In preparation for severe weather, tips for submitting insurance claims if damage occurs

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Action News Jax First Alert Weather Team has declared a First Alert Weather Day for Tuesday as a winter storm crosses our area.

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The Gulf Coast and Southeast are forecast to experience possible severe weather Monday night into Tuesday.

Some of this weather might include damaging winds, strong tornadoes, and flooding rain.

The American Property Casualty Insurance Association has three important tips when it comes to better preparing yourself to file an insurance claim in case damage from a storm does occur.

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1. Gather copies of your insurance policies. Make sure you have copies of your insurance policies (home, flood, and auto) in a safe, dry, and accessible location or saved electronically where you can easily retrieve them.

2. Save your insurer’s contact info. Save your insurer’s toll-free claims number to your cell phone’s contacts. APCIA has a list of insurer’s toll-free numbers here.

3. Make a home inventory. Use your smartphone to take photos or videos of your belongings, such as furniture, appliances, clothes, lawn equipment, art, jewelry, and anything else of significant value. Save your inventory to a place where you can easily retrieve it, like the cloud, or email a copy to yourself. You can also check if your insurer has an app to assist their policyholders with creating a home inventory.

Read: LIST: Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia winter storm school closures, delays, early releases

“If your home or business is damaged in the storm, contact your insurer as soon as you can safely do so to get the claims process started,” Jeffrey Brewer, vice president of public affairs for APCIA said. “Insurers are ready to quickly deploy all available resources to process claims and help their policyholders begin the recovery process once the storm passes.”

The APCIA said that most tornadoes, windstorms, hail, and similar severe weather-related losses are covered either by an automobile’s comprehensive coverage, homeowners, renters, or commercial insurance policies.

For the latest on what to expect ahead of Tuesday’s forecasted storm, be sure to stay current on Action News Jax First Alert Weather.

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