If your home or business was damaged or destroyed in recent flooding and mudslides, you can access information and tools through United Policyholders’ Roadmap to Recovery® program for overcoming challenges with property, flood and auto insurance claims and reaching a fair settlement. Scroll down for key tips and a menu of resources.

Focus on completely inventorying and valuing all damage and costs to repair or replace your property, regardless of your insurance situation. Key Insurance Claim Tips:

• Keep a diary of conversations with insurance, repair, government and other professionals.

• Flood policies have different rules than home policies.

• Give your home and/or flood insurer a chance to do the right thing, but advocate for yourself and get help from DORA and/or experienced professionals if you feel you’re not being treated fairly.

• If a home or flood insurance adjuster says damage isn’t covered, but you feel it should be, get an independent professional opinion before giving up on getting some or all of your claim paid.

August 2014 UPdate:

UP is participating in Two Flood Recovery Expos in Boulder and Larimer Counties.  The Expos will provide flood-affected residents with information, resources and guidance to assist with the long-term recovery process.  There will also be presentations to provide attendees with an overview of available resources and assistance.

• ‘Path to Recovery’ Flood Recovery Expo:  Tuesday August 12^th from 4 to 8pm at the LifeBridge Christian Church located at 10345 Ute Highway, Longmont.
• ‘Roadmap To Recovery’ Flood Recovery Expo For Larimer County:  Saturday August 16^th from 10am to 5pm at the Estes Park Event Center and Pavilion located at 1125 Rooftop Way, Estes Park.

July 2014 UPdate:

UP has submitted a letter to FEMA asking for a retroactive Proof of Loss deadline extension for NFIP policyholders affected by the 2013 flood event. Read the letter here.

March 2014 UPdate: 

The Internal Revenue Service announced they are providing Colorado flood victims an extension until Oct. 15, 2014 to decide which tax year to claim disaster losses arising from last September’s flooding. Read the official notice: Notice 2014-20
(This extension does not change the April 15th filing deadline.)

November 2013 UPdate:

The deadline for filing National Flood Insurance Claims related to the September 2013 CO flooding disaster has been extended by 21 days.  Your deadline depends on the date of your loss.  Click here to read the FEMA bulletin.

Read: Important Flood Insurance Claim Deadlines for more infomation.

Watch our workshops on Flood Damage and Flood Insurance Information:

February 4th, 2014 Flood Damage and Insurance

February 14th Post Tax Disaster Tax Issues

Recent Media Coverage: 

• IRS News Release: IRS Gives Colorado Flood Victims More Time to Decide When to Claim Losses
• Daily Camera: Taxes could be murky for Boulder County flood victims
• Colorado Public Radio: The Flood Recovery Process
• Colorado Public Radio: Flood Damage Homes: Who Pays?
• North Forty News: Flood Insurance Tips on What’s Covered, What’s Not
• KOAA: Manitou Flood Meeting

Insurance Recovery Information, Tools and Resources

• Top Ten Insurance Claim Tips
• Flood Insurance Claim Tips
  
• The “Dirt” on Insurance Protection for Mud Flow Damage
• Roadmap to Recovery Tools Request Form – “Road tested” tools to help document your loss
• Contents Claim Tips – For Recovering the Costs of Repairing and Replacing Damaged/Destroyed Household Items
• Insurance Recovery Tips for the Dwelling Part of Your Claim– How to collect the full amount your insurer owes you for what it would reasonably cost to repair/rebuild
• The Scoop on Scope (of Loss)
• Speak UP: How to communicate with your insurance company
• Mold Damage Guide – Information about resources about mold damage
• Sample Claim and Proof of Loss Form
• Resolving Flood Insurance Disputes
  
• Dropped by your insurer: Information for Colorado Residents
  
• National Disaster Legal Aid
• FEMA: Colorado Floods Federal Assistance Fact Sheet

Support Resources:

Disaster Survivor Support Network: Confidential emotional support, insurance and rebuilding tips from previous catastrophic loss victims/survivors through the United Policyholders Disaster Survivor Support Network (“DSSN”) For a list of and contact info for available DSSN recovery mentors, please email your request to info@uphelp.org and put “DSSN” in the subject line.

Expert Answers to Your Questions:  The ”Ask an Expert” tool is an easy and safe way to ask direct questions to attorneys, claims professionals and previous disaster survivors who serve as UP volunteers and get the answers you need. The expert doesn’t see your contact info, but you can contact them if you want to follow up on their answer. To use the forum, please visit Ask an Expert

Recovery Tools:

Complete and return the Roadmap to Recovery Tools Request Form to info@uphelp.org to receive the recovery tools below:

• The Disaster Recovery Handbook/Household Inventory Guide:  Since 2006 “The Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide”  has been a trusted book that’s led thousands of people through the process of overcoming obstacles to repairing and rebuilding after a major loss.  The book is written in plain language by disaster survivors fordisaster survivors with tips and expert advice from legal, insurance and personal finance professionals.
• The Roadmap to Recovery Organizer Kit: includes the essential tools for staying organized and recovering financially from serious property damage or loss.  Each kit contains a diary/notebook, essential tips and guidance, business card holders, a pouch for receipts and a messenger bag.
• Home Inventory Flashdrives:  Most disaster survivors must prepare an itemized and detailed inventory list of every single item they lost in order to recover insurance monies and/or claim tax losses.  Creating this inventory is one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks survivors must complete on the road to recovery.  To ease this burden, UP created a home inventory flash drive that’s pre-loaded with helpful content and is easy to use.