Allstate offers tornado damage assessment advice to homeowners

Tornado damage homeowners insurance

The insurance company has been issuing advice to homeowners in areas where twisters have touched down.

Following a twister that touched down in Maryland, along the state’s Eastern Shore, Allstate has been providing tornado damage assessment recommendations to residents of the area. The insurance company is providing tips to homeowners to help them to know whether or not their properties were damaged by a tornado and, if so, where and to what extent.

Allstate pointed out that homeowners should be very careful when returning to their properties after dangerous weather.

Once homeowners are sure that it is safe to enter their properties again, Allstate recommended a number of things owners can do to inspect their homes for tornado damage. They provided certain helpful specifics to look for in order to determine whether anything was affected or whether the property was entirely spared. Without knowing what to look for, it can be tough to know if certain forms of damage have occurred. After all, if the home is standing, windows aren’t broken and nothing obvious is standing out, it can be easy to assume that everything is fine.

The following are some of the areas where Allstate recommended that homeowners look for tornado damage:

Tornado damage homeowners insurance• Walls – Go over all the walls from top to bottom, looking for cracks that never used to be there. A new crack of more than a quarter of an inch can be an indication that the house has settled or shifted. Areas where cracks are most likely to appear include corners, and around windows and doors as they are among the weakest spots in the construction of the home. Look both inside and outside.
• Foundation – Walk around the entire perimeter of your home, looking for visible new cracks in the foundation.
• Floors – Look at the floor in each of the rooms with the purpose of spotting changes in the floor’s levelness. If the floor changes the way it was level, it may mean the foundation has lifted.
• Unused rooms – Carefully check over rooms that aren’t used very much as you’re less likely to spot problems while naturally being within them.
• Plumbing – Carefully examine the water heater, water softener and any visible pipes. Flush all toilets, run all faucets (sinks, tubs and exterior) and check for water leaks that were not previously there.
• Roof and gutters – Check all outside gutters for damage. Conduct a visual inspection of the roof from what you can see from the ground. Tornado damaged roofs and gutters can send water into the home to cause stains or yellowing to ceilings or walls. Watch walls and ceilings for those indicators of tornado damage for the days and weeks following the storm.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.