Financial & Disaster Assistance

Call the claims number on your policy or your insurer's app. Do it early — adjuster capacity in the Fox Valley is going to be the bottleneck for weeks, and queue position is set by when you filed.

On the first call, ask specifically:

• What is my claim number and who is my adjuster?
• Does my policy include Additional Living Expenses (ALE)? This covers a hotel, meals and extra costs while your home is uninhabitable — many people never claim it because nobody tells them it exists
• Am I authorized to make emergency repairs now, and what receipts do you need?
• Is my deductible a flat amount or a percentage of the dwelling value?

Then:

• Photograph everything before cleaning or repairing (see Report Your Damage)
• Keep every receipt, including hotel and meals
• Log every call: date, time, name, what was said
• Renters: your landlord's policy covers the building, not your belongings. If you have renters insurance, file your own claim
• Do not accept a first settlement you do not understand. You may ask for the estimate in writing and get an independent bid

If your insurer is unresponsive or denies something you believe is covered, the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance takes complaints at 1-800-236-8517.

Roof damage is the hardest part of a tornado claim to prove and the easiest for an adjuster to under-scope, because nobody can see it from the ground. Aerial photos and video close that gap.

Why it is worth doing:

• It shows damage a ground-level photo cannot — missing shingles, lifted decking, punctures, structural displacement, and debris impact across the whole roof plane
• It is dated evidence. If a dispute comes later, or a second storm passes through before your adjuster arrives, you have proof of condition on a specific date
• Nobody has to climb. Falls are the second-largest source of post-tornado injuries after cuts, and a storm-damaged roof is exactly the surface you should not be standing on
• It documents the whole property at once — roof, gutters, siding, outbuildings, fencing, and tree damage in a single pass

Do it before repairs or tarping, if it is safe to wait. Once a tarp is on, the original damage is invisible to an adjuster.

Share the files with your adjuster and keep your own copies backed up somewhere other than your phone.

A note on flying it yourself: temporary flight restrictions are common over disaster areas, and drone flights can interfere with rescue helicopters and utility aircraft. Check current restrictions before flying, and if in doubt use an operator who already tracks them.

Federal individual assistance becomes available only after a presidential disaster declaration covering this county. That process takes time — damage assessments must be completed and the state must formally request it. No declaration has been announced for the July 27 storms yet.

What to do now:

• Report your damage to the county (see Report Your Damage). This is literally what drives the declaration
• File your insurance claim. FEMA covers uninsured and underinsured losses only, and will ask for your insurance settlement first
• Document everything
• Watch official county and state channels for a declaration announcement

If a declaration comes, apply free at disasterassistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362. Never pay anyone to file for you.

Assistance, when available, can include temporary housing, home repair, and other disaster-related expenses. It is not a replacement for insurance and rarely makes anyone whole.

A local drone service based in the Fox Valley, offering aerial photography and video of roof and property damage suitable for submitting with an insurance claim.

Call to ask about availability, turnaround and pricing — demand for this is high across the damage path right now, so book early if you need it.

Ask them for high-resolution stills as well as video, and for files you can download and keep rather than only a link, so the evidence stays with you.

Almost everything else requires a photo ID, so get that first.

• Wisconsin driver's license or state ID — Wisconsin DMV, wisconsindmv.gov
• Birth and marriage certificates — Wisconsin Vital Records, Department of Health Services. County register of deeds offices can also issue certified copies
• Social Security card — ssa.gov or 1-800-772-1213. You can often get by with just the number
• Passport — travel.state.gov. Report it lost or stolen
• Vehicle title — Wisconsin DMV
• Property deed — your county register of deeds holds the official record; your copy being destroyed does not affect ownership
• Bank cards — call your bank; most will expedite replacement free after a disaster
• Tax records — the IRS provides free transcripts, and waives fees for disaster-affected taxpayers, at irs.gov

Fees for replacing documents are frequently waived after a declared disaster — always ask.

A common misconception: SBA disaster loans are not just for businesses. Homeowners and renters are eligible too, and SBA is usually the largest source of federal recovery funding for individuals.

Typical programs, once a declaration is in place:

• Homeowners — for repairing or replacing a primary residence
• Renters and homeowners — for replacing damaged personal property
• Businesses of any size and nonprofits — for physical damage
• Economic Injury Disaster Loans — for small businesses that lost revenue

Apply free at sba.gov/disaster or call 1-800-659-2955. Even if you do not want a loan, applying can be a prerequisite for some other grant assistance — worth doing.