Guides
Documenting damage: photos, video and receipts
How to photograph, film and log home damage so an adjuster can verify it: what to capture before cleanup, what the HO-3 asks you to keep, and a claim file.
Photograph and video the damage before you clean up, repair or throw anything away, and keep a dated record of every repair expense, call and receipt from the day of the loss until the claim closes. The adjuster will rely on what you can show, and an insurer decides disputed amounts on paper. A claim with good records tends to move faster and settle closer to the true cost. A claim built on memory is easy to trim.
This guide follows the ISO homeowners form (HO 00 03 05 11, the 2011 edition hosted by the Maine Bureau of Insurance). Newer editions and your insurer's own wording may differ, so check the "Duties After Loss" condition in your policy.
What your policy asks you to keep
The HO-3's Duties After Loss condition is a short list of paper obligations. You must give prompt notice, protect the property and keep "an accurate record of repair expenses," cooperate in the investigation, and prepare an inventory of damaged personal property "showing the quantity, description, actual cash value and amount of loss," with "all bills, receipts and related documents that justify the figures." As often as the insurer reasonably requires, you must show the damaged property and provide records and documents it requests. Later, if the insurer asks, you owe a signed, sworn proof of loss within 60 days of the request.
The form also says the insurer has no duty to provide coverage if your failure to comply with these duties is prejudicial to it. In practice, that means a gap in your records rarely ends a claim by itself, but it gives the insurer a reason to question the part you cannot document. The full set of duties is in policy conditions: your duties under a homeowners policy.
Before you touch anything
The California Department of Insurance tells claimants to take photographs of the damage if possible and not to throw out damaged items until the adjuster says so (California Department of Insurance). The Texas Department of Insurance gives the same advice: take pictures or videos before making repairs, keep the damaged property for the adjuster to inspect, and hold off on permanent repairs until the adjuster has seen the damage (TDI).
Emergency steps come first, though. Shut off water, tarp the roof, board up the opening. Take your photos in the minutes before and after those steps, because the work itself changes the scene. reasonable repairs: what you can fix before the adjuster comes explains where temporary repair ends and permanent repair begins, and the first 48 hours after damage to your home covers the order of the first two days.
What to photograph and film
Shoot in layers, from wide to tight, so a reader who has never seen your house can follow.
| Layer | What to capture | Why an adjuster wants it |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior, all four sides | Each elevation of the house, the roof from the ground, fences, sheds, trees near the house | Shows the overall condition and which structures were hit |
| Room by room | A slow video walk, then photos from two corners of each damaged room | Establishes room size, finishes and the extent of damage |
| Close-ups | Each damaged area with something for scale, such as a tape measure or a coin | Lets the estimator measure and describe the damage |
| The source | The failed pipe, the fallen limb, the hole in the roof, the burn pattern | Identifies cause, which decides coverage |
| Moisture and smoke lines | Water marks, stained ceilings, soot patterns, moisture meter readings | Shows how far the damage reached |
| Contents | Every damaged item, labels and serial numbers visible, and the pile as a whole | Supports the inventory; see filing a personal property claim: the contents list |
| Before-loss images | Older photos, listing photos from when you bought, phone pictures with the room in the background | Proves finishes, upgrades and condition |
A few habits make the set more useful:
- Narrate the video. Say the date, the room and what you are looking at. A running description fixes details that a silent clip leaves open.
- Do not edit the originals. Keep the unedited files with their date and time data. Crop and mark up copies if you need to.
- Photograph before and after every step of mitigation, including the equipment placed, so the drying work and its cost can be traced to the damage.
- Keep samples. A piece of the damaged flooring, a shingle, a section of the burned wire. A sample answers a question no photograph can.
- Back up the same day. Copy the files to cloud storage or a second device. A phone lost in the same storm takes the evidence with it.
Do not climb onto a damaged roof or enter a structurally unsound room for a better angle. Ground-level photos with a zoom lens are enough to start, and a roofer or inspector can document the rest.
When you must discard something
Some things cannot be kept: sewage-soaked contents, spoiled food, anything moldy or hazardous. Photograph and list them first, with brand, size and approximate age, then ask the adjuster or claims line what to do before you dispose of them. Write down the answer and who gave it. If you cannot reach anyone and health is at stake, document thoroughly, keep a sample or the label, and dispose of the rest.
Receipts and the paper trail
Every dollar you spend because of the loss belongs in one place. That includes emergency repairs, tarps, hotel nights, meals above your normal food costs, laundry, extra mileage, storage fees and equipment rental. Keep the receipt and write on it, or in your log, what it was for. making an additional living expenses claim explains what the loss-of-use coverage reimburses and why receipts are the test.
Two kinds of records matter beyond receipts.
Invoices from contractors and mitigation companies. Ask for itemized invoices showing dates, hours, quantities and equipment. A lump sum is hard to defend; a drying log with daily moisture readings is easy to defend.
A claim log. TDI advises taking notes on every call, including the date, the topic and the name and title of the person you spoke with, then following up phone calls with an email or letter (TDI). A single running page works:
| Date | Who (name, title) | Method | What was said or promised | Follow-up sent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypothetical entry | Adjuster, field | Phone | Inspection set for Thursday; asked for the roof invoice | Email confirming the same day |
Written follow-up turns a phone conversation into a record. If an adjuster tells you a hotel stay is approved and the written file says nothing, your email is what you have.
What the insurer sends you
Your file includes documents the insurer creates, and you should keep and read all of them: the adjuster's estimate or scope of loss, photos the adjuster took, any engineer's or contractor's report, and the letters that explain what is paid or denied. Ask for copies of anything you have not been given. In Florida, for example, a residential insurer must send you the detailed estimate within 7 days after it is generated (Fla. Stat. 627.70131). In California, an insurer must give you copies of claim-related documents such as estimates and scopes of loss within 15 calendar days of your request (Cal. Ins. Code 2071). Other states have their own rules, and the state insurance department can tell you what applies to you.
Compare the insurer's scope with your own photos room by room. Missing rooms, missing line items and measurements that look small are easier to raise early than after you have signed a release. xactimate, contractor bids and estimate disputes shows how to read an estimate, and working with an insurance adjuster covers the inspection visit itself.
A simple claim file
Set it up in the first week and add to it as you go.
- Create one folder, digital and paper, named for the claim number.
- Subfolders: photos and video (by date), receipts, invoices and estimates, insurer letters, your log, and a copy of your policy and declarations page.
- Scan paper the day you receive it. Receipts fade and mail gets lost.
- Save every email and text with the insurer, adjuster and contractors. Export text messages if the phone is at risk.
- Back up weekly and share the folder with a spouse or a trusted person outside the area if you have been displaced.
- Keep it until well after the claim closes. Some losses surface again, and some tax questions come up later. See claims for hidden damage discovered later and supplemental claims and reopening a closed claim.
Before the next loss
The best documentation is made before anything happens. A room-by-room video of the house, with closets and cabinets open, and a note of the big-ticket items takes an hour and is worth more than any later reconstruction. California's guide calls recording your possessions room by room before a loss "an excellent way to document damage" and suggests keeping the copy somewhere safe, such as a safe deposit box (California Department of Insurance). The how to make a home inventory for insurance and the home inventory builder walk through it, and the home insurance claim checklist puts the claim-day steps on one page.
Key takeaways
- Photograph and film the damage before cleanup or repairs, wide to close, and keep the damaged property or samples until the adjuster has seen them.
- The HO-3 requires an inventory with bills and receipts, a record of repair expenses, and documents the insurer reasonably requests; gaps in records give the insurer room to question what you cannot show.
- Keep receipts for emergency repairs and living expenses, and ask contractors for itemized invoices with dates and quantities.
- Keep a claim log of every call and follow up in writing; compare the insurer's estimate with your own photos before you accept it.
- Back up everything the same day, and make a video inventory before the next loss.