Insurance Claims & Documentation Guidance
Good documentation doesn't decide your claim, but it gives your insurer or loss adjuster the clear record they need to assess it — here's what's typically prepared and how the process generally works.
What this page covers, and what it doesn't
This is a general explainer, not a promise about any specific claim outcome. Whether damage is covered, what excess applies, and how much an insurer will pay are all decisions made by your insurer, based on your specific policy wording and the circumstances of the event — not something a restoration company can decide or guarantee on your behalf.
What a restoration team can do is document the damage and the work carried out in a way that supports your claim: dated photographs, moisture readings, a written scope of works, and — where contents are affected — an itemised list of damaged items. This documentation gives your insurer or their loss adjuster a clear, evidence-based record to assess, rather than a verbal description after the fact.
This page walks through what's typically documented, how the claims process generally works for a New Zealand property owner, and what to prepare before you contact your insurer. If you're already dealing with an active flood, fire or other incident, our incident-specific pages cover the immediate safety and restoration steps — this page focuses specifically on the paperwork and process around a claim.
How the documentation process generally works
This describes the typical documentation workflow that runs alongside restoration work, not the restoration work itself.
Initial photographs and notes
Before cleanup or extraction begins wherever it's safe to do so, the affected areas and any damaged contents are photographed and briefly noted, creating a baseline record of the damage as first found.
Contacting your insurer promptly
Insurers generally want to be told about a loss as soon as reasonably possible. Many will confirm what emergency mitigation work — such as water extraction or securing a damaged roof — is pre-authorised before a full assessment takes place, which allows urgent work to start without delay.
Moisture readings and progress records
For water-related damage, moisture readings are taken at intervals throughout the drying process and logged, giving a dated record of how the affected materials dried over time rather than a single point-in-time observation.
Written scope of works
A written scope describes the areas affected, the work carried out or proposed, and the reasoning behind it — for example why a section of flooring was removed rather than dried in place. This is the document most often requested by insurers and loss adjusters.
Itemised contents lists
Where contents such as furniture, appliances or personal belongings are affected, they're listed individually with a note on condition, rather than described only in general terms, which helps an insurer assess contents cover separately from building cover.
Handover to your insurer or loss adjuster
The completed documentation — photographs, moisture logs, written scope and any contents list — is provided to you to pass on to your insurer, or directly to a loss adjuster where one has been appointed to assess the claim.
When to contact your insurer, and when to start mitigation first
In most cases, urgent safety and mitigation work — stopping a leak, extracting standing water, securing a damaged opening — happens before formal insurer approval, simply because delay makes the damage worse. Most policies expect this and separately provide for 'reasonable steps to prevent further loss', but it's still worth contacting your insurer as early as practically possible, even a quick call, to confirm what's expected of you.
For less urgent situations — for example a contained, already-stopped leak with no ongoing risk — it can make sense to speak with your insurer before any work begins, so you understand what documentation they'll want and whether they wish to arrange their own assessor first.
- Act first, notify promptly: active water ingress, fire risk, or anything posing an immediate safety hazard.
- Check with your insurer first where practical: contained, non-urgent damage with no immediate risk of it worsening.
Documentation shouldn't come before safety
No photograph or record is worth a safety risk. If it isn't safe to be in an area — due to standing water near electrics, structural damage, fire risk or contamination — leave documentation until the area has been made safe, and rely on notes and photographs taken once it's safe to re-enter.
- Never re-enter a hazardous area to retrieve documents, photograph damage, or list contents — insurers understand that safety takes priority over immediate record-keeping.
- Where an area is contaminated (sewage, floodwater, fire residue), photograph from a safe distance rather than handling affected items directly.
- If in doubt about whether an area is safe, wait for it to be assessed before documenting contents or damage within it.
Preparing your policy and incident details safely
Having a few pieces of information ready before you call your insurer makes the first conversation faster and more useful, and reduces the chance of details being missed or forgotten later.
It's worth keeping this information somewhere accessible before an incident happens, rather than trying to locate it during one — see our emergency preparedness guidance for how to build this into a broader household or business plan.
- Have your policy number and insurer contact details on hand, or know where to find them quickly.
- Note the approximate date, time and cause of the incident as best you understand it at the time.
- Take photographs and brief notes as soon as it's safe to do so, before any cleanup disturbs the scene.
- Keep receipts for any emergency work or temporary measures taken (such as a temporary tarp or a plumber's call-out), since these are often reimbursable.
- Avoid discarding damaged contents before they're photographed or listed, even if they seem unsalvageable.
What affects how much documentation is needed, and how long it takes
The scale of documentation required isn't fixed — it scales with the size and complexity of the incident, much like the restoration work itself. A few factors typically determine how much record-keeping a job involves and how long that takes to compile.
- The size of the affected area — a single room needs far less documentation than a multi-room or whole-property event.
- Whether contents as well as the building structure are affected, since contents typically need to be itemised individually.
- Whether more than one policy or party is involved (for example a body corporate and an individual unit owner), which usually means documentation needs to be organised separately for each.
- How long drying or remediation takes, since moisture monitoring records accumulate over the full drying period rather than being captured in a single visit.
- Whether a loss adjuster has been appointed, which can add a further round of assessment and documentation requests specific to their review.
What we can and can't decide on your behalf
It's worth being clear about the boundary here: a restoration company documents the damage and the work carried out, and can explain generally how claims processes tend to work — but coverage decisions, excess amounts, and claim approval rest entirely with your insurer, based on your policy. We do not assess or interpret your policy wording, and we cannot promise a claim will be approved or paid at any particular level.
Where a loss adjuster is appointed by your insurer, they act on the insurer's behalf to independently assess the damage and the proposed scope of work. Good documentation — clear photographs, dated moisture logs, and a written scope — is what allows that assessment to happen efficiently, but the adjuster's and insurer's judgement is what ultimately determines the outcome.
- We can: photograph and document damage, record moisture readings over time, prepare a written scope of works, and itemise affected contents.
- We can: explain in general terms how the New Zealand claims process typically works and what insurers commonly ask for.
- We cannot: interpret your specific policy wording, guarantee cover applies, or promise a particular claim outcome or payment amount.
- Coverage and approval decisions are made by your insurer — always confirm the specifics of your situation with them or your broker directly.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to get my insurer's approval before any restoration work starts?
Not always for urgent mitigation — most policies expect reasonable steps to be taken to prevent further loss, such as stopping active water ingress. But it's worth contacting your insurer as early as practical, since many will confirm what emergency work is pre-authorised, and some non-urgent work is best held until they've had a chance to respond.
What documentation will my insurer typically ask for?
Most commonly: dated photographs of the damage, a written scope of works describing what was affected and what work was carried out, and — where contents are involved — an itemised list with a note on condition. For water damage, moisture readings taken during drying are also frequently requested.
Who decides whether my claim is approved?
Your insurer, based on your specific policy and the circumstances of the loss. A loss adjuster may be appointed to assess the damage on the insurer's behalf. A restoration company can provide documentation to support that assessment, but does not make or influence the coverage decision itself.
Can you guarantee my claim will be approved if I use your documentation?
No — no restoration provider can honestly make that guarantee, since approval depends on your policy terms and your insurer's own assessment. What thorough documentation does is give your insurer a clear, evidence-based record to work from, which generally supports a smoother assessment process.
What if my insurer appoints their own loss adjuster?
This is common, particularly for larger or more complex claims. The loss adjuster independently reviews the damage and proposed scope of work on the insurer's behalf. Existing documentation — photographs, moisture logs and a written scope — can usually be shared with them directly to support their review.
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