Houston Hurricane Checklist: What to Photograph and Email Your Agent This Week

Photos, before anything happens

The first job every June or early July is a full photo record of your home, inside and out. Insurance adjusters after a storm are looking at what your home was worth and what shape it was in the day before the loss. If you have no baseline, they build one from whatever's left. That rarely goes your way.

Shoot every room. Corner to corner. Open the closets.

The exterior shots that matter most

Roof from all four sides, taken from the ground or via a drone service if you have one. Fence line. AC condenser unit including the model plate. Water heater with its date sticker visible. Any exterior generator, pool equipment, or storage building. If a claims adjuster asks "was this damaged before the storm," a June photo answers the question in five seconds.

The garage counts. Photograph what's in it. Take the shots with your phone camera at full resolution, no filter, no zoom. The date stamp and GPS coordinates come with the file, and adjusters value that when timelines get disputed later.

Interior shots to prioritize

Kitchen appliances with model tags visible. Any built in wine fridge or wall oven. HVAC air handler with its date plate. Attic access opened and photographed once. Water shutoff valve location. If you have a hard floor upgrade, laminate versus real oak versus engineered, photograph a corner where you can see the material clearly. That distinction changes what your policy replaces after a loss.

The email your agent needs from you

Once you've taken the photos, send a single email to your insurance agent with three items attached. A ZIP file of the photos, or a Google Drive link. A one page inventory list of anything over $500 in value, including brand and model. And a screenshot of your current declarations page, so you know your coverage limits before storm season, not after.

Ask this direct question in the email: "Is my wind and hail deductible a percentage or a dollar figure, and what does that translate to in actual dollars for my current dwelling coverage?"

You want the answer in writing.

Flood is a separate policy and a separate clock

Your standard homeowners policy in Houston does not cover flood. NFIP flood policies have a 30 day waiting period from purchase to activation. If you bind a policy today, it activates in early August. If a named storm is already in the Gulf and forecast to threaten Texas, the underwriter can decline the bind entirely. Every year I push homeowners to handle flood in May or June, well before a storm forms.

What to do this week if you're behind

• Take the photos today
• Email them to your agent with your declarations page
• Ask about your wind and hail deductible in real dollars
• Bind or renew flood coverage before the next tropical wave

If you'd like a coverage review before the peak of the season, contact Marysol Calvillo and we'll walk your dec page together and flag anything worth adjusting before landfall.