Your guide to filing a homeowners or property claim

Sitting on your couch, watching your favorite show and it happens. You see a drop of water from your ceiling and your stomach drops. You know there's more hiding above. What do you do?

Whether it's water, a weather event or some other circumstance that damages your property, you want to be prepared. From addressing the immediate problem, like getting a burst pipe repaired or covering a shattered window, to taking the steps to file a claim with your insurance company, you should know how to help get your home back in shape.

This guide will help you navigate the ins and outs of your claim so you can get back to enjoying your home.

Notifying your insurance provider

The USAA Claims Center on the USAA Mobile App and usaa.com is a valuable tool to make this challenging event less of a headache. There, you can upload pictures and message your adjuster at any time. If you need to start a claim or have one in progress, visit the claims center.

If you have a different insurance provider than USAA, contact them to determine what your next steps may be. Some providers have preferred vendors, which potentially can make your claims experience smoother.

Once your claim is initiated, you can expect to hear from your claims adjuster with next steps and if any immediate actions are needed.

Identifying and fixing the source of damage

Water

Check plumbing and common water sources like toilets, bathtub fixtures or sinks to find the water source. Look for any drywall that is warped or damp. If water pools on your ceiling, grab a bucket and with a small screwdriver or nail, poke a hole into the drywall to drain the water. If water is still dripping onto the affected area, you may need to shut off your water at the main exterior source to prevent further damage.

Take notes or photos of what happened and any damage to surrounding areas and affected household items (for example, if water leaked from your ceiling onto a couch).

At this point, you may need a professional to help repair the source of damage. Most property insurance will pay for damages to your home and personal property resulting from a covered loss or peril. However, you may be responsible for repairs made to the original source of the loss, like a broken pipe or fixture.

Make sure to save any estimates or receipts and send those to your claims adjuster as soon as possible.

USAA has a helpful water damage timeline to help set expectations during the weeks following your loss.

Storm damage

If you've had exterior damage from a storm like a tree falling onto your home or hail damage, first, make sure you and your loved ones are safe.

During excessive winds, flying debris may cause injury. Inspect your property for any electrical lines or tree branches, other structures or backyard items that could have been thrown. Try to take pictures and make notes of the damage to your property but not at the risk of getting injured.

If it's safe, inspect your property for damage. You may need to call a specialist to clean up fallen trees and debris. Also, it may be wise to remove any other trees that could have been snapped or damaged during the storm. Tree removal may be covered as part of your property insurance coverage.

Once you've gathered details of what took place, initiate your claim. You can upload your documentation to our Claims Center through usaa.com or the mobile app. Remember to save any receipts or invoices for services to provide to your adjuster.

Working with specialists for repairs

Depending on the damage involved with your claim, you may have to juggle multiple professionals coming to your home. Make sure you have a contractor who has your best interest in mind and does quality work.

Many insurance companies have preferred contractors that specialize in rehabilitation and repair work. The USAA Home Contractor Network can help you find the right contractor for your job.

Your contractor will inspect the damaged area and provide an estimate of your repairs. That report will be sent to your insurance adjuster, and an estimate of costs will be determined.

You may be surprised at the scope of your repairs. What may seem like an isolated area of damage during a water leak may reveal a much bigger problem. Water can travel out and down from the source. It's not uncommon to have ceiling repairs from an upstairs leak. A qualified contractor or field insurance adjuster can assess what kind of damage your home has.

Claim payments

While it's not a requirement to use a preferred contractor to work on your insurance claim, there may be some items to consider when choosing your own versus a preferred vendor. A preferred vendor may be able to be paid directly from your insurance policy benefits.

If you have a mortgage on your home, your insurance company will likely make any claims payment to you and your mortgage company. To pay for your repairs, your mortgage bank must endorse the claims check before you can cash it and pay your contractor.

You're responsible for paying your deductible, which you determine through your policy and coverage choices. Some policies use a percentage, like 1%, of your home's dwelling value, which is what it would cost to rebuild it. While other policies have flat amounts for a deductible. Also, depending on your state, you may have separate deductibles for things like wind or hail. Some states may have separate coverages for damage from windstorms.

If you don't know your deductibles, review your coverage before a claim happens so you can prepare financially if and when one occurs.

Your contractor may require your deductible as a down payment on the total repair work. You shouldn't be asked to pay your deductible until your contractor and insurance adjuster have presented an agreed estimate that illustrates the costs, materials and labor for the repair work. Although in some cases, if you're working with a water mitigation company that leaves equipment like air movers and dehumidifiers at your property, they may collect your deductible even though work hasn't been initiated.

After work starts, keep an eye on it and communicate with your contractor. Make sure your expectation of the work is in line with your plans. If additional damages or repairs are identified during the work or if you feel like things just aren't working the way you expected them to, contact USAA.

Settling your claim

The final stages of your claim may be some basic documentation such as a summary of your total claim and any warrantees offered on materials and craftsmanship provided by your contractor.

Keep your records or store them digitally if you need to access them. If you plan to sell your home, it may be helpful for a potential buyer to see the extent of any repairs and insurance claims you had.

After potentially many weeks or even months depending on your repairs, the contractors are finally gone. Take a deep sigh of relief. You've made it through this unfortunate circumstance on your house and it's starting to feel like home again.