The 10 photos to take before a storm so an insurance claim is simpler

When a major storm is on the way, your first instinct is usually to stock up on batteries and bottled water, not to scroll through your camera roll. Yet the photos you take before the wind and water arrive can be the difference between a smooth insurance claim and a months‑long argument over what you really lost. Insurers rely on clear, dated evidence, and you can create that evidence in less than an hour with a focused photo checklist. Before the next system spins up on the radar, you can quietly build a visual record that proves what you owned and what condition it was in.

Why pre‑storm photos matter to insurers

Insurance companies pay claims based on what they can verify, not what they are told after the fact, which is why detailed documentation is treated as essential proof rather than a nice‑to‑have. Claims adjusters look for clear images that show the condition of your home and belongings before the storm, then compare them with the damage afterward to confirm both cause and extent. Legal and insurance guidance on supporting insurance claims stresses that photos are the fastest way to establish what was damaged and how severe that damage is, which can shorten investigations and reduce disputes.

Public adjusters see the same pattern from the field: when homeowners have strong visuals, claims tend to move faster and with fewer challenges. Stephen Hadhazi, a public insurance adjuster who spoke with Hawaii News Now, urged people to walk around their property with a camera before a storm so they can later show exactly what changed. His point is simple but powerful: if you can hand an adjuster a clear “before” and “after” set for your roof, siding, and belongings, you are not just telling your story, you are proving it in a way that fits how insurers evaluate risk and loss.

How to photograph your home’s exterior

Your first priority is a complete visual record of the outside of your home, because that is where wind, hail, and flying debris usually leave the most obvious scars. Start with wide shots that show each side of the structure from corner to corner, including the roofline, gutters, windows, and doors in a single frame. Professional documentation guides recommend taking wide shots first to capture the entire affected area, then moving in closer to record specific features, because this sequence helps adjusters understand both context and detail.

Once you have the big picture, walk the perimeter and photograph vulnerable elements individually: roof surfaces, downspouts, exterior light fixtures, fences, decks, and any outbuildings. A storm claim checklist on what to photograph on the exterior specifically calls out roof slopes and other surfaces that can later show subtle impact marks or lifted materials. Try to include fixed reference points like house numbers or permanent landscaping so it is obvious that the photos are of your property, and take images from more than one angle to avoid shadows or glare that could obscure detail.

Room‑by‑room interior overviews

Inside, your goal is to create a visual inventory of every space, not just the rooms you use most often. Walk through your home and take wide shots of each room from at least two corners so the walls, floors, ceilings, and major furnishings are all visible in a single frame. Consumer insurance tips on how to start with photos or video recommend this kind of walkthrough because it creates a baseline record of what you owned and how it was arranged, which can be invaluable if a storm later scatters or destroys items.

Do not skip closets, attics, basements, or utility rooms, even if they feel cluttered or unimportant. These spaces often hold seasonal clothing, tools, sports gear, and stored electronics that are expensive to replace but easy to forget when you are filling out a claim form under stress. The California Department of Insurance’s home inventory guide urges residents to document all personal property in a residence, not just high‑profile items, because even small losses add up quickly when you are rebuilding a household from scratch.

Close‑ups of high‑value belongings

Once you have wide shots of each room, focus on the items that would hurt most to replace out of pocket. Take close‑up photos of jewelry, watches, artwork, collectibles, musical instruments, and high‑end electronics, making sure brand names, model numbers, and any unique features are clearly visible. Where possible, photograph serial numbers on the backs of televisions, computers, and game consoles, and capture both the item and its surroundings so there is no doubt it was in your home before the storm.

For especially valuable pieces, pair the object with any paperwork you have, such as appraisals, receipts, or certificates of authenticity, and photograph them together on a flat surface. The California inventory booklet from Please and While the Department of Insurance encourages homeowners to keep detailed records of purchase dates and values, and a photo that shows an item alongside its documentation can serve as a quick visual shorthand for that information. If you later need to prove that a particular painting or ring was part of your loss, these close‑ups will carry far more weight than a line item on a spreadsheet.

Structural details that reveal hidden damage

Storms do not just break things, they also exploit weaknesses that were already there, which is why it helps to photograph structural details that might later show subtle changes. Before severe weather, take clear images of ceilings, especially around light fixtures and vents, as well as the tops of walls and corners where cracks or stains could appear. Interior documentation advice notes that interior clues tell the story of water intrusion and that moisture can disguise itself as “condensation,” so a clean baseline photo helps you later show that a brown ring or peeling paint is new.

Apply the same logic to floors, window sills, and door frames, especially in rooms below grade or near exterior walls. Take photos of baseboards, thresholds, and any existing hairline cracks in tile or drywall so you can later demonstrate whether they widened or shifted after the storm. If you have a crawl space or unfinished basement, a few quick shots of exposed beams, insulation, and foundation walls can be invaluable, because these are the areas adjusters often inspect when they are trying to determine how far water traveled or how strong the wind forces were.

Vehicles, garages, and outdoor structures

Your insurance claim will not stop at the front door, so your camera should not either. Photograph every vehicle you own, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and boats, from multiple angles that show the body, windows, and any existing dings or scratches. Make sure license plates and vehicle identification numbers are visible in at least one image, and include odometer readings for newer vehicles where mileage might affect valuation. If you store tools, generators, or recreational gear in your garage, take wide shots of the space with the door open, then closer images of expensive items on shelves or hanging racks.

Do the same for sheds, pergolas, playsets, and other outdoor structures that could be damaged by falling branches or high winds. A pre‑storm photo of a sturdy fence or intact greenhouse can later help you argue that a collapse was caused by the event, not by long‑term neglect. Legal guidance on how to take photos after a storm emphasizes capturing any evidence of storm damage as soon as it is safe, and having matching “before” images of the same structures gives adjusters a clean comparison that can speed up their assessment.

Paperwork, policies, and digital screens

Storms can destroy not only your belongings but also the paperwork that proves what you owned and how you were insured. Before severe weather, lay out key documents such as your homeowners policy declarations page, recent premium statements, mortgage or lease papers, and major purchase receipts, then photograph them in batches. While you should still keep originals in a safe place, a quick set of images on your phone gives you a backup if water or wind scatters the physical copies. Hurricane preparedness guidance recommends that you make additional copies of these documents, secure them in waterproof storage, and keep them above ground level, and photos are one more layer in that redundancy.

Do not overlook digital proof that lives on screens. Take pictures of important email confirmations, cloud storage folders that hold scans of receipts, and account dashboards that show policy numbers or coverage limits. If you manage smart‑home devices or security cameras through an app, capture screenshots of device lists and settings so you can later show what equipment you had installed. These images can be especially useful if you need to access information while you are displaced or using a borrowed device, because you will not have to remember logins or dig through flooded file cabinets to find basic details.

The 10 essential shots to prioritize when time is short

When a storm is only hours away, you may not have time for a perfect, room‑by‑room catalog, so it helps to know which photos deliver the most value in the least time. Start with a full‑house exterior from all four sides, then add a clear shot of the roof from the ground or an upper window, even if you cannot see every shingle. Next, walk through the main living areas and take one wide photo from each corner, followed by a quick pass through bedrooms and the kitchen. A consumer tip sheet that urges you to walk through your home with a camera or video reinforces that even a simple sweep creates a valuable record.

Round out your top ten with targeted shots of your most expensive belongings and vulnerable areas. That might mean a close‑up of your television and sound system, a photo of jewelry laid out on a table, a shot of your main vehicle from the front and rear, and one image each of your garage interior and any detached structures. If you have a few extra minutes, add a quick photo of your insurance declarations page and a screenshot of your cloud backup or photo library settings. Even this abbreviated set can give an adjuster enough context to understand what “normal” looked like before the storm, which is the core purpose of all pre‑event documentation.

How to store and back up your storm photos

Photos only help your claim if you can still access them after the storm, so storage and backup are as important as the shots themselves. At a minimum, keep the images on your phone and in a cloud service like iCloud, Google Photos, or OneDrive, which automatically preserves them even if your device is lost or damaged. Hurricane planning advice recommends that you secure copies in waterproof storage and, where possible, on an external hard drive or similar medium that can be kept in a separate location.

Offline backups are especially useful if power or internet service is disrupted for an extended period. Guidance on external hard drives for offline backups notes that you can simply connect a drive to your computer, drag and drop your photo library, and then store that hard drive in a secure, separate location. For storm preparation, that might mean a fire‑ and water‑resistant safe, a safety deposit box, or even a trusted friend’s home outside the immediate risk zone. The goal is to ensure that no single point of failure, whether it is a flooded phone or a damaged router, can erase the visual evidence you worked to create.

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*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.