Things You Need To Know About Houston Garage Door Repair
July 13, 2015Being a homeowner means you have so many things to worry about, from the safety of your home to protecting it from natural disasters. If you’re smart, you’ll take out insurance to protect all the things that are important to you. You can cover the building itself, its fixtures and fittings and even all of your possessions. And, of course, there are different levels of insurance, depending on how cautious you’re willing to be. Assuming you’ve taken out insurance, you’ll be able to make a claim in case anything happens. One of the most precious parts of your home is probably your garage. It protects your car and anything else inside, as well as being one route into your house. If the door breaks, it’s both an inconvenience and a security hazard. But if your insurance covers your garage door, you’ll be able to make a claim to help you get it fixed. Claiming on your insurance can be a hassle, but with this guide it can be much more simple. Don’t panic if you notice that your garage door is damaged. Contacting your insurance company and filing a claim could be easier than you think. Survey and Record the Damage Before you do anything else, you need to check how your garage door is damaged. There might be some immediate actions you need to take to prevent further damage or even injury to anyone in your family. For example, if the damage has caused a plumbing leak, you’ll need to turn off the water or plug the leak to stop any electrical problems or flooding. Remember that your insurance might not cover further damage that you could have prevented. Once you’ve sorted out any immediate issues, you should begin making a record of the damage. You can take notes and some photos, which will be useful later when you need to send proof of the damage to your insurance provider. Who Broke the Door? Before you contact your insurance provider, you should think about who is responsible for the damage. You’ll probably know if it was you or someone you live with, either family or a housemate, who broke it. But it could also have been a neighbor who accidentally knocked into your door with their car. It could also be that a car accident on the road ended up damaging your garage door. How it broke is important to consider because it will affect who is responsible for paying for the repairs. If someone else damaged your garage door, it could be up to them to make a claim on their auto or liability insurance. Don’t make a claim on your own insurance until you’re sure that it’s your job to pay. Consider Costs and Deductibles Before you decide to make a claim, you should think about how much the repairs are likely to cost. If they are only small, it might not be worth claiming from your insurance. To find out whether you should make a claim, check the deductible on your policy. If the repairs are going to cost less than your deductible, your insurance won’t give you any money. You’ll be covering all the costs, so filing a claim will be a waste of time. Check Your Insurance Policy Of course, you also won’t get any money if your insurance policy doesn’t cover damage to your garage door. You’ll need to consider both your garage and the nature in which it was damaged. For example, if you have a detached garage it might not be covered by your homeowner’s policy. You may need a separate policy for that type of garage. You also need to think about how your door was broken. Natural disasters are often not included on insurance policies unless you take out separate cover. There could be other circumstances too, such as damage you caused doing DIY or something you could have reasonably prevented from happening. Contact Your Insurance Company Once you’ve checked to see if your insurance policy covers the damage to your garage door, you can contact your provider. You can contact them over the phone, and some will also have online forms you can fill in to request a callback. Your insurance company will give you a case number and ask you to contact a contractor to get an estimate for repairs. If there are several problems, you may need to call more than one company. Your provider may also send out someone to get an estimate themselves, so that you don’t have to do anything. Evidence of Damage Your insurance provider will want to see evidence of the damage to your garage door. This is where the notes and photos you took earlier will come in handy. You can send them what you have collected to show them what has happened. You might also need to send some other materials. For example, if your door was damaged because of a crime, a copy of the police report will come in handy. You might be asked to send receipts as proof of the cost of the repairs. However, if your insurance provider sends someone to collect an estimate, you won’t have to. Disputing a Claim Sometimes your insurance company will turn down your claim when you believe that they should pay out. If this happens, it’s essential that you keep records of everything that’s happening. You can take notes of the conversations that you have with anyone concerning the matter, whether they’re insurance personnel or a contractor. Keep receipts and estimates for the repairs and make sure you know why the company has turned down the claim. If you disagree with their decision, you can get in touch with a lawyer to help you fight your case. However, there are no guarantees that you’ll win, so find an attorney who will be honest about your chances. Don’t procrastinate on fixing your garage door and contacting your insurance company. See to the problem as soon as you can so that you can make sure your home and car are both safe.