Three Steps To Follow When You Have Flood or Lightning Damage

Flooding And Lightning Damage

Sometimes events cause damage to your home that are beyond your control and the end result is a repair that may be covered by insurance. These may include a lightning strike that enters your home through the wiring, phone or cable systems, or flooding that submerges some of your electrical wiring, or damage to the incoming electrical service.

When these events happen, there are three steps that should be followed so that your insurance provider can provide the necessary coverage of the repairs.

Safety First

Foremost to remember is that you must take steps to ensure that everyone is safe from electrocution. Never enter a flooded area when the power is still on, never attempt to clear debris from around fallen electrical lines until the public utility has cut off the power to those lines and never try to turn the power back on to your home after it has been subjected to a lightning strike.

Licensed Electrical Contractor

Contact a licensed electrical contractor to assess the damage. An electrical contractor can quickly arrange with the local utilities to disconnect the main power coming to your home and make the damaged area safe for assessment. They will also have the necessary testers and meters to accurately assess the degree of the damage. Make sure that your electrical contractor is able to document the damage in a picture report before beginning any repairs as the insurance company will find this a valuable assessment document.

Electrical Safety Authority Permit

All work done for these insurance repairs will require an electrical permit for the work to be taken out. After the work is completed, an electrical inspection will be conducted by the Electrical Safety Authority If the work has been done properly and ‘up to code’ the Electrical Safety Authority will pass the permit and a Certificate of Inspection will be issued to the contractor.

It is imperative that you receive a copy of your Certificate of inspection. This certificate should be kept with your documents relating to your insurance policies as it verifies that the electrical work you had performed in your home was provided by a licensed Electrical Contractor and meets the standards set out by the Ontario Electrical Code.