How to Document Property Damage for a Smooth Insurance Claim

Before any loss: a 20-minute home inventory

Walk through your house with your phone in video mode. Narrate as you go: room name, contents, any items of significant value. Open closets, cabinets, drawers. Get jewelry, electronics, art, and collectibles in close-up. Upload the video to cloud storage outside the home (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox).

This single video, taken before anything happens, will save you hours of arguments after a loss. Most contents disputes come down to whether an item existed and what condition it was in.

Photographing damage: what adjusters look for

Take photos in three layers for every affected room:

• Wide shots from each corner showing the whole room.
• Medium shots focused on specific damaged areas (a soaked wall, a fire-damaged corner, a section of damaged flooring).
• Close-ups with a tape measure or ruler in frame for scale.

Video the source of loss

If you can safely access it, video the source of the failure — the burst pipe, the failed appliance hose, the wind-damaged section of roof, the tree that fell on the house. Show the surrounding context. If it is a plumbing failure, video the wet floor leading from the source.

Save the failed components

Bag and label any failed part. Note the date, the location in the house, and what failed. Keep it through the entire claim process. Insurers and their experts may want to examine it; not having it can weaken a claim.

Track everything in writing

Open a notebook or a single document the day of the loss and add to it daily:

• Date and time of the loss and how you discovered it.
• Names and contact info for every contractor, adjuster, and inspector who visits.
• Date of every conversation with your insurance company, who you spoke to, and what was said.
• Every receipt — temporary housing, meals out (if applicable under ALE), supplies, repairs, and mitigation work.

Get independent estimates

Your insurance adjuster will write a scope and a number. That number is a starting point, not a final answer. Get one or two independent estimates from licensed restoration contractors. Differences of 30 to 50% between the carrier's number and a contractor's number are common, and getting the work done correctly often requires the higher number.

If estimates differ significantly, you have several options: negotiate with the adjuster, request a re-inspection, hire a public adjuster, or invoke the appraisal clause in your policy. All are legitimate; none are confrontational.