What To Do First After Storm Damage
After storm damage, safety should come first. If your home or business has roof damage, standing water, electrical concerns, broken glass, fallen trees, damaged ceilings, exposed areas, unsafe flooring, or possible structural issues, avoid unsafe spaces and call emergency help if needed.
If it is safe to go back inside or around the property, take steps to keep the damage from getting worse. This may include placing a bucket under an active leak, moving belongings away from wet areas, covering exposed openings, arranging temporary tarping, or contacting a storm damage restoration company for emergency cleanup and protection.
Before anything is removed, repaired, dried, or thrown away, document the damage. Photos and videos can help show the condition of the property before the storm restoration process begins.
What to document:
- Roof leaks
- Water intrusion
- Damaged ceilings
- Wet flooring
- Drywall damage
- Damaged siding
- Broken/ Cracked Windows
- Damaged Gutters
- Fallen Branches/ Tree
- Standing Water
- Damaged Inventory
- Damaged personal or business property
The more complete your documentation is, the harder it may be for an insurance company to later argue that certain damage was not connected to the storm, was pre-existing, or was not serious enough to include in the claim.
Before the storm damage restoration process moves too far ahead, it can help to get guidance on the insurance side of the recovery. This does not mean delaying emergency cleanup, tarping, water removal, or safety-related repairs. It means making sure your documentation, communication, and claim process are protected while the physical restoration begins.
DiMartino can help you understand what to save, what questions to ask, what paperwork to review carefully, and how to avoid letting the insurance company narrow the scope of storm damage restoration too early.
Who Calls the Restoration Company?
Many Highland property owners are unsure whether they should call the restoration company, wait for the insurance company, or speak with a contractor first. In some cases, the homeowner, landlord, or business owner calls directly because water is entering the property, the roof is leaking, debris needs to be removed, or storm damage repairs need to begin right away. In other situations, the insurance company may recommend a preferred vendor, or a contractor may suggest bringing in a restoration team.
There is nothing wrong with getting emergency restoration help when the property needs it. SERVPRO and other restoration companies can play an important role in water removal, structural drying, cleanup, tarping, debris removal, storm roof repair, and repairs.
The key is understanding that each party has a different role. Restoration professionals address the physical storm damage, water intrusion, roof damage, debris, and damaged materials. The insurance company evaluates what it believes should be paid. Ashford DiMartino & Jones helps property owners protect the insurance recovery connected to the restoration work.
Before assuming the insurance company’s preferred vendor, first estimate, or initial inspection includes the full damage, it may help to have DiMartino review what is happening and make sure your storm damage claim is not being limited too early.
Working With Your Insurance Company
After storm damage, your insurance company may assign an adjuster, request documentation, inspect the property, review contractor or restoration estimates, and decide what it believes is covered. That process can feel official, but the insurance company’s first position is not always the complete picture.
Problems can arise when the adjuster misses roof damage, undervalues siding or gutter damage, overlooks interior water damage, or approves basic cleanup while refusing to pay for the full repair. This can happen with storm damage restoration, wind damage, hail damage, roof leaks, storm roof repair, water damage cleanup, and commercial property losses.
Storm damage claims can also raise coverage questions. Depending on the policy and the cause of the loss, the insurance company may review wind damage, hail damage, fallen tree damage, water intrusion, temporary repairs, damaged contents, code upgrades, business interruption, and whether certain cleanup or restoration services are included.
Working with your insurance company does not mean accepting everything without question. You have the right to ask questions, review the estimate, compare it against restoration or contractor documentation, and get guidance before signing paperwork or settling the claim.
Ashford DiMartino & Jones helps property owners communicate with the insurance company, review claim documents, and identify when the insurance recovery may not match the actual storm damage.
Storm Damage Restoration Is More Than Cleanup
Storm damage restoration is often one of the first things people search for after a storm because the visible damage feels urgent. If your roof is leaking, windows are damaged, siding is loose, water is entering the property, or debris is blocking access, cleanup and repairs may need to happen quickly.
But restoration is not only about removing debris or fixing what is easy to see. It is also about creating a clear record of how the storm caused the damage, what areas were affected, what materials need repair, and what the insurance company should consider when reviewing the claim.
If that record is incomplete, the insurance company may later argue that certain damage was unrelated, cosmetic, pre-existing, excluded, or not covered. That can leave the property owner paying for storm roof repair, water damage cleanup, siding repairs, interior repairs, or restoration work that should have been included in the recovery.
This is why early guidance matters. DiMartino helps protect the insurance side of storm damage restoration while contractors and restoration companies focus on the physical cleanup and repair work.
Common Problems After Storm Damage
Storm damage claims do not always become difficult right away. Sometimes the problems appear slowly as cleanup, inspections, estimates, and repairs begin.
The insurance company may approve visible storm damage but deny related repairs. It may argue that roof damage is old. It may question whether hail damage is cosmetic. It may dispute whether wind caused the leak. It may approve emergency water cleanup but fail to include damaged drywall, flooring, siding, gutters, roofing materials, insulation, inventory, equipment, labor, code requirements, overhead, or restoration costs needed to return the property to its pre-loss condition.
In a hail damage roof insurance claim, the insurer may agree that hail occurred in the area but dispute the full scope of the loss. It may also question whether the hail damaged your specific roof or whether all wind, water, exterior, and interior damage should be covered. For business owners, the claim may involve damaged inventory, interrupted operations, lost income, equipment replacement, tenant concerns, and the timeline needed to reopen.
These issues matter because a low estimate can shape the rest of the recovery. If the insurance company limits the scope early, storm damage restoration may become slower, harder, and more expensive for the property owner.
Why Documentation Matters Before Repairs Begin
Documentation is one of the most important parts of storm damage restoration. Photos, videos, estimates, invoices, moisture readings, inspection reports, contractor notes, weather-related concerns, and communication records can all help show what happened and what repairs may be needed.
Before damaged materials are removed, before wet flooring is pulled up, before drywall is torn out, before debris is hauled away, and before permanent repairs begin, the damage should be documented as thoroughly as possible. If emergency tarping, water removal, or cleanup must begin right away, document as much as you can before and during that process.
Keep copies of everything connected to the restoration and insurance claim.
This includes:
- Insurance Letters
- Claim Numbers
- Adjuster Reports
- Contractor Estimates
- Restoration Invoices
- Emails
- Text Messages
- Receipts
- Moisture Readings
- Photos from anyone who inspects the property
Ashford DiMartino & Jones can help review these materials and identify whether the insurance company’s estimate matches the documented storm damage, water damage, roof damage, siding damage, contents damage, structural damage, and restoration needs.
Storm Damage Restoration for Homes and Businesses
Storm damage can affect homes, businesses, rental properties, apartment buildings, retail spaces, offices, warehouses, restaurants, and other commercial buildings throughout Highland, Lake County, and Northwest Indiana.
Homeowners may be dealing with roof leaks, flooded basements, wind damage, hail damage, damaged siding, broken windows, damaged gutters, wet flooring, interior water damage, and questions about insurance coverage. Renters may have questions about damaged belongings, temporary housing, and what coverage may apply to personal property. Business owners may face damaged inventory, equipment loss, interrupted operations, lost income, tenant concerns, emergency cleanup, and pressure to reopen quickly.
Commercial storm damage claims can become especially complicated because the insurance company may dispute more than the physical damage. It may also question the cost of repair, the cause of the damage, the timeline for restoration, business interruption, lost income, or the financial impact on the business.
Whether the property is residential, rental, or commercial, the recovery process should protect both the building and the insurance claim connected to it.
When To Contact Ashford DiMartino?
You do not have to wait until your storm damage claim is denied to contact Ashford DiMartino & Jones.
It may be helpful to reach out when storm damage first happens, when a storm damage restoration company is beginning work, when an insurance adjuster is scheduled to inspect the property, or when the first estimate seems too low.
You should also consider contacting DiMartino if the insurance company is delaying the claim, disputing the cause of the storm damage, refusing to pay for certain repairs, ignoring contractor estimates, questioning storm damage restoration costs, disputing wind or hail damage, undervaluing damaged contents, or pressuring you to accept a settlement.
The earlier DiMartino understands what is happening, the easier it may be to help protect documentation, review the policy, and identify issues before the claim becomes harder to fix.
Serving Highland and Northwest Indiana
Ashford DiMartino & Jones helps homeowners, renters, business owners, landlords, commercial property owners, homeowners associations, and property managers throughout Highland, Lake County, and Northwest Indiana with storm damage restoration guidance, roof damage guidance, and insurance claim support.
The firm understands that storm damage can affect more than a building. It can disrupt your family, your business, your tenants, your income, your belongings, and your sense of stability. When the insurance recovery does not match the actual damage, the process becomes even more stressful.
Whether your loss involves storm damage, storm damage restoration, water damage cleanup, storm roof repair, wind damage, hail damage, roof leaks, commercial property damage, or a disputed storm damage insurance claim, Ashford DiMartino & Jones can help protect the recovery while the property restoration moves forward.
(Note: We also have dedicated hubs for our neighbors in Merrillville and Portage.)
