Date of Loss
How Insurance Professionals Verify Weather on a Date of Loss
Weather conditions surrounding a reported date of loss are often relevant during property investigations. A useful review looks at the reported date while also considering documented activity during a reasonable surrounding period.
Start With the Reported Date of Loss
The reported date of loss provides a logical starting point for weather research. Investigators can review available observations and severe-weather records associated with the property and that date.
The purpose of the weather research is to document available historical information, not to independently determine whether the reported date is correct.
Look at the Surrounding Period
There are several reasons to review more than a single day. A property owner may not immediately discover damage, multiple storms may have affected the area, or a nearby documented event may have occurred shortly before or after the reported date.
WeatherSnap therefore reviews 15 days before and 15 days after the selected date in addition to the date itself.
Compare Different Types of Weather Evidence
A date-of-loss review may include fixed weather-station observations, documented severe-weather events, hail reports, wind reports, tornado reports, and official warning information where available.
Each source answers a somewhat different question. Together they can provide a clearer factual picture of the weather activity documented around the property.
Consider Distance From the Property
The relevance of a weather observation depends partly on where it occurred. A report at the property or very nearby generally provides different geographic context than a report many miles away.
Distance should therefore be displayed alongside weather records whenever geographic coordinates are available.
Weather Verification Is Not a Coverage Decision
Historical weather research can help confirm that particular weather activity was documented in an area and can help identify dates that deserve closer investigation.
It does not determine insurance coverage, establish causation, or prove that observed property damage resulted from a specific event. Those conclusions depend on additional evidence and the applicable policy.
Need weather data for a specific property?
Enter an address and date of loss to generate a Weather Snapshot using documented weather data from authoritative sources.
Generate a Weather Snapshot — $5.99