What you do next when your home is damaged by a storm on the Gold Coast or Logan City is always determined by the extent of the damage. In South-East Queensland severe storms can strike at any time whilst being unpredictable and the cause of major property damage. Water inundation is often the cause of most concern and will cause the most damage to your possessions, fixtures and fittings.
If you have water coming into your home you need to find out the cause and have it resolved quickly with the most common cause of water inundation being:
- leaking and damaged roofs
- blocked guttering and downpipes
- blocked storm water drains
Despite what many people think insurance policies will frequently only cover the damage caused by the storm event but not the repairs or costs for clearing blocked drains or gutters. Waiting for an insurance company or assessor often only causes delays in getting the repairs undertaken.
If you know your water inundation is caused by blocked storm water drains you should not hesitate in getting them cleared quickly before they cause further damage and you risk being found negligent by over zealous insurance assessors. Preventing further damage is critical.
Once you have identified and eliminated the immediate and most critical causes we recommend the following:
- contact your insurance company and lodge a claim if you have not already done so to ensure you have insurance coverage because the cause of the water damage will often determine whether you have coverage
- get quotes independent of the insurance company or their appointed assessor to ensure the work will be done by licensed and reputable specialists rather than project managers who specialise in low cost repairs for insurance company’s
Remember water damage will continue to occur if the causes of the water inundation are not identified and rectified so its always in your interest to ensure that repairs are undertaken in an orderly manner step by step by specialists.
By Gary Mays
