Take Photos Before Cleaning Up After Water Damage: Protect Yourself from Insurance Company Games

When water starts spreading across your floor, your first thought is to stop the damage, turn off the water, grab towels, move furniture, and start drying things out. That reaction is completely natural. But before you do any of that, take a few quick photos of the water on the ground.

It may seem like a distraction and a small detail in the moment, but those photos could help your insurance claim by avoiding tedious gamesmanship.

Why Photos Are So Important

In the chaos of a water loss, most homeowners don’t think to document what they’re seeing. Unfortunately, that gives insurance companies an opening to deny or minimize your claim later.

When the adjuster eventually shows up and the floors are dry, the insurer might claim you “failed to show the damaged property.” They will attempt to claim that they were prejudiced because they could not see the water on the floor. In their eyes, without those photos, there’s “no proof” the water ever existed, even when there’s obvious damage to your flooring or baseboards.

The Policy Conflict: “Protect the Property” vs. “Show the Damage”

Almost every Florida homeowner’s policy includes two duties that often contradict each other:

1. Protect the property from further damage.

   This means you must act quickly to prevent more harm, which often includes drying the area, stopping leaks, and cleaning up standing water.

2. Show the damaged property.

   This means you must allow the insurance company to inspect what was damaged.

However, this is often used as a “catch 22.” If you clean up the water, they might argue you didn’t show the damage. If you leave the water, they might accuse you of failing to protect the property.

It’s a setup that allows the insurance company to play the victim, pretending they were “deprived of the opportunity” to inspect, even though the policyholder was simply doing what the policy required to prevent further damage.

The Simple Fix: Document Before You Clean Water Damage

The best way to protect yourself from this game is simple and fast: take photos and short videos before you begin cleanup.

Once you’ve done that, go ahead and clean up, you’ll have the documentation you need to prove the loss while still meeting your duty to protect the property.

Conclusion

Insurance companies often twist these situations to avoid paying what’s owed. A few photos can prevent that.

If your insurance company is accusing you of not “showing the damage” after a water loss, even though you acted quickly to protect your property, you may have a valid claim dispute.

At Florida Property Damage, I help homeowners across Florida navigate these exact issues and hold insurers accountable. If you’re facing a denial, delay, or underpayment, contact me today for a consultation.