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Built from 60,505 Google reviews across 684 restoration firms in 21 US metros

Free homeowner checklist

The water & fire damage claim checklist

Everything to do, photograph and keep — in the order that protects your claim. Built from the same review corpus behind our city rankings, where the pattern is consistent: the homeowners who got paid without a fight are the ones who documented in the first hour.

The checklist

Work top to bottom. The order matters more than the speed — documentation before cleanup, mitigation before the adjuster.

First 15 min

Make it safe

Water: shut off the main water valve.
Fire: do not re-enter until the fire department formally releases the building.
Kill the breaker to any flooded area — never step into standing water near outlets.
If the electrical panel is in or near the water, call the utility rather than reaching for it.
Smell gas, or see sagging ceilings? Leave and call for help before anything else.
Fire: do not switch the HVAC on — it spreads soot through the whole house.
Treat discoloured or foul-smelling water as sewage: keep children and pets out entirely.

Before you move anything

Document it

Wide photos of every affected room, from two angles where you can.
Close-ups of damaged items with an object for scale.
Photograph the source — the burst pipe, failed hose, roof breach — before it is repaired.
Video walkthrough, narrating what happened and when you discovered it.
Water: capture the water line height on walls and furniture.
Fire: photograph roof and exterior damage — this establishes a wind-created opening.
Note the date and time you found it. Discovery date matters as much as the loss date.
Photograph damaged contents even if they are obviously beyond saving.

This is the ten minutes worth the most money

Once cleanup starts, contents get packed out and wet materials get removed — correctly, but your visual record disappears with them. Photographs taken before anything moves are what establish scope, cause and suddenness, which are the three things an adjuster is actually assessing.

First 2 hours

Call in this order

Restoration crew first. Mitigation is your obligation under the policy, and delay compounds damage.
Then your insurer. Open the claim and write down the claim number.
Ask which deductible applies — named-storm deductibles are a percentage, not a flat figure.
Ask whether Additional Living Expenses (ALE) applies, and what it covers.
Get the adjuster's name and direct contact.
Fire: request the fire department incident report.
Start a call log: date, time, who you spoke to, what was agreed.

Why this order: almost every policy requires you to prevent further damage. Waiting for an adjuster before drying out is one of the most commonly cited reasons for a reduced settlement — and emergency mitigation is typically covered even before the wider claim is settled.

First 24 hours

Start drying & keep records

Extraction and drying equipment running — mold can begin within 24 to 48 hours.
Ask the crew for daily moisture readings in writing.
Get a written, line-item scope before work starts.
Keep every receipt: hotel, meals, pet boarding, storage, emergency supplies.
Do not throw anything away until it is photographed and inventoried.
Board up or tarp openings to stop further weather damage — keep the invoice.
Move undamaged valuables and documents somewhere safe and dry.

Days 2–7

Adjuster & scope

Be present for the adjuster inspection — walk the loss with them.
Point out what is not visible: wet subfloor, cabinet bases, wall cavities your crew's meter flagged.
Ask your restoration crew to attend if they can, with their moisture logs.
Compare the adjuster's estimate line by line against your contractor's scope.
Check for commonly missed items: subfloor, insulation, cabinet toe-kicks, contents cleaning.
Build the contents inventory room by room, including closets, garage and loft.
Confirm whether contents are settled at replacement cost or actual cash value.
Dispute gaps in writing, with photos and moisture readings attached.

Keep the claim open. Hidden damage found during teardown — wet subfloor, mold in a cavity — is normal on water losses and is handled through a supplemental claim. Document anything new the day you find it.

What this checklist is really protecting you from

Water and fire claims rarely fail because the work was bad. They fail on three specific things, and every item above exists to defend against one of them.

The gradual-damage exclusion. Insurers cover water that arrived suddenly, not water that seeped for months. Rust, rot and staining are read as evidence of a long-running leak — which is why the discovery date and immediate documentation matter so much.
Mitigation delay. Your policy obliges you to prevent further damage. A gap between discovering the loss and starting to dry gives the carrier grounds to reduce what it pays — and gives mold time to start.
Scope that stops at what is visible. Wet subfloor, saturated insulation and contaminated ductwork are invisible from a doorway. Meter readings and photographs are how they get into the estimate.

From our own review corpus

Across 60,505 Google reviews across 684 restoration firms in 21 US metros, we compared what appears in praise versus criticism. Complaints skew overwhelmingly toward money and paperwork — “refund” appears 27× more often in criticism than praise, followed by charges, estimates and insurance. Praise skews toward thoroughness and punctuality. Homeowners almost never criticise the drying work itself. Documentation is not admin — it is the part of the job that goes wrong.

Mistakes that cost real money

Cleaning up too efficiently. Throwing out ruined contents before photographing them removes them from the claim.
Never claiming Additional Living Expenses. Hotel, meals above normal, pet boarding and storage are covered while the home is uninhabitable — and routinely never filed because nobody kept receipts.
Dry-wiping soot. Soot is abrasive and acidic; wiping grinds it in and turns a cleanable surface into a replaceable one.
Letting rebuild start before verified dry. Closing up walls over damp framing is how a finished job becomes a mold job three weeks later.
Signing an assignment of benefits under pressure. Direct billing is fine; handing over control of your claim is different, and several states have restricted these agreements after widespread abuse.
Accepting the first estimate without comparing scope. The adjuster's figure is a proposal, not a verdict.

Need a crew that documents properly?

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Common questions

What should I photograph for a water damage insurance claim?

Wide shots of every affected room first, then close-ups with an object for scale, then the source itself — the burst pipe, the failed hose, the roof breach. Add a narrated video walkthrough saying what happened and when you found it. Photograph everything before you move or remove anything, including items you're certain are ruined.

Do I call my insurer or a restoration company first?

The restoration crew first, then the insurer. Your policy requires you to mitigate — to prevent further damage — and emergency dry-out is typically covered even before the wider claim settles. Waiting for an adjuster before starting to dry out is one of the most common reasons payouts get reduced.

What documents do I need for a water or fire damage claim?

Your policy number and declarations page, the claim number once opened, dated photos and video, a written contractor scope, daily moisture readings, a contents inventory, and every receipt — hotel, meals, emergency supplies, mitigation invoices. For a fire, add the fire department incident report.

How long do I have to file?

Most policies require 'prompt' notice judged by reasonableness, but some states set hard deadlines — Florida requires notice within one year of the date of loss. Practically: notify within days, not weeks, and start mitigation immediately regardless of when the adjuster can attend.

Should I throw away damaged items before the adjuster sees them?

Not if you can avoid it. Damaged contents are evidence. Photograph and inventory everything first, and where health allows, keep items until the adjuster has seen them or released them. Sewage-contaminated porous materials are the exception — document them thoroughly, then dispose of them for safety.

What is Additional Living Expenses and how do I claim it?

ALE covers hotel, meals above your normal spend, pet boarding and storage while your home is uninhabitable. It's one of the most under-claimed parts of a policy simply because nobody mentions it and people don't keep receipts. Ask about it on your first call and start keeping receipts that day.

General information, not legal or insurance advice. Coverage depends on your specific policy, endorsements and circumstances, and rules vary by state. Read your policy and confirm details with your insurer, a licensed agent, or your state insurance department. We are a directory of independent contractors — we do not sell insurance or adjust claims.

Keep reading

How to file a claim

The full eight-step process

After a house fire

The first 72 hours

What's covered?

Sudden vs gradual, explained