When we came home from vacation to find that a tree had fallen into our home, we didn’t know what to do. The damage appeared to be very significant because the tree was very large and had taken out an entire corner of the house. Being able to take care of the situation wasn’t nearly as tedious as I thought it was going to be though thankfully.

I Contacted My Insurance Company

The first thing I did was contact the insurance company I have a homeowner’s insurance policy with. I let them know what happened and how much damage was done to the home. They let me know that they would be sending an agent to my home right away to determine how badly the house was damaged.

The Agent Assessed the Damage

Within two hours the agent was at my house. He walked around to see how badly the house was damaged. He took pictures and asked me if there was anyone in the house when the tree fell. I explained that we were on vacation and no one was home. He went back to his office and assessed how much he thought the repairs would cost.

We Were Able to Stay in a Hotel

The house was not structurally sound enough for us to be able to stay in it until the tree was removed and the house was repaired. A Fresno agent from my insurance company called me to tell me that they would pay for us to stay in a hotel until the repairs were complete. The agent told us how much money we could spend on a hotel each day so that we were not having to pay for any of the costs out of our own pocket which was nice.

We Had to Have the Tree Removed

The agent who assessed the damage to the house contacted us to tell us how much money the company would pay toward having the tree removed. We were able to hire any tree removal company that we felt comfortable with hiring, but we had to let the company know exactly how much the insurance company was willing to pay for their services. Fortunately, the company was willing to do the work for the amount the insurance company said they would pay so that we didn’t actually have to pay for the removal ourselves.

We Had the House Repaired

After the tree was removed, we were able to hire any contractor, we wanted to repair the house for us. The insurance company told us how much money we could spend on the repairs and the only stipulation that we were given when it came to hiring a contractor was that they had to be a Class-A contractor. Class-A contractors are contractors that are certified to do specific types of contracting.

Determined What Belongings Were Damaged

Once the house was repaired, we had to go through the house to determine what items were damaged when the tree fell. We had to make a claim with the insurance company for the value of the items and they cut us a check that we could use to replace the damaged items so that our lives could return to normal as soon as possible.

While the overall experience was a bit stressful, the help of a knowledgeable insurance company made everything easier. The agents were willing to answer any questions we had and made it simple for us to submit receipts and contracts to them to show that the house was being repaired.