The claim folder that gets paid: how to document Hurricane Lowell damage so the adjuster, the SBA, and FEMA all say yes

Every program that pays after a storm asks for the same evidence in a slightly different order. Build one folder once, in the order below, and every claim you file draws from it.

This page is information, not legal, insurance, or financial advice.

Why one folder

Your insurer, the Small Business Administration, FEMA, your landlord, and your accountant will each ask for proof of damage, proof of ownership, proof of income, and proof of what you spent. Owners who rebuild that proof four times lose weeks. Owners who build it once, in a structure every reviewer recognizes, get paid first.

The folder, in order

1. Identity and ownership. Driver's licence, business registration (DCCA), GET licence, lease or deed, and the policy declarations pages for every policy you hold, including flood. 2. Before. Any photos of the property from before the storm: listing photos, insurance inspection photos, your own phone. Dated. 3. The event. The National Weather Service watch and warning history for Kauaʻi County during Lowell, the county emergency proclamations, and any road or access orders that affected you. Print them with dates. 4. Damage, room by room. Wide shot, then close-ups, then a measurement where size matters. Video walk-through with the date spoken aloud. Water lines marked with tape and photographed. Keep damaged materials, or photograph them beside a ruler before they are hauled. 5. Inventory. A spreadsheet: item, quantity, purchase date, cost, condition, replacement cost. Attach receipts, bank statements, or photos of the item in use before the storm. 6. Emergency repairs. What you did to stop further damage (tarps, board-ups, pumps), with receipts. Insurers expect you to prevent further loss and reimburse the reasonable cost. 7. Estimates. At least two written repair estimates from licensed contractors. Check every licence at pvl.ehawaii.gov before you sign anything. 8. Income. Sales by day for the same period last year and for the eight weeks before the storm; tax returns for two years; profit and loss statements. This is what business interruption and SBA loans are computed from. 9. Communications log. Every call and email with the insurer, adjuster, contractor, or agency: date, name, what was said, what was promised. Ask for claim numbers and adjuster names in writing. 10. Decisions. Every denial, partial payment, and reservation of rights letter, with the policy language cited.

The rules that protect you

• Photograph before you clean, repair, or throw away. The exception is safety and preventing further damage, which you should do and document.
• Never sign an assignment of benefits or a contractor contract that gives someone else the right to deal with your insurer without reading it with someone you trust.
• Confirm any payment instruction by phone at a number you already had. Every storm brings the fake adjuster, the fake FEMA fee, and the vendor invoice with new bank details.
• Deadlines exist in every program: proof of loss for insurance, 60 days for SBA physical damage applications after the declaration, registration windows for FEMA assistance. Write the dates on the front of the folder.

Confidence: high. These are the document categories every program's application lists.

Where to get help that costs nothing

The Small Business Development Center (Hawaiʻi SBDC, Kauaʻi office) helps with SBA applications. SCORE mentors help with financial statements. The Hawaiʻi Insurance Division takes complaints about claim handling at 808-586-2790. And we will sit with you and build the folder, free: micah@hawaiiintelligence.com or (808) 353-4408.