After The Storm: How to Claim Home, Vehicle Damage

For thousands of Edgewater, Davidsonville and south county residents, the process of making insurance claims now begins.

, an , said he and his office are preparing for the "wave" of calls coming their way once BGE restores power. While already working with local residents, Carella offered tips for those hoping to file insurance claims in the wake of Friday's storm. 

Regarldess of the insurance carrier, there is always a clear first-step for filing a claim—call your agent, Carella said. 

"The first thing to do is contact their agent if they have one ... that should be their first line of questioning," Carelle said. 

If residents don't have agents, the next best thing is calling toll-free insurance lines or by going online to various claim pages like State Farm or Allstate's websites, Carella said. However, despite the steps to filing a claim, the local agent said patience is the most important thing. 

"Regarldess of who their carrier is, you have to have a lot of patience in this situation," Carella said. "[Insurance companies] will get to the most severly damaged people first, people with uninhabitable houses or situations like that. Those are always first priority and then they work down to people with minimal damages." 

Residents who need to make emergency repairs should always take lots of pictures and organize all of their documentation, like receipts, Carella said. Insurance companies also have "preferred providers" for carpentry and home restoration, but they aren't the ones that schedule contract appointments, Carella said. 

The intensity of the storm and the state of emergency declared by Gov. Martin O’Malley also means that residents can file for a catastrophic claim (CAT claim) through their insurance company or agent.

Insurance can cover food loss if the amount of food is worth more than the client’s deductible, according to Allstate Insurance's website. 

For those with storm damage to their property, here are a few tips from Allstate Insurance’s website:

• Take account of the loss and separate the damaged from the undamaged personal property.
• If available, provide your adjuster with photos or video recordings of the loss site prior to the event. This will assist your adjuster with the damage evaluation process.
• If necessary, have a qualified repair service or contractor make temporary repairs to prevent additional loss. Be sure to obtain a bill or invoice for this service so you can present it to your adjuster for consideration of reimbursement.
• If bills were lost or destroyed due to the damage, contact your creditors to establish a workable solution. Discuss payment issues with them directly; creditors usually appreciate forthrightness.
• If your home is uninhabitable, check with your agent or check your policy to determine if you have coverage for additional living expenses.
• Save all receipts to document your increase in living expenses while your home is uninhabitable.
• Contact the utility companies to discontinue service if your home is uninhabitable or destroyed.

For more information on how to claim your loss or to get help, read State Farm or Allstate's websites.