Why Photos Shape Your Payout
The adjuster was not there when the storm hit. Your photos are the only record of how bad it looked. Home owners with good photos do far better on claims than those who cleaned first and shot later. Think of your camera as your best recovery tool.
Photo Checklist
- House exterior, all four sides. Step back. Shoot each side. Shoot the roof from the ground. Never climb a hurt roof. Catch lost shingles, bent gutters, burst windows, and trees on the house.
- Each room inside. Even rooms that look fine. Shoot them to show where harm stops. For hurt rooms: one wide shot from each corner, then close shots of each hurt spot.
- Water lines. Shoot the high-water mark on walls, in and out. Put a ruler or tape by it for scale. Water lines prove how deep the flood got.
- Close-ups with context. For each hurt item: one close shot, one wide shot that shows where it sits in the room.
- Serial plates. Shoot model and serial plates on hurt appliances and air units. This proves age and worth.
Do a Video Walk-Through
Walk the whole home on slow video. Talk as you go. Say things like: "This is the living room. Water came under the door. The couch and rug are soaked." Video shows the scale that still shots miss. Your voice notes stamp the date in words.
Phone Habits That Help
- Turn on time stamp if your phone has it.
- Shoot in daylight when you can. Flash washes out water harm.
- Back up to the cloud the same day. Phones get lost in messy homes.
- Email key shots to yourself. That gives them a date stamp off the phone.
Write an Item List
List hurt goods room by room. Note what it is, how old it is, and what it is worth. Be honest. Puffed-up lists hurt your trust. Note things you tossed too. Write why: "couch, four years old, soaked Oct 10, tossed — smelled of sewage."
Keep a Claim Folder
Keep one folder, on paper or digital. Put in it your claim number, the adjuster's name, dates of each call, receipts for urgent fixes and hotels, and repair quotes. If a fight ever starts, this folder is your case.