Now that Irene has blown her way through the state, it’s time for the cleanup. There are a few things homeowners can do to make negotiating a network of insurance agents, contractors and tree services a little easier.

Whether a fallen tree landed on your roof or rising rivers inundated your basement, the first step is always to prevent any further damage. Hire someone to complete temporary fixes on the roof to seal it against more water, install sump pumps in the basement to clear out the water.

Many people delay those temporary fixes because they worry their insurance policy won’t cover the cost without first inspecting the damage, said Nancy Roy, an agent at Eaton and Berube Insurance in Nashua.

“Don’t worry about doing something and having to wait for the insurance company to see it first,” she said. “You want to do whatever you can to mitigate any further damage.”

Along with those temporary repairs, make sure to take pictures of the damage, if possible, and save any receipts and other paperwork to submit to your insurance company, Roy said.

“You have to take action, and those actions will be covered,” said Jeff Foy of Foy Insurance Group in Nashua. “That’s the stressful part. The actual claim isn’t simplistic, but it’s not something that should bring a lot of stress.”

Second on the to-do list is contacting your insurance company or agent and initiating the claims process. When in doubt, ask them what you should do next.

“Lean on your agent,” said Roger Sevigny, commissioner of the state Insurance Department. “They’re there to support you, to lead you though a process that some people don’t have to go through in a lifetime. They’re your best resource. That’s what you pay them for.”

If the damage is extensive enough, an insurance company will send an adjuster, who should make contact within a couple of days and inspect the damage within a week or so, Sevigny said.

In the meantime, he recommended lining up a contractor or repairman you trust, getting an estimate and scheduling the repair so when the adjuster is done, you can quickly “press the go button” and get the repairs done quickly.

Roy said insurance companies will usually pay repairmen directly for any work that has already been completed, like the temporary repairs. For final repairs the company will likely send the homeowner a check for the negotiated price of the repairs minus any deductible. The homeowner is then responsible to pay the contractor or repairman, she said.

Foy said technology can help homeowners get a leg up in navigating the claims process. When an insurance adjuster contacts you, make sure to get his or her e-mail address. That way you can send photos of the damage, copies of receipts and get any questions answered quickly.

“I think being technology savvy really, really makes it easy,” Foy said.

Unfortunately, while homeowners insurance policies cover wind damage to structures, including homes, garages, sheds and fences, they don’t cover flooding, even though the flooding was caused by the tropical storm, Sevigny said.

“If you don’t have flood insurance, you don’t have coverage at all,” he said.

Sevigny still recommended keeping track of the cost of flood damage though and reporting it to the state via 211. Those “uncovered claims” will be sent to FEMA and, if FEMA decides to offer disaster assistance for the storm, those homeowners could be eligible for reimbursement, he said.

Homeowners insurance won’t be much help for New Boston resident Barbara Bouchard either. A large maple tree came down Sunday afternoon, only a few feet from where she was standing on her front porch, ready to step outside to walk her dog.

“All you saw was this big blanket of green leaves and it just came down,” Bouchard said. “Then you heard the glass. You heard the metal. It basically hit the front porch roof and slid off.”

The tree only damaged a few shingles on the roof, but when it slid off landed on her two cars. One thick branch went through the windshield of a 2009 Forester and into the dashboard. A 2009 Honda Accord parked next to it was also damaged.

“Everyone’s been stopping and looking,” Bouchard said. “We’re pretty happy nobody was out there close enough to it to get hurt.”

Homeowners insurance won’t cover the damaged cars, Roy said, but a comprehensive auto policy will. If you only have liability, you’ll have to pay out of pocket, she said.

Homeowners policies usually don’t cover debris cleanup either, Roy said, unless the debris damaged some kind of structure, though the terms will vary from contract to contract.

“There are bells and whistles that people can add on to cover some amount of debris removal,” she said.

A final thing to keep in mind after home damage from a natural disaster is to be on the lookout for less-than-savory repairmen.

He recommended always asking for ID when an adjuster shows up and to not make any deposits for final repairs or sign any contracts unless an adjuster has instructed you or you’ve vetted the company through the Better Business Bureau or the state attorney general’s office.

“You’ve got to be really careful,” Sevigny said. “This kind of thing lends itself to potential fraud.”

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415, jcote@nashuatelegraph.com; also check out Joseph Cote (@Telegraph_JoeC) on Twitter.

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