Reporting your damage

In the event of a disaster, there are specific steps to reporting your damage.

Contact your State Farm® agent first.

The agent will need details of the damage to your home, boat and auto.

Keep in mind that your agent's office may have been damaged. If that happens, you may not be able to reach your agent during the first few hours after a disaster.

In those cases, you will be able to report your claim to our customer representatives by calling an 800 number. State Farm will publicize this toll-free telephone number through local news media (radio, television, newspapers) and on statefarm.com®.

Report your claim only once.

A company representative will contact you as soon as possible. Normally, we'll be in touch within a few days of receiving your claim information.

Insurance Coverage on Your Home,

Personal Property and Insured Vehicles

Some insurance coverages vary to comply with state laws. Insurance policies vary. What follows is only a general description of coverages and is not a statement of contract.

Report damage to your home and personal property:

• Inspect your car, boat and home (inside and outside) for damage. Look at every room in your house and at each side on the outside. List damage that you find. Prepare to report your damage.
• When you report your claim to State Farm, we will need to know if your house is damaged so severely that you can't live in it. We will also need to know if a damaged car is safe to drive.
• Help us handle your claim as quickly as possible by making a complete room-by-room inventory of your damage and your damaged property.

Your claim representative will provide forms that describe the information we need to determine your loss. Please ask your claim representative if you're uncertain about any information.

Include complete descriptions. These descriptions should include the following if possible:

• Brand names of items
• Model numbers of items
• Age of items
• Purchase price of items
• Place of purchase of items
• Other information may be necessary on certain kinds of property.

For your future protection, it would be a good idea for you to make a detailed inventory of all your personal belongings. Taking pictures of your property may be helpful.

What to expect:

• After you've reported your claim, a claim representative will contact you.

• Generally, claim representatives visit the most severely damaged homes first.

• The initial visit may be for inspection purposes only.

• If your house is only slightly damaged, you may wait longer than customers with severe damage.

• If you can't live in your house, an advance payment may be available to help you with additional living expenses. That advance payment is available from your agent or from representatives at our claim offices.

• Save receipts for your additional living expenses for your claim representative.

• Your claim representative will estimate damage to your house. Sometimes it's necessary to have a contractor or engineer also inspect the damage. Feel free to obtain your own contractor's estimate.

• It is wise to avoid using contractors you know nothing about. Select contractors experienced in repair work, not just new construction.

• After the damage to your home has been established, our initial payment will be for the actual cash value of your damaged building, allowing for depreciation or market value considerations.

• Once repairs are completed, you may be entitled to additional payments if your policy has replacement cost provisions. (Loss settlement procedures may be different in your state.)

• Some repair costs may not be covered unless you have purchased a specific endorsement. The cost of building code upgrades is one example.

• Actual cash value of your personal property will be paid as soon as it is established. Some policies allow for additional payments when items are replaced (your policy and state law govern timing and amounts).

If you have a home mortgage

• When we pay you for damages to your home, we are required to protect the interest of the company that provides your mortgage, up to the amount of the mortgage balance.

This means if there's a mortgage on your house, your claim payment will include the name of the mortgage company.

If your home is damaged, contact your mortgage company about the damage as soon as possible after you've reported your claim to State Farm.

Be sure to ask about the mortgage company's procedure for endorsing your claim payment (procedures vary).

Auto Coverage

If you carry comprehensive coverage on your auto policy, it will normally cover wind, flood or earthquake damage.

Report damage to your insured vehicle:

• Review your policy for specific coverage information.
• If your car is drivable, you may be asked to take it to a claim service office.
• If your car is not drivable, you will be advised about what to do when you report your damage.
• Be sure to tell us where your car is.

What to expect:

• State Farm will provide you with a detailed appraisal of damage and cost of repairs.
• You may have your car repaired where you wish.
• Your State Farm agent can provide names of conveniently located quality repair facilities, if necessary.
• Your repair facility should contact us directly if there are questions about the appraisal.
• State Farm's claim payment will be based on the prevailing competitive price in your area. If you pick a repairer that charges prices higher than this prevailing competitive price, you will be expected to pay the difference.
• If your car is totaled, your claim payment will be based on the current market value of a car similar to yours, with adjustments for your car's condition.

This website contains only a general description of coverage, and is not a policy contract. COVERAGE UNDER ANY STATE FARM® PRODUCT IS SUBJECT TO TERMS, CONDITIONS AND EXCLUSIONS IN THE ACTUAL POLICY.

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