Be prepared for hurricane season
Document property with visual records
By Dave Mungai Special to the News

There are many stories of people who have endured months without settlements from their hurricane damaged homes. Which makes us stop and think about how prepared we are to show the value of our own home to insurance providers.

Having "survived" two recent hurricane seasons that did more damage than one cares to remember, reminds us that we need to be better prepared than in the past. We need to step it up a notch.

Visual evidence is the easiest to obtain and the most reliable. Whether it's a bigticket item or the contents of a closet, a short video cannot only provide proof of your possessions and their condition to your provider, it can also serve to remind you of items you may have forgotten.

Choice Video Services in Gulf Breeze offers a few tips to help you prepare your visual record:

Decide on your format.

The best recording format today is digital video, either mini DV or DV tape. It offers crisp detail that can easily be transferred to DVD, VHS or the Web. Copies can be made for safekeeping and to send to your insurance provider. Most likely, your home video camera will do.

Prepare content by capturing as many details as possible.

Make sure you videotape everything, inside and out, every corner, drawer and closet. Take lots of pictures too. Photographs show great detail. Be sure and store your photographs, tapes, and any receipts/documents in a Flood/Fire Proof safe. For extra assurance have DVD copies made and send them to a trusted friend or relative.

What to do with damaged documents.

If you can't read the document, your insurance claims adjuster won't be able to either. If you have damaged documents you should file for replacements as soon as possible. Photos are a bit tougher to deal with if they are damaged. If you don't have the original negative, slide, or digital file to make copies you may need to consult with someone who can re-touch them for you.

Decide if this is a do-it-yourself project or should be left to an expert.

If you have a good video camcorder and a digital camera, you can certainly give it your best shot! You may find it worthwhile to hire a videographer to put everything together for you. Such experts have the kind of recording and editing equipment to produce your record with the clarity required to show details of your property or belongings.

Make sure you locate a video company that specializes in this kind of project, such as Choice Video Services. Find out what procedure is used for documenting a home, property, personal items, etc. You should ask for both the DVD and the original DV tapes that were used if the videographer also created the images for you. Ask if they will use proper lighting for darker areas of the home. Such a visual record could save months of litigation, delays and ultimately, money. Don't delay in starting your visual record today!

Dave Mungai has been in the computer and video industry for over 15 years, teaching, producing, and consulting, for individuals and corporations.