The adjuster isn’t your therapist and isn’t your enemy. They’re there to see the loss and write a number. Your job is to make the house readable and to keep your mouth from inventing a story.
Walk them the same path you walked with the camera: outside line, then each wet room. Have the claim number on the fridge. Have a printed contents start if you can. Offer water if you have clean water. Then let them work.
Houstonians often report trying to be “easy” and saying the damage is “not that bad.” That sentence lives in the file. You can be polite without shrinking the loss.
Do this now
- Print or screenshot the claim number, your photo folder, and a room-by-room list before they arrive.
- Clear a path so they can see the water line, the wet outlets, and the HVAC closet.
- Say what you saw and when you saw it. Do not guess about bayou models or roof physics.
- Do not sign a blank authorization, a blank Proof of Loss, or a scope you have not read.
- Write down the adjuster’s name, company, and time in and out.
Words that help
“Water came over the slab around dawn. This is the line on the brick. These rooms took it. Here are photos from the first morning.” That is a useful opening. Point. Do not narrate your entire year.
If something is still hidden, say so: “We have not opened that wall. The meter has not been here yet.” Hidden damage you already ripped out is harder to pay. Hidden damage you admit is still there is a reason for a later supplement.
Words that get you in trouble
Do not say you “probably had a little leak last year” unless you are ready to show it was repaired. Do not say “the whole neighborhood always floods, we knew.” Do not joke that you “might as well upgrade the kitchen.” Humor like that turns into “insured planned betterment.”
Do not guess wind versus flood if you did not watch the water arrive. “I think it came through the attic” when the silt line is at 18 inches on the dining chair is a gift to the wrong file. “I do not know the cause. Here is what I see” is allowed.
Who else is in the room
A trusted person who stays quiet is fine. A contractor who wants to sell a full gut during the inspection is not fine. If a restoration shop is already extracting, they can show moisture readings. They should not negotiate your claim as a side show.
If you need a translator, use a person you trust. Do not let the friendliest person on the porch “explain” your policy to the adjuster in your name.
After they leave
Send a short email: thank you, claim number, address, and “please send me a copy of your estimate when it is written.” Ask how to add items you find when walls open. Then keep drying the house. The visit is a milestone, not a pause button.
If they never came and you only got a desk review request, send the same photo set with room labels. Follow up on a schedule. Silence is how Houston files disappear into the event backlog.
Do this next
- Call, claim number, and photos before you forget
- Flood policy vs homeowners: what usually covers what
- Commercial providers hub
More in Start your insurance claim today.