, not the damage caused. So if your home is insured for $200,000 and you have a 2 percent hurricane deductible, you’ll pay $4,000 even if the damage is only, say, $10,000.

Policies also have coverage exclusions and limits that are helpful to know.

Remember, your local agent might not be easily available after the storm.

“If you’re evacuating, and your agent is local, they’ll be evacuating as well,” Odess said. “And if there’s a roadblock or something after the storm and they can’t get back, you’re not getting anything from them until they get their business back up and running.”

Understanding your coverage also can be useful when the insurance adjustor arrives.

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If there’s widespread damage, adjustors will be handling an overwhelming number of claims, Odess said. They also might not be familiar with local laws that affect your coverage or they might make inaccurate assumptions.

“This is done by humans, and they can make mistakes,” Odess said.



Source : CNBC