Having insurance for your property is a crucial thing because it can save you a lot of money for repair and maintenance but claiming insurance for the damage can be a little complicated. If you have done this before, it’s no rocket science for you but when you are new to this and don’t know how to file the claim and present a Damage Report, it can be overwhelming for you. The damage report itself isn’t something you should worry about but the actual problem is to understand what to include in it and how to present it to the insurance company.
Most of the time, you will be asked to write this report multiple times because you always miss something important and because it’s incomplete, you will need to write it again and again. The better thing here is to understand how this report works and what kind of information should be included in such a report. Getting legal and expert help is a great option but when you don’t want to hire a lawyer or property estimator for this report, you should do it by yourself if you have any troubles, take a look here and find easy instructions for a complete and professional-looking Damage Report.
Essential elements to include in a Damage Report:
- Name of the person who is writing the report
- The date on which the report is prepared
- Name of the claimer i.e. owner of the property
- Details of the property i.e. location, type, covered area
- Explained details of the damage
- Cause of the damage
- Key points about the damage
- A detailed statement of the first person at the scene
- Details of the insurance
- Signature of the writer of the report
Guidelines for Damage Report Format:
- Start the report by introducing yourself for the record. This is important because as the writer, you are the one who will talk to the owner of the building or property and if the owner files a case in court, you might be called as a witness.
- After that, comes the detailed and complete information about the owner of the property. If it’s a private residential property, you only need to include the owner’s details but if it is a commercial building, you also need to mention the manager or supervisor’s details in the report.
- Include the specifics about the report including the date on which you wrote it, the time when you arrived at the location, and how long it took you to complete the report.
- In the main body of the report, discuss the damage that happened to the property. This starts with the details of the property including the location of the building, type of building, and size of the building. This part also includes how the damage happened, what caused the damage, and who is responsible for this.
- Then include the insurance details of the property and the person who holds the insurance policy. Start with the policy registration number and add the name and address of the person who owns the insurance and the coverage of the policy i.e. if it’s valid for fire damage, water damage, or something like that.
- Sign the report at the end and put your full name for proper reference.
Here is a preview of a Free Sample Damage Report Template created using MS Word,