Best Emergency Repairs Before Adjuster Arrives
Cover holes, leaks, or broken windows to stop further damage, and keep every receipt and photo for the adjuster.
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Most policies require you to prevent further damage once a loss happens, so a tarp over a hole in the roof or plywood over a broken window isn't optional, it's part of what your coverage expects from you. Photograph the damage before you fix anything, then photograph your temporary repair once it's done. Keep every receipt for materials, because reasonable repair costs are typically reimbursed as part of the claim. Skip permanent fixes like replacing the roof, since the adjuster needs to see the original damage to assess it.
Your policy may already cover what you spent
The tarp, the plywood, the materials you bought to stop the damage from spreading. If your policy requires it, those costs likely belong in the claim. Compare coverage now to see what your policy pays for repairs like these.
What counts as an emergency repair and what doesn't
An emergency repair is anything that stops damage from getting worse, nothing more. A tarp over a hole, plywood over a broken window, a wet vac to pull standing water off the floor, a shutoff valve closed on a burst pipe. These are temporary by design. The moment a repair starts restoring the house instead of protecting it from further harm, it's no longer emergency work, and doing it before the adjuster sees the damage can cost you.
Replacing carpet, tearing out drywall, hiring a contractor to rebuild a section of roof, these are permanent repairs, and they belong after the adjuster's inspection, not before. If the damage is gone by the time someone looks at it, there's nothing to measure it against except your photos and your word. Some claims get paid this way when the documentation is strong, but it's a harder conversation than it needs to be, and it's one you can avoid by waiting.
Water damage is the exception that trips people up. Standing water left for a day or two breeds mold, and mold exclusions in most policies are strict, sometimes absolute. Pulling water out with a wet vac or running fans to dry a room counts as emergency mitigation, not permanent repair, so it's reasonable to do that work right away. The distinction is whether you're stopping an active, worsening problem or fixing the damage that's already done. If you're unsure which side of that line a repair falls on, photograph the damage thoroughly first, do only what's needed to stop it from spreading, and leave the rest.
If a pipe is still leaking or a hole in the roof is letting rain in, don't wait for the adjuster to show up before you act. Shut off the water, cover the opening, move what you can out of harm's way. Your policy expects this of you, and delay that leads to avoidable damage can affect what gets paid. The adjuster's visit is for assessing what already happened, not for giving permission to stop what's still happening.
What if you can't reach the insurer before acting
Burst pipes don't wait for business hours, and trees don't fall at convenient times. If water is pouring in or a window is wide open to the weather, act first and call when you can. No policy expects you to let a house sit exposed overnight because the claims line was closed. Document what you see, do what's needed to stop the damage from spreading, and report the loss as soon as it's reasonably possible. Most policies set a window for notifying the insurer, not a requirement that you call before lifting a finger.
Hiring help is often part of this. A plumber to stop a leak, a roofer to tarp a hole too large or too steep to handle alone, an emergency water removal company for a flooded basement, these are normal parts of emergency mitigation, not something that requires sign-off first. Keep the invoice, keep a description of what was done, and keep any before-and-after photos the contractor took. If the company offers a written estimate or report, ask for a copy. It becomes part of the record you hand the adjuster.
Cost matters here too. Emergency repairs are meant to be reasonable, not unlimited. Paying a premium rate to get someone out the same night during a widespread storm is understandable and usually accepted. Replacing an entire roof before anyone has assessed it is not an emergency repair, no matter how it gets justified after the fact. If a contractor is pushing for full replacement work before the adjuster has even been scheduled, that's a sign to slow down and ask whether the work is stopping damage or just getting ahead of the claim.
Save every piece of paper this process generates. Text messages with the contractor, the time stamp on photos, a note of when the water stopped or the tarp went up. None of this needs to be formal. A phone has what's needed. What matters is that when the adjuster asks what happened and when, the answer isn't a memory, it's a record.
Before the adjuster arrives
Check your policy's declarations page for the deadline to report a loss, and gather every photo, receipt, and invoice from the emergency repairs into one place before the visit.
