What Documentation You Need for a Restoration Insurance Claim

Document before you touch anything

The NAIC is specific that documentation should happen before removing debris or belongings: take photos or videos and make a list of the damages and lost items. If possible, save the damaged items themselves so your insurer can inspect them directly rather than relying only on photos.

Build a home inventory before you ever need one

The NAIC recommends going room by room and photographing or videoing everything, including higher-value items like antiques, electronics, jewelry, collectibles, and guns, before a loss ever happens. The NAIC offers a free Home Inventory App specifically to help homeowners document belongings by room and category ahead of time. This kind of pre-loss documentation is the strongest evidence you can have when filing a claim, since it establishes condition and existence before the damage occurred.

What to capture at the time of loss

Photograph and video the full extent of the damage, not just the parts that look the worst. FEMA's post-flood guidance specifically recommends photographing the insides of closets and cabinets too, since damage in less obvious spaces can be missed if you only document the main visible areas. Note the date and time you're documenting, and if you know it, the cause of the damage.

Temporary repairs: document these too

If you make temporary repairs to prevent further damage, such as covering a hole in the roof or boarding up a broken window, the NAIC notes these costs are typically reimbursed as part of your claim if the underlying loss is covered. Keep receipts for any materials or labor involved in these temporary fixes.

Filing the claim itself

When you contact your insurer, the NAIC recommends having your policy number, name, address, and phone number ready, along with a clear explanation of what happened and a description of the extent of the damage. Reporting promptly, rather than waiting, keeps the documentation trail closer to the actual event.

Keep a running log as work happens

As restoration work proceeds, keep copies of all contractor estimates, invoices, and any correspondence with your insurer. If your policy pays replacement cost value in two steps, initial actual cash value followed by the depreciation holdback, once repairs are complete, you will likely need to submit proof of completed work and paid invoices to receive that second payment.

What not to do

Don't discard damaged items, remove debris, or start major repairs before documenting the loss. Don't make a verbal report to your insurer without following up with your policy number and details in writing or through their claims system, so there's a clear record of when and what you reported.

Organizing documentation so it's usable later

A phone full of unsorted photos is better than nothing, but a simple folder structure, by room or by date, makes it far easier for you, your insurer, and your contractor to reference specific damage during the claims process. Include a short written caption with each photo noting the room and what you're showing, since a photo alone doesn't always make clear what an adjuster is looking at weeks later.

If your claim moves to appraisal or dispute

If your insurer's valuation of the damage differs significantly from your contractor's estimate, thorough documentation from the start is what supports your position, whether that's a direct negotiation, a formal appraisal process under your policy, or a complaint filed with Michigan DIFS. The paperwork you gather in the first days after a loss is the foundation for every step that follows, including ones you can't anticipate at the time.