LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Acadiana is all too familiar with storms and the damage they can cause.
But how you can prepare your property for insurance agents before a storm hits?

“It sounded like a crack. Then I ran to the door, and I saw, I didn’t know what I was looking at. I really panicked,” said Geraldine Alexandria. 

She recalls that scary moment when a tree fell in her yard, but she knows when it comes to storms, it could’ve been worse.

“Fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, riot, aircraft, vehicle, smoke, volcanic eruption, freezing, damage from lightning like an artificial electric current,” said Joshua Duhon, Branch Manager with Farm Bureau Insurance in Lafayette.  

He says every policy is different when it comes to these dangers, and whichever policy you have, dictates the coverage. Some policies pay actual cash value, versus replacement costs.

“So make sure you have windstorm and hail coverage, the second is a flood.
Make sure they have those two types of policies to protect themselves in an event of a windstorm or rain event, that causes damage to their home,” said Duhon.

Any time damage does occur whether it be to your home, your car, or any other property, it’s important to first mitigate the damages.

“Get a tarp out, cover that damage. You want to prevent any further damage from ensuing to damage your property,” said Duhon.

Next, file a claim on your insurance policy, so agents can dispatch the adjusters out to assess the damages.

But before all of this… 

“Take your iPhone, walk around your house, open every closet, every door, every pantry, to get an inventory of your contents.

He says this will help prove to the insurance company that you actually owned these contents.

“If you have something to jog your memory, that iPhone video of your whole home, helps serve as a good measuring point to what you actually have,” Duhon stated.

He also says that before a storm hits, it’s always better to prepare your home to be safe than sorry.