DO / DON'T — First Week
DO
- • Protect life safety; call emergency services as needed.
- • Photograph and video before major tear-out when safe.
- • Place all potentially responsive carriers on notice — property, wind, and flood.
- • Authorize reasonable mitigation in writing with scope limits.
- • Open a claim diary the same day.
- • Use one board-authorized point of contact for vendors and adjusters.
DON'T
- • Wait for the adjuster before stopping active water or board-up.
- • Sign AOBs, blank authorizations, or financing documents under pressure.
- • Let multiple directors give conflicting instructions to contractors.
- • Promise owners that "insurance will pay for everything."
- • Assume the carrier's field adjuster represents the Association.
The Claim Lifecycle
The manual uses this line at every board meeting: state the current stage in one sentence so every director knows where the claim stands. The full lifecycle runs:
Event → Notice → Mitigate & Document → Inspect → Scope/Estimate → Negotiate & Pay → Repair → Close-Out → Renew & Lessons
Negotiation Discipline (Short)
Negotiate from the file — not from frustration. One board voice. Separate scope from price. Use comparable line-item detail. Confirm calls in writing. Do not guess coverage. Do not sign releases or "full and final" language on large dollars without review. The first payment is often not final — log ACV/RCV and supplements.
⚠ Red Flag: Never sign T&M without itemized invoices, or lump-sum without a line-item scope. Never comingle wind and flood payments to a contractor without a payment log by policy. Those errors can make depreciation recovery and full reimbursement impossible.