If you or a loved one lost property or your home:

1. Check whether you have any potential insurance to make a claim–homeowners, renters, or even automobile insurance could apply.

2. Once you’ve found potential insurance, review the types of coverage you may use–whether coverage for what was lost in the home, the home itself, or an automobile (assuming you have collision coverage). There may also be insurance to temporarily pay for a hotel or housing and other immediate expenses (“Loss of use” or “Additional Living Expenses” (ALE)).

3. If you believe you have applicable coverage, or if you are unsure, make a claim with your insurance company by contacting their claims department. Have your insurance information available, including insurance policy, named insured, and address of insured. How you make a claim will depend on the insurance company itself–for example, First Insurance Company of Hawaii (FICOH) uses an email to make a claim, whereas State Farm would be through a web portal or via phone. Use the internet to determine how to make the claim. If you do make a claim over the phone, ask to have a copy of the claim form sent to you.

4. If the insurance company asks you questions you do not know or are unsure of, do not guess as what you say could be used to deny future claims.

5. After contacting your insurance company, a claim will be established with a claim number and claim adjuster assigned. That adjuster will coordinate with you.

6. You will want to gather as much documentation as possible to verify your loss–pictures, receipts, anything to confirm the value and amount of your loss. If you lost your home, the adjuster will likely send an investigator to inspect the home for the loss.

7. Be patient–these claims take time to begin with but we anticipate given the huge amount of claims it will be longer than usual.

8. If you believe your insurance company is going to attempt to limit or deny your claim, you may hire an attorney or public claim’s adjuster to assist you in this process, but we hope the insurance companies simply do the right thing and pay what is owed under the policy.