Storm Damage Repair – What Michigan Homeowners Need to Know About Insurance and Claims

Few things in life can feel as overwhelming as realizing your home has suffered severe storm damage. Simply hunkering down and waiting for the storm to pass can feel stressful enough, but seeing that the elements have penetrated your home and ruined many of your possessions can be debilitating. In addition to the initial clean-up, you’re left facing up to the prospect of a potentially complex insurance claim and a long list of questions. Here, we try to answer a few of them – and hopefully make the idea of storm damage repair feel a little less intimidating for Michigan homeowners…

Regardless of how quickly you realize your home has been damaged, your priority should always be the safety of you and your loved ones. Take every step with caution and remember that you can encounter all sorts of hazards, from gas leaks to exposed nails.

Once you’re sure the storm has passed and everyone’s wellbeing has been accounted for, you should start to identify exactly what’s been damaged and begin to document it, taking photographs and videos along the way. Visual elements will play a huge part in speeding up your claim, particularly if you also happen to have images of what your property looked like before. Keep hold of all of your damaged items, too – as long as they’re safe – as they may well be inspected a little later in the day.

After you’ve got a decent understanding of what you’re dealing with, you can pick up the phone.

Your priority is to understand what is covered by your policy. Flood damage, for example, is something you’ll often require a separate policy for. Then there’s the question of replacement cost or actual cash value; does your coverage pay for the cost of replacing a damaged item with a brand new one of the same kind, or does it take into account depreciation?

You also need to ascertain your deductible – the amount you have to pay before your insurance kicks in. It can depend on the type of storm, as well as by state; for example, Michigan homeowners won’t ever find themselves having to consider a hurricane deductible, which tends to be higher than other deductibles. But storm activity generally has been on the rise.

Then by all means you should, but there are a number of things to bear in mind. Firstly, you need to be realistic about what’s practical and, most importantly, what’s safe. Where you’re lacking in expertise, you should leave everything to a professional, and you should never be looking to achieve anything more than a temporary fix – for example, applying duct tape to a broken window or tarp to a leaky roof.

What’s crucial is that you keep hold of any receipts for any purchases you make to carry out the repairs and you keep a visual record of everything you do. Your insurance company is only likely to reimburse you here if you have proof.

In terms of anything more permanent, you should wait until you’ve hired the help of an expert company, which brings us nicely to our next section…

If coming to terms with storm damage repair is sounding like a lot, X-Cel Restoration can help reduce the burden immediately. Providing a 24/7 service, we can head out to the scene of any sort of disaster – big or small – and take care of the initial emergency response. Often, though, we have an even bigger role to play in the days and weeks which follow. We work directly with your insurance provider and use all of our experience to streamline, and quicken, your claim as much as possible, ultimately embarking on a forensic restoration process to get your house feeling like home again. IIRC certified, we’re a trusted name in fire and water damage restoration, as well as mold remediation and removal.

Stepping into a home covered by ash and soot or drenched in water can leave you feeling hopeless, but there’s nothing we haven’t seen before and, whether you’re dealing with major structural damage or trying to get a treasured possession back into working order, we can help.

Thankfully, with X-Cel Restoration, you’ll be dealing with a company with nearly 35 years’ experience behind them – and now firmly established as south-eastern Michigan’s preferred storm damage restoration provider. As soon as a storm hits, we’re ready to jump into action and start getting you on the road to recovery, alleviating you of practical stress and allowing you to concentrate on what’s most important in the aftermath of a crisis: the wellbeing of you and your family. When disaster strikes, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.